Chicago, IL / Bookkeeping & CAS
Bookkeeping and CAS firms · Chicago
Offshore bookkeeping support, trained for your firm.
For Chicago-area accounting firms: your senior bookkeepers shouldn’t be chasing documents, cleaning inboxes or prepping every close by hand. We train Filipino bookkeeping staff to take that load off your team, and we manage them for you.
Chicago · May 2025 BLS
$24.73 an hour
Median wage for bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks in the Chicago metro, 2% above the national median of $24.36. Most earn between $21.93 and $29.62. 35,660 people work in this occupation across the metro.
Bookkeeping and CAS firms in Chicago.
The Chicago metro had 4,000 accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll firms in 2024, 42 for every 100,000 residents, which ranks 34th of the 50 largest US metros. The number of firms fell 2.1% on 2023, which often means consolidation: fewer firms, each carrying more work per person. Jobs in this occupation are 0.89 times as concentrated here as nationally.
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages, private sector. BLS doesn’t publish employment for this industry in Chicago, to protect individual firms’ data.
A full-time seat in Chicago.
Chicago has the 23rd highest median wage for bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks among the 50 largest US metros. Even at the top of our draft range, a managed Molave role costs about 25% less per hour than a local hire with employer costs. That’s a meaningful saving, even before counting recruiting and turnover.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Chicago metropolitan area. Employer costs of about 30% rounded from BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation. Both monthly figures use 160 hours. Molave figures are draft ranges.
Nearby metros
How Chicago compares.
Chicago sits in the middle of its region: $3.05 an hour below Minneapolis–St. Paul and $0.95 above Houston at the median.
| Metro | Median wage | Middle 50% earn | Firms (2024) | Change on 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago, IL | $24.73 | $21.93–$29.62 | 4,000 | −2.1% |
| Dallas–Fort Worth, TX | $24.86 | $21.73–$29.73 | 4,071 | +0.3% |
| Houston, TX | $23.78 | $20.13–$29.07 | 3,316 | +0.5% |
| Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN | $27.78 | $23.14–$30.42 | 1,405 | +1.4% |
| St. Louis, MO | $24.03 | $21.81–$29.14 | 1,046 | −1.9% |
Wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks; “middle 50%” is the 25th to 75th percentile hourly wage. Firm counts: BLS QCEW, 2024.
Roles we train for Chicago accounting firms.
Each role is trained on your tools and SOPs before day one. Full role descriptions →
Workflows
Work we take off your plate.
- Month-end close prep and checklist tracking
- Weekly document requests and follow-up
- Bank and credit card reconciliation prep
- AP runs and AR collection reminders
- Cleanup and catch-up projects
Working your hours
Chicago hours, covered.
Chicago questions
Straight answers, with local numbers.
How many accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll firms are in Chicago?
4,000 in 2024, according to the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, −2.1% on 2023.
What does a local hire cost Chicago accounting firms?
The median wage for bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks in the Chicago metro is $24.73 an hour (May 2025). Most earn between $21.93 and $29.62. With payroll taxes and benefits, a full-time median hire costs about $5,144 a month at 160 hours. A managed Molave role costs $2,240–$3,840 a month at the same hours.
Can Molave staff work Chicago hours?
Yes. Staff work Chicago business hours. A 9am–5pm day in Chicago is 10pm–6am in Manila during US daylight saving time and 11pm–7am in winter, a night shift that’s standard in the Filipino outsourcing industry.
Book a staffing call
Start with one role for your Chicago firm.
Tell us what’s stuck. We’ll come back with the role, the person and the price, with no upfront recruiting fee.