New Business Advisory for Contractors, Architects & Interior Design Firms in San Francisco, CA
At Basta & Company, we provide new business advisory services for San Francisco and California contractors, architects, and interior designers who want to start their business the right way, choose the right entity, plan for taxes early, and build a stronger financial foundation from day one.
Start your California business with guidance from an experienced CPA who understands taxes, accounting, and growth.
Starting a business is exciting, but the early decisions matter more than most owners realize.
The entity you choose, how you set up your books, how you pay yourself, how you plan for taxes, and how you manage cash flow can affect your business for years. A rushed setup can lead to tax surprises, messy accounting, missed deductions, compliance problems, or a structure that no longer fits once the business starts growing.
At Basta & Company, our new business advisory services are led by Samy Basta, CPA, who brings years of experience helping California business owners make better financial decisions.
Our San Francisco CPA and accountants at Basta & Company work primarily with contractors, architects, and interior designers forming a new company or restructuring an existing one, so we understand the licensing, bonding, and project-based revenue questions that come with starting a trade or design business, not just generic startup advice.
Why Contractors, Architects & Interior Designers Choose Basta & Company for New Business Advisory
Our proactive CPA and accountants do not look at business formation as just paperwork. We help you understand how your structure, taxes, accounting, cash flow, and future plans work together.
CPA-level tax guidance from the beginning
Many new businesses wait too long to think about taxes. By then, the entity may already be formed, the books may already be messy, and the owner may already be taking money out of the business in a way that creates problems. As a San Francisco CPA, Samy and team help new business owners think through the tax impact before decisions are made. That includes reviewing whether an LLC, S corporation, C corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship makes sense for your situation, and how that choice interacts with CSLB licensing and bonding requirements for contractors, or the shift from 1099/sole-proprietor income to a formal entity for architects and designers.
Business formation advice that looks beyond registration
Forming a business is more than filing documents with the state. You also need to think about accounting, bank accounts, payroll, tax elections, estimated taxes, compliance deadlines, expense tracking, and how money will move through the business. We help you understand the full setup, not just the legal filing. For contractors, that often means coordinating with your surety or bonding agent as well as your attorney, so your entity, license, and bond stay aligned from day one.
Practical financial guidance for new and growing businesses
New business owners in the trades have a lot of questions: Should I bid my first jobs as a sole proprietor or form an entity first? How do I price work before I know my real overhead? Do I need workers' comp before I hire my first crew? When should I elect S corporation status? What expenses can I deduct? We give straightforward answers so you can make decisions with more confidence.
New Business Advisory Backed by California Tax Expertise and Real CPA Experience
Professional service businesses and project-based companies trust us to bring structure and clarity to their finances.
Our San Francisco new business advisory services are built for owners who want more than a basic setup. You may be a GC or sub leaving your current employer to start your own company, an architect or designer turning years of W-2 or 1099 work into a real firm, or restructuring a business that was never set up properly.
Our team helps you look at the business from the beginning with the right financial lens.
That means reviewing your entity structure, tax planning, accounting system, cash flow needs, owner compensation, accounting process, and growth plans together. These decisions should not be handled separately by advisors who never compare notes.
With a California CPA who has deep knowledge and extensive experience across different industries, the tax impact is part of the conversation from the start. We help you avoid the common mistake of forming a business first and asking tax questions later.
Basta & Company works with business owners across San Francisco, the Bay Area, and California, with a focus on service-based businesses, construction contractors, architecture firms, interior design studios, and growing companies that need accounting, tax, and advisory support.
If you want to start your business with better structure and fewer surprises, let’s talk.
How Our New Business Advisory Services Support Contractors, Architects & Interior Design Firms
Every new business is different, so the work below is a menu, not a checklist. We tailor our advice based on your industry, goals, current stage, expected revenue, ownership structure, and tax situation. Whether you are starting a professional service business, construction company, architecture firm, interior design studio, consulting firm, or another California business, we help you build a cleaner financial foundation.
