Basta & Company

Basta & Company Strategic advisors and tax experts for California construction, architecture, and interior design businesses.

Samy is trusted California CPA Expert with 25 years of experience in the field, helping clients navigate the complexities of finance with confidence. We deliver CFO-level insights tailored for small businesses across diverse sectors, including real estate, construction, and creative agencies. Our firm provides expert B2B accounting and tax consultation services throughout California, providing the dedicated support you need to thrive.

08/04/2026

Tom needed a truck for his crew. Bought it, logged the miles, used it for jobs. Saved $28K in federal taxes. Smart deduction.

Jake bought a $95K F-450 because Instagram told him to. 25% business use. Qualified for nothing. Plus $9K in California sales tax.

Same deduction. Totally different results.

The difference isn't the truck — it's the planning. 👇 Full video in the channel!

08/03/2026

Federal bonus depreciation lets you write off a truck in year one. California doesn't follow those rules.

CA makes you spread it out over 5–6 years. Your state tax savings? Way smaller than the Instagram guy told you.

You're getting half the story. 👇 Full video out now!

08/01/2026

The IRS lets you write off a heavy truck in year one. F-250, F-350, RAM 2500 — all qualify under Section 179.

But here's what nobody tells you: 50%+ of your miles have to be business miles. Not commuting. Not personal.

No log? Deduction gone. Back taxes. Penalties.
The Instagram guys never mention that part.

👇 Watch the full episode out now!

Seen the pitch: buy a heavy truck, write it all off, pay zero taxes? Here's what that pitch leaves out.The deduction is ...
07/31/2026

Seen the pitch: buy a heavy truck, write it all off, pay zero taxes? Here's what that pitch leaves out.

The deduction is real. Bonus depreciation is 100% and permanent right now, so a heavy vehicle placed in service can be fully written off the year you buy it. But two things usually get skipped:

You need documented business use to actually support the deduction — not a truck that occasionally hauls lumber and mostly sits in the driveway.

And you still spent the money.

Run the real math: buy a $90K truck, save roughly $30K in taxes, and you're still out $60K in cash that left the business.

Ask yourself the question that actually matters: would I buy this truck without the tax angle? If the honest answer is no, that's not tax planning. That's shopping with a discount attached.

Want to know more about bonus depreciation? Link in comment!

05/18/2026

Labor burden is the hidden cost most builders miss.

If you pay $1 in wages, your real payroll cost may be $1.20 to $1.30 after payroll taxes, workers’ comp, benefits, overtime, and reimbursements.

That means $30/hour labor could really cost you $36/hour or more.

If you don’t know your labor burden, you’re guessing on every bid.

05/16/2026

Your construction business can be busy and still feel cash tight.

Revenue doesn’t mean profit.

If payroll taxes, workers’ comp, overtime, benefits, and reimbursements aren’t tracked correctly, your real labor cost could be 15–30% higher than you think.

That hidden payroll gap is where your cash flow disappears.

Builders: know your real labor cost before you bid the next job.

05/15/2026

Payroll is not just wages.

It’s payroll taxes, workers’ comp, benefits, overtime, reimbursements, and every “small” cost buried in your books.

That’s why your $70K payroll month can quietly become $85K–$91K.

Builders: if you’re only looking at wages, you’re not seeing your real labor cost.

04/20/2026

Most contractors have no idea which projects are making them money and which ones are quietly stealing it. And it is not because they are bad at business. It is because nobody set up a system that tells them the truth.

Here is what that actually looks like.

I had a client doing $3 million a year in revenue. Great reputation. Tons of work. When I asked how profitable he was, he said around 15%. Confident answer.

So we set up a simple tracking system in QuickBooks. Two weeks later he called me. He was upset.
One of his biggest projects, a $180,000 contract he was proud of, was actually losing $9,000. After labor, materials, and subs. A $180K project losing money. He was not doing anything wrong. He just did not have a system that told him the truth.

That is the real problem. Most construction businesses run as one big pile of numbers. Revenue in, expenses out. Nobody really knows which project won and which project lost.

If you do not know which projects are profitable, you cannot fix the ones that are not. You just keep taking on more work and wondering why the bank account never catches up.

The fix is simpler than you think. And I will show you exactly how to set it up.

Follow for weekly CFO-level tips built for contractors and construction business owners.

04/16/2026

Working 6 days a week and still wondering where the money went? Here are 3 steps to fix it.

Step 1: Give every project its own scoreboard. In QuickBooks, tag every dollar you spend (labor, materials, subs, permits) to its project. This turns your books from a black box into a scoreboard.

Step 2: Open your Project Profitability report every week. Ten minutes. Sort by profit. Look at your bottom 3 projects and ask one question: why is this losing money? Usually it comes down to labor overruns, untracked materials, a sub adding scope, or an unbilled change order.

Step 3: Bill your change orders every week, not at the end of the project. Every time you do extra work and don't bill it right away, you're writing a check to your client. Stop donating labor.

You don't need more work. You need to know which projects are actually making you money.

Follow for weekly CFO-level tips built for contractors and construction business owners.

04/06/2026

One of the fastest ways to mess up your numbers?

Treating owner draws like normal business expenses.

That makes your P&L unreliable and turns profit into a guessing game.

Owner draws belong in one place. Not scattered across random categories.

Watch full video on our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/

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San Francisco, CA
94111

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Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 6pm

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