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Money Matters: A Business Owner's Guide to Smart Tax Strategy
Episode 8120th January 2026 • Make Space For More • Melissa Swink
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Episode Summary

In this episode of the Make Space for More podcast, host Melissa Swink chatted with tax expert Carmine Guida Jr. to explore the intricacies of tax planning and strategy for business owners. You don’t want to miss this conversation about the importance of proactive tax planning, the evolution of Carmine's business, and the impact of recent tax law changes. 

Carmine shared about the need for strong communication between accountants and clients, common misconceptions about tax deductions, and best practices for hiring employees. He also provided valuable insights on audit readiness and the importance of maintaining proper documentation. Stay to the end; you don’t want to miss helpful resources for business owners seeking to enhance their financial strategies.

Key Highlights:

  • Discover why waiting until tax season to talk to your accountant might be costing you thousands in missed opportunities.
  • Learn how proactive tax planning can transform your business from reactive to strategic when it comes to financial decisions.
  • Understand the crucial difference between tax preparation and tax planning - and why it matters for your bottom line.
  • Find out why showing more income (not less) might actually be the smart move for your business growth.
  • Get the inside scoop on commonly overlooked deductions that could be game-changers for your business.
  • Learn how to build a relationship with your accountant that goes beyond annual tax returns to create real financial strategy.


About Our Guest: 

Carmine Guida Jr. is a Partner at Basso & Guida, bringing over 15 years of experience in individual and business tax planning. Known for providing top-level professional advice in a clear and approachable manner, he helps clients navigate complex financial decisions with confidence. Under his leadership, Basso & Guida has been recognized as a Dan’s Papers Hall of Fame winner for Best Accounting Firm on the North and South Fork of Long Island, NY, solidifying its reputation for excellence.


About Melissa:

Melissa Swink, Founder & CEO of Melissa Swink & Co., has a team of virtual assistants who provide administrative and marketing support for small businesses and non-profits.


Since 2012, Melissa and her team have helped more than 100 businesses grow through the services they offer, and she is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs create profitable, scalable businesses they love.


Her work is all about doing what works (and eliminating what doesn’t) and driving real, measurable results. Visit www.melissaswink.com to learn more! 


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Transcripts

Melissa Swink (:

Hi everyone. Welcome to the Make Space for More podcast where we talk strategies for growing and scaling your business in a way that's authentic and aligned for you. I'm your host, Melissa Swink. And in today's episode, we're going to talk about a topic that keeps coming up in conversations, not only with our clients, but just other entrepreneurs and people in my network. And this is a topic that I personally have very little knowledge of.

So today I've brought in a fellow entrepreneur as a subject matter expert to discuss tax planning and strategy. So before we dive into all the nuts and bolts of today's topic, I want to formally introduce Carmine Guida Jr., who is a partner at Faso and Guida, bringing over 15 years of experience in individual and business tax planning. Known for providing top level professional advice in a clear and approachable manner.

He helps clients navigate complex financial decisions with confidence. Under his leadership, Basso and Guida has been recognized as a Dan's Papers Hall of Fame winner for best accounting firm on the North and South Fork of Long Island, New York, solidifying its reputation for excellence. Carmine, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us today and share with our audience. I'm really excited to dive in.

Carmine Guida (:

Yeah, of course. Thank you for the introduction.

Melissa Swink (:

Yes, absolutely. So before we talk tax and planning and strategy and all of that, why don't you first of all tell us just a little bit about yourself?

Carmine Guida (:

Sure. So yeah, Carmine Gaida founded our firm Baso and Gaida here in Riverhead, New York back in 2015 with my partner, Jesse. We met at like a midsize personal tax firm out here on the island. Worked there for five years, but it was very draining. It worked 80 hour weeks during tax season. No lunch breaks, no days off, no nothing like that.

It was a while ago. mean, workplaces have changed a lot. Even that one has, I know they've told me, but it was, was tough to kind of, we're at an age where we're looking to move on in our lives, start a family, have more. So we wound up leaving there, going on separate paths, but starting the company to kind of continue our personal tax practice. And then gained experience. I was the controller of a construction company out here. And that kind of gave me a full.

well-rounded experience from the personal tax side for which we did for five years. And then the construction company, business side, not only business operational, but the business taxes and understanding all of that. And then I worked at a larger accounting firm here and kind of honed in on the business tax side and buying and selling of businesses and franchises. So yeah, and that's now we're here full time. So we had all that experience.