Business Formation & Entity Selection
- LLC, S corporation, C corporation, partnership, and sole proprietorship review
- Entity structure guidance based on your tax situation and business goals
- S corporation election planning when appropriate
- Coordination with your attorney for legal formation questions
- Review of ownership structure and profit distribution considerations
- Guidance on California registration, tax accounts, and compliance items
- Entity structure guidance that accounts for CSLB licensing and bonding requirements for contractors
New Business Tax Planning
- Tax planning for new businesses in San Francisco, the Bay Area, and California
- Estimated tax planning so you are not surprised later
- Owner compensation planning
- Deduction planning for startup costs and ongoing business expenses
- California franchise tax and state filing considerations
- City and local tax considerations when applicable
- Planning for payroll taxes, 1099s, and contractor payments
- California sales and use tax registration guidance for contractors who install materials
Accounting Setup & Systems
- Chart of accounts setup based on how your business earns and spends
- QuickBooks setup and cleanup guidance
- Bank account and credit card workflow recommendations
- Accounting process design so records stay clean from the beginning
- Monthly reporting structure so you can understand performance
- Expense tracking system for deductions and documentation
- Job-cost chart of accounts and WIP/progress-billing setup for project-based revenue from day one
Cash Flow & Business Planning
- Startup budget planning
- Cash flow forecasting for the first months of operation
- Pricing and profitability review
- Break-even analysis
- Hiring and contractor cost planning
- Financing preparation and lender-ready financial organization
- Growth planning as the business moves beyond the startup stage
- Bid and markup strategy for your first jobs, so pricing isn’t a guess
Ongoing CPA Advisory
- Regular advisory calls as your business grows
- Tax planning before year-end
- Financial statement review
- Business consulting for key decisions
- Guidance when revenue, payroll, or complexity increases
- Support as you move from startup mode to a more established business
Is New Business Advisory Right for You?
Here are 7 signs it may be time to work with a CPA before moving forward:
- You are starting a contracting, architecture, or design business and are not sure whether to form an LLC, S corporation, or another structure — or how that choice affects your license and bonding.
- You already formed your business, but you are unsure whether the setup is tax-efficient.
- You are making money from a side business and want to make it official.
- You are a contractor, architect, or designer leaving your job to start your own company and need tax, licensing, and cash flow guidance.
- You do not know how much to set aside for taxes.
- You need help setting up QuickBooks, accounting, payroll, or business bank accounts correctly.
- You want advice before hiring, taking distributions, applying for financing, or expanding.
With our new business advisory services, California business owners get a clearer path from formation to financial management.
New business owners in California need more than paperwork. A business can be legally formed and still be financially disorganized.
We help them understand:
- Which entity structure fits their trade, their licensing, and their bonding needs
- What tax obligations they need to plan for
- How to keep books clean from the start
- How to manage cash flow between jobs in the first year
- How to make decisions with the tax impact in mind
Our goal is to help you build the business with fewer blind spots.
Industry Expertise
"I cannot recommend Basta & Co enough! Samy leads a great team, and they are the best when it comes to CPAs. His expertise with all things accounting really shines through every interaction. And he is a pleasure to work with. Samy makes dealing with taxes and the IRS a breeze, I would give him 10 stars if I could!"
Connor Daly
Connor Daly Construction
Basta & Company help us and guide us back in 2017 to incorporate my company is been a great experience working with Samy until today day, hoping for best year to come with his advised, knowledge and professionally. Thank you Samy!! Responsive, professional, and value-driven.
Luis Zavala
Innovator Electric, Inc.
Basta & Co. was recommended to us after we had a series of bad experiences with other accounting firms. Basta’s payment schedules are convenient and unique. We look forward to Tax Season with Samy in charge of our complex tax situations.
Sharon Ching
SLM Architecture and Design
Samy and team are very professional, knowledgeable and easy to work with. Helped with trusts & estates accounting, IRS audit representation, business tax return preparation, new business tax consulting, payroll accounting, financial advising, business tax planning, incorporation & restructuring consulting.
William Newton
Enterprise Access Control & Security
Insights From Your San Francisco CPA
What is new business advisory?
New business advisory helps entrepreneurs make the right financial, tax, and accounting decisions when starting a business. This can include entity selection, tax planning, accounting setup, payroll guidance, business planning, cash flow planning, and ongoing CPA advice.
Do I need a CPA before starting a business?
It is a good idea to speak with a CPA before forming a business because early decisions can affect your taxes, deductions, payroll, owner compensation, and compliance requirements. A CPA can help you understand the financial impact before you choose a structure.
Should I form an LLC or S corporation in California?
The right choice depends on your income, ownership structure, industry, payroll plans, and long-term goals. An LLC may work well for some owners, while an S corporation may help others with tax planning once the business reaches the right level of profit. We help you review the options before making a decision.
Can you help me set up QuickBooks for my new business?
Yes. We can help with QuickBooks setup, chart of accounts design, accounting workflow, bank feed organization, and reporting structure so your books are easier to manage from the beginning.
Can you help with tax planning for a new business?
Yes. We help new business owners plan for federal taxes, California taxes, estimated payments, deductions, owner compensation, payroll taxes, and entity-related tax issues.
Do you handle business incorporation paperwork?
We provide tax and accounting guidance around entity selection and business setup. For legal formation documents, we may recommend working with an attorney, and we can coordinate with your attorney so the legal and tax pieces are aligned.
How do we get started with Basta & Company?
Fill out our contact form and tell us about your business. We’ll review your situation and, if it looks like a good fit, invite you to a call to discuss the best next step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Still Have A Question ?
We’re here to help. Reach out to our team and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
