Our San Francisco-based CPA and team help growing engineering firms in the San Francisco Bay Area and across California strengthen project profitability, manage cash flow, and plan for growth with strategic accounting, proactive tax planning, and fractional CFO support.
Engineering firms rarely bill every project the same way. One engagement may be hourly, the next fixed-fee, with subconsultants, reimbursable expenses, and changing scopes layered throughout. That complexity can make it harder to see which projects are actually profitable.
Our fractional CFO, accounting, and tax strategy practice is built around that reality for engineering firms across the San Francisco Bay Area and California.
We work closely with structural, civil, and MEP engineering firms to untangle utilization and realization rates, track earned vs billed revenue across hourly and fixed-fee contracts, and uncover tax strategies most firms miss — so you can plan better, keep more of what you earn, and operate with confidence.
Does your firm need help with tax planning, financial reporting, project profitability? Or more complex finance decisions? Our California accountants bring real experience working with engineering principals who need clear numbers and advice grounded in how design and engineering firms actually bill and staff their work.
The numbers we review together:
A healthy backlog doesn’t always mean healthy cash flow. Long billing cycles, delayed client payments, and rising project costs can quickly put pressure on margins and working capital. Without the right financial visibility, it becomes harder to see which projects are truly profitable and where performance may be starting to slip.
Our team of CPAs and accountants builds financial systems around the way engineering firms actually operate, helping you track project profitability, manage cash flow, and make more informed decisions as the firm grows.
For California engineering firms, financial challenges rarely stay confined to the books. Weak project visibility, delayed billing, and tightening margins can affect hiring, cash flow, project delivery, and growth. The right financial partner helps identify those risks early, giving firm leaders more time to respond before small issues become bigger problems.
Hours worked don’t always become hours billed. We track realization by staff and by project so write-downs stop hiding in the numbers.
Without clear utilization targets, it’s hard to know if you’re understaffed, overstaffed, or just poorly scheduled. We build the reporting that answers it.
Structural, geotechnical, and specialty subconsultants add a layer of pass-through billing that’s easy to mismanage. We keep it clean and reconciled.
Much of what engineering firms do — analysis, modeling, design iteration — can qualify for the federal and California R&D credit. Most firms never claim it.
Section 174's treatment of research and experimental costs has swung back and forth in recent years, and the rules around deductions, amortization, and prior-year elections keep shifting. We track where the law stands today and plan around it — so you're not caught applying last year's rule at filing time.
We’re the right fit for engineering firms that:
Engineering firms across the Bay Area and California turn to us when they’ve outgrown basic financial support and need sharper project reporting, stronger tax planning, and better visibility into the numbers driving profitability and growth.
San Francisco and California Firms designing building structures and systems, managing fixed-fee contracts and phased billing across long project timelines.
Site development, grading, and infrastructure engineers coordinating with public agencies, developers, and general contractors on multi-phase work.
Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineers balancing design-phase billing with construction administration and change-order tracking.
Firms billing project-based fieldwork and reporting, often layered with subconsultant lab and testing costs.
Firms combining several disciplines under one roof, needing consolidated reporting across departments that bill differently.
The right financial strategy doesn’t just organize your books. It increases resilience and confidence.
Your financial setup should work the way you do — not the other way around. That’s when things finally make sense
Our clients gain:
As engineering firms grow, basic financial systems can start to fall behind the complexity of the business. More projects, larger teams, different billing structures, and tighter margins create a need for stronger reporting, better financial infrastructure, and more strategic oversight.
Senior financial leadership on a part-time basis. Strategy, forecasting, and financial decision-making, without the full-time salary.
Books structured to reflect hourly, fixed-fee, and T&M revenue, with reporting that answers the questions you’re actually asking.
Know exactly what’s coming in and going out by week, by project, by scenario.
Understand which projects, phases, and staff are driving margin — and which are quietly eroding it.
Proactive California tax planning — not just filing. We build a strategy that reduces your bill legally.
Planning a hire, a purchase, or an expansion? We model the impact before you commit.
Senior financial leadership on a part-time basis. Strategy, forecasting, and financial decision-making, without the full-time salary.
Proactive California tax planning — not just filing. We build a strategy that reduces your bill legally.
Planning a hire, a purchase, or an expansion? We model the impact before you commit.
Senior financial leadership on a part-time basis. Strategy, forecasting, and financial decision-making. Without the full-time salary.
Books structured to reflect hourly, fixed-fee, and T&M revenue, with reporting that answers the questions you’re actually asking.
Know exactly what’s coming in and going out by week, by project, by scenario.
Sharon Ching
SLM Architecture and Design
What a great surprise! We were expecting to pay IRS over $10,000 in additional taxes but we ended up with $4,000 tax credits and paid nothing! Samy is amazing! He knows all the recent tax reforms and patiently explains them to us and applies the relevant tax deductible tools and strategies for our business and personal taxes.
Elmira Esmaeili
As a new client I’m delighted to report that my interactions with Basta & Company have been excellent. I’m grateful for the invaluable assistance I’ve so far received from Basta & Company, and staff!
John Meloy
I cannot recommend Samy enough! He helped us with a very challenging 1031 exchange which allowed us to defer our capital gains taxes and purchase a new property. He returns e-mails and phone messages promptly and the best part is that he talks non CPA language to you in order to make sure you understand everything. If I could, I would give him 6 stars!
Michael Berke
No. We’re based in the Bay Area serving the built environment (construction and construction trades, engineering and design-firms, and property managers) across California.
Yes. Many engineering principals come to us with books that don’t reflect how the firm bills — mixed hourly, fixed-fee, and T&M work in one undifferentiated ledger. We rebuild it so it does.
Yes. Project and phase-level profitability reporting is core to what we do for engineering clients.
Often, yes. Design iteration, analysis, and modeling work can qualify for federal and California R&D credits. We assess eligibility as part of tax planning.
We help with proactive tax planning, entity structure review, deductions, R&D credit eligibility, and year-end strategy — reducing surprises and finding legal savings before deadlines pass.
We track how much of each fixed-fee contract has actually been earned as work progresses, so your numbers reflect real project status — not just what’s been invoiced — alongside your hourly billing.
Yes. We set up reporting that tracks utilization and realization by staff member and by project, so margin leaks get caught early.
Fill out our contact form to share your business details and biggest financial challenges. We’ll review everything, and if it looks like a good fit, we’ll invite you for a call to dive deeper. No obligation.
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.
Basta & Company guides San Francisco businesses through every financial milestone — from business structure and accounting systems to tax strategy and scaling with confidence.
With over 25 years of experience, Basta & Company has become a trusted partner for growing businesses across San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties, as well as throughout California. Led by Samy Basta, CPA, our team provides fractional CFO services, accounting, and tax strategy.
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