Melissa Swink (:

interesting. Okay.

Carmine Guida (:

Went through those jobs while maintaining the business on the side. And as of three years ago, we're full time working for ourselves.

Melissa Swink (:

That's fantastic. Congratulations. Yes, absolutely. You passed that first of all, that one year mark, but now three years full-time in the business. this something that you had ... You had mentioned going full-time. Is this something that you had kind of, I don't want to say dabbled in in the beginning, but was it something that you ran more of on a part-time basis and then you went all in or how did that work out as far as your time commitment goes?

Carmine Guida (:

Yeah, thank you.

Carmine Guida (:

Yeah. So we were doing it on the side while everything where we maintain full-time jobs. So it was like a part-time thing for the most part. And then as we kept growing, it got to the point where we either had to jump in with both feet and figure out how to make it work, or we'd have to stop taking clients and, you know, cap out our work. There's only so many hours in the day. And, even though we were working for ourselves, it was kind of like going back to what we left the original company for, you know, here we are, know, slaving along. So, yeah.

Melissa Swink (:

Right.

Melissa Swink (:

Yes, yes, absolutely. That's always something that I feel like is a I talk to a lot of people who are maybe part time in their businesses or they've got a full time gig and they have a business idea that they're really passionate about. And there's always that tipping point of when do I jump all in on this business, whether it's like completely leaving the corporate and starting from scratch or, you know, making a decision of, know, where you want to be spending the majority of your time. it?

Carmine Guida (:

I had to jump in.

Carmine Guida (:

Mm.

Melissa Swink (:

going to be releasing the part-time business you have or growing the part-time business to become full-time. So it's always that it's in the answers different for everybody, I feel like.

Carmine Guida (:

I mean, for us, was kind of like if we kept going and kept bringing on more clients, the quality of service would go down. We wouldn't be able to get back to people. And we didn't, we just didn't want to sacrifice that. So even if we did keep growing, it would be selfish because we wouldn't be able to serve the clients that we have.

Melissa Swink (:

Sure. Yep, absolutely. And I even can think of an accounting firm that I used to work with as a client, not they weren't a client of ours, just to clarify, but we saw the same things. I experienced the same things. The things that you were trying to avoid where they were growing through acquisition. So they were buying out a lot of smaller accounting firms or smaller tax preparers, and they just grew way too fast. And they couldn't, I don't know, they didn't hire, I don't know that they didn't hire fast enough or they weren't

able to hire the qualified people that they need, but then the service and the communication just took a dive. And it's hard to see that happen for any business and certainly doesn't feel very good to be on the receiving end either.

Carmine Guida (:

Mm-hmm.

Carmine Guida (:

Yeah, no, absolutely.

Melissa Swink (:

Yeah, absolutely. So now you've been in the business, you and your partner for the last three years. How have things grown and evolved in the business since you went full time? Just out of curiosity.

Carmine Guida (:

When we originally went full time, it was kind of like the back end of everything that was going on with all the COVID things, the PPP loan forgiveness and the employee retention credit and all that stuff. So we had to deal with all that still from COVID. Then the new tax laws just came out now. Everything's been kind of consistent, but you know, it's the big beautiful bill came out. So that's going to change things quite a bit for this upcoming tax year.

Melissa Swink (:

Okay.

Carmine Guida (:

So I'd say we kind of had the back end at ERC, then it was kind of like a small maintenance period. And now, with the new laws, will change a little bit.

Melissa Swink (:

Yeah, and I didn't even think about diving in from that angle. But even just for my own self personally, I certainly do not spend my time studying the tax code. But I keep hearing about the big beautiful bill. What should business owners be doing right now with all of these changes? Obviously, working with an expert like yourself who is up on all of these changes, but

Carmine Guida (:

Mm.

Melissa Swink (:

Anything else off the top of your head high level that people should be paying attention to or doing at this moment in time with all these changes coming down the pipeline?

Carmine Guida (:

Yeah, and I think the biggest change that came about has to do with the taxability of overtime and tips and everything like that. Like the W-2 forms are going to change. The reporting is going to change. It's not as simple as no tax on overtime. There's limits. There's certain jobs that that won't apply to. So I guess working with the employees, whether it be a tipped employee or somebody who is working overtime to kind of see if they qualify and make sure that that's all reported and handled properly.

Melissa Swink (:

Mm-hmm.

Carmine Guida (:

Cause it's not a one size fits all kind of thing as we wanted learning about. And there's still more detail that's going to be released as time goes on. But yeah, a little bit more complex than it seems on the surface.

Melissa Swink (:

Yeah.

Melissa Swink (:

How do you stay on top of all this information? I would imagine you do a lot of reading and do you, I don't know if you're involved in other professional organizations or if you do any type of continuing education, like what does that look like for you? Because things are just, the only thing that's constant is change.

Carmine Guida (:

Well, so yes, we are mandated to do continuing education and we do take yearly seminars from a tax lawyer on the individual tax update, business tax update and our state update here in New York for the constant changes there. And we'll do an ethics class and another tax update from a different provider. So the other ones are like in-person.

at a hotel, do them or we'll do a zoom seminar. And then the other ones, could be like just a self-learn that we'll do just to kind of, yeah, I mean, we have to do a lot. I mean, to take them in different avenues and methods to see, you know, what we can get out of each. It always is better having somebody explain all this stuff to you and have like a live Q and A session so you can get the most out of it. Cause nothing's straightforward with any of this. So I mean, the questions and the additional clarifications always helps.

Melissa Swink (:

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yep, absolutely. Absolutely. And this is one other thing that I thought of, and then I want to start talking about, you know, tax planning and strategy and things like that for businesses. But you are located in New York, obviously, but you work with clients from all over, correct?

Carmine Guida (:

yeah, absolutely. Yep. And that's, I gained a lot of that experience when I worked at this large tax firm here, because we did, I think like 36 states, like businesses in 36 states. So each one with the different tax returns that are required, right? Rules and regulations, all that stuff. So yeah, we'll work with people nationwide. Very, very, yeah, comfortable with that as well.

Melissa Swink (:

Yeah, very good to know. So just kind of diving into some of the basics here. What is the difference between just basic tax preparation and proactive tax planning for business owners?

Carmine Guida (:

So I would say the traditional hands-off is just like you have somebody do your personal tax return every year. You bring them the documents and the relationship ends there essentially. mean what we try to do with everybody is to open the door to let them know like I mean even if it's a personal client, business client that we're available year-round for the proactive tax planning.

Now businesses and people who are in like an all encompassing, you we talk to them all the time. We'll do more of the proactive planning, which would be, I guess it's really built on communication. Really, you know I mean? Cause if like you're saying the non proactive, you're going in, just having your taxes done, proactive, we're talking all the time. We're making sure that things are handled in October for the tax season that's coming up.

Melissa Swink (:

Yes.

Carmine Guida (:

You know what mean? We're having quarterly meetings. We're reviewing profits, expenses, even like one-off calls, like, hey, what do I do with this? I'm going to do this. I'm hiring a new employee, whatever. So it's all about constant communication and making sure we're strategizing six months ahead of where we want to be.

Melissa Swink (:

Sure. Sure. Absolutely. That actually is perfect because my next question really was like, I understand the concept of, hey, let's meet towards the end of this year to make sure that things are in good shape for the upcoming tax season. Maybe we need to talk about, I need to find some more expenses to be written off? Like, have I set aside enough money for taxes in a savings account? Like some of those basic conversations.

Carmine Guida (:

So when I come and see you next time, I want you to make sure...

Carmine Guida (:

to out of the environment, craving that place to their comfort.

Melissa Swink (:

Really, what you're talking about and what you value most in working with your clients is talking throughout the course of the year, not just at the year's end and it's of scrambling, if you will, to prepare for next year.

Carmine Guida (:

Yeah, that's the way that I can get, we can get the most out of it and actually understand what the client's tax situation is. The way I like to kind of liken it to how it works like a doctor, you know what I mean? You go in, you tell them all your symptoms, you talk throughout the year. mean, maybe only see a doctor once a year, but for the most part, I mean, the more information you have, the more you can help.

Melissa Swink (:

Right. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And you talked about communication really being key. And that's something that you and I think we both talked about in previous conversations is the clients who get the most value of working with our VA team or with your company are the ones that are communicating regularly, keeping us in the loop and so that we can keep a finger on the pulse of what's happening in the business and be able to provide the very best support and expertise directly related to what's going on.

Carmine Guida (:

Absolutely. mean, it's a symbiotic relationship, right? I mean, we need to be in constant contact with the client to make sure that everything's going well. Absolutely.

Melissa Swink (:

Mm-hmm. Yep. 100%. So for the business owner who's listening and they really haven't done any tax planning at all beyond their annual filing, of course, what would be the very first step that they should take today? So they only see their CPA maybe once a year to file their taxes. How do they start becoming proactive when it comes to tax planning?

Carmine Guida (:

mean, step one is contact your accountant. Make sure that they're available and willing to have these meetings to review these things. If not, mean, it's hard to kind of move forward in a relationship like that because as a business owner, you really do. I mean, it's one of the pillars. You need your insurance guy, you need your tax guy, and you need your lawyer. And those are people that are very important to your business.

Melissa Swink (:

Yes.

Carmine Guida (:

So the tax guy, need to have somebody on your team as an accountant to advise you on personal business, everything at all times. it's really just, if that's not happening, it's important to reach out and make sure you have somebody on your side who will have these meetings with you.

Melissa Swink (:

Yeah, absolutely. What would you say that somebody should look for and know that they're working with the right accountant?

Carmine Guida (:

I think if you're being asked questions that make you think that's a good person to have because it shows that they're engaged. They probably know some of the most updated rules, especially if things are enlightening you and you haven't heard of it or whatever. That's good. I know it seems silly, but it's important to have somebody that has a personality that meshes with yours. You don't want to be scared of calling your accountant. hear a lot of people, they get scolded. Their accountant scolds them.

Melissa Swink (:

Okay.

Melissa Swink (:

Yes.

Carmine Guida (:

And it's incredible, but it's important. It's supposed to be somebody that you have a good relationship with and you want to talk to. So it's good to have, make sure you mesh.

Melissa Swink (:

Right. I love it. Like, we keep going back to the basics here, like communicating regularly and being very open and then working with people we like. Number one.

Carmine Guida (:

I know it seems like we're, yeah, yeah, simple, you know, harder. It doesn't happen in practice a lot.

Melissa Swink (:

Yep, yep, absolutely. So if those of us, I'm just, I'll be honest, I am just kind of starting with the whole tax planning and strategy phase because I mean, I've always set aside money for taxes. I've set aside a percentage of all of our revenue into a savings account. And then I've always thankfully had enough to cover the taxes I need to pay in or paid in quarterly or whatever. But now that the business is continuing to grow,

We converted to an S-Corp this year, so things look a little bit different. I'm just kind of starting off with this. And so I'm also questioning, like, who do I need in my corner who can help advise me on these types of things? So I know I'm not alone in that for sure.

Carmine Guida (:

Mm.

Carmine Guida (:

Yeah. And that strategy that you're discussing even for yourself is kind like a survival strategy, right? It's like you're just putting money away into savings and, you know, hoping that that's what covers everything at the end of the year, which is a smart business practice, right? Better than most. but yeah, to have that clarity, to make sure that you're saving the right amount. Um, how much should you be, are you saving too much? And you could use the rest of the money as operating capital. You don't have to go into other kinds of credit or whatever. It's, know, it'd be good to have that clarity for yourself.

Melissa Swink (:

Mm-hmm.

Melissa Swink (:

Right.

love the way that you said that because you're right, it's kind of in survival mode. I was thinking even just like being very disciplined with, you know, kind of managing our funds and what's coming through, but you're right. I presently, I'll say it, I have no idea of about how much I need to be paying in. Like how much should be in my tax savings account right now based on where we're at. I have no idea.

Carmine Guida (:

It's like you're saving up for the zombie apocalypse, you know what I mean? You don't know if it's coming or not. That's what it's like, you're putting the money away. For the tax apocalypse.

Melissa Swink (:

Yes, you're right. I know, yes, the tax apocalypse. That's perfect. That's a perfect way to describe it. And I'll be honest with you, there were many years that tax time would get really stressful for me. Like, how much am I going to have to pay in? Am I going to get in trouble for something that I unknowingly didn't do? So then I think that lately in the last few years, I've been erring more on the side of

Carmine Guida (:

Mm.

Melissa Swink (:

I'm just going to throw a ton of money into my quarterly estimated payments and then I'm going to get a refund back. Thank God. Right. Right. Exactly. I have gotten a refund in the last couple of years. But then to your point though, that's also money that could have been used for something else. Yeah.

Carmine Guida (:

Hopefully, right? Yeah, hopefully.

Carmine Guida (:

Exactly. Listen, we have people who want to overpay and make sure that they're good. They'd rather get a refund. But we try to toe that line where you're paying enough so you don't pay estimated tax spending and all that stuff. So you have your money all year round.

Melissa Swink (:

Yes. Yeah, yeah, 100%. So kind of going into some of the common things that business owners may face and they would gain a whole lot of knowledge and really confidence from working with somebody like yourself. One of those things is also hiring employees or contractors.

Maybe there's a solopreneur listening who is thinking about bringing on a subcontractor to help with some of the work that's coming in or they're thinking about hiring maybe a receptionist for their office because they can't keep juggling, you know, the front desk and all the work that they're doing. What sort of tax implications should they be aware of or what are some of the steps that they should take to make sure that they're doing things appropriately?

Carmine Guida (:

For us, we like to use payroll companies as opposed to like doing something by yourself like a gusto or a quick books. Those seem to create more headaches than it's worth. having the cheaper option, you're responsible for a lot. You have to keep up on the updates and stuff like that yourself. So I mean, as it is, you got to shop around and somebody will always give you the best deal. But working with a payroll company is always his best.

Melissa Swink (:

Okay.

Melissa Swink (:

Mm.

Melissa Swink (:

Gotcha.

Carmine Guida (:

And then it's kind of like, you're going to do that, the payroll company also help if you're bringing on an employee, what documentation do you need? How should you handle it and record it? What the costs are going to be of having that employee on payroll with the, you know, the Medicare tax or security tax, unemployment, depending on what state you're in, how that's handled. Cause there's going to be different state tax rules too. So the payroll company will help navigate all of that. It's, it's a, it's kind of like working with an accountant, but specifically for payroll.

Melissa Swink (:

Yep.

Melissa Swink (:

Okay.

Melissa Swink (:

Yeah, yeah. That's good to know, because right now my bookkeeper handles all of that and she runs my payroll through QuickBooks. But that's definitely an interesting take. And that's also something that clients, when they start hiring employees, they're looking for, they usually term it as like an HR consultant. Or like an HR coach of some kind where they're like, I need somebody to be able to answer my questions in terms of like,

Carmine Guida (:

they should be able to help guide you along with that.

Melissa Swink (:

What paperwork do I need or do I need an employee handbook? And again, these are areas that we don't touch, but a payroll company might even be able to answer some of those questions too, it sounds like.

Carmine Guida (:

Yeah, no, absolutely. Absolutely. mean, it's one employee things are like on easy street. have clients who work with QuickBooks, right? They, they, everything's going well. They know how to operate it. They haven't had any issues. It's fine. But like I said, it's, it's very difficult if you ever call up and have a question, which actually we saw a lot of times with the, during the COVID area with the PPP loans and ERC, people trying to contact the payroll companies. And if you have QuickBooks is, know,

Melissa Swink (:

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Carmine Guida (:

It's tough to get someone on the phone who knows what they're talking about or can help guide you in the right direction when it came to that stuff.

Melissa Swink (:

Yep, yep, absolutely. Just out of curiosity, are there any particular payroll companies that you recommend?

Carmine Guida (:

the biggest thing for me is content. Yeah. Cause it wouldn't necessarily be one company over another. It's the representative you work with at a payroll company. Like we have such a strong relationship with the representative that we work with, or he services our clients with, know, with white gloves. And that's the most important thing to us. Like it just having somebody at the payroll company to call and make sure they answer your calls.

Melissa Swink (:

Or what to look for in a payroll company.

Melissa Swink (:

Okay.

Carmine Guida (:

and they're always willing to point you in the right direction, you need a single point of contact. That's the most important thing. Because otherwise you're still gonna, if you're gonna work with a major payroll company, you'll call up a number, you'll get passed through the ringer. You need somebody. That's the most important thing. So it could be whatever payroll company it is, as long as you have a point of contact, the salesperson is not just gonna hand you off and have you, know, good luck with my team. That won't matter. That's the person you need.

Melissa Swink (:

You're right.

Melissa Swink (:

Gotcha. Yeah, absolutely. If we keep going back to basics, the communication and doing business with people that you like and you trust, that's really at the end of the day, the most important thing. Yep. We keep going back to that direction. Okay. Another thing that I get talked to about frequently and things that even I wonder about for myself is what are some commonly overlooked deductions that scaling business owners often miss?

Carmine Guida (:

Yeah, simple and simple.

Carmine Guida (:

This is a good question because a lot of people think there's like some secret sauce, right? Like they're going to call somebody up and be like, what should I be taking advantage of? And they're looking for like, oh, buy a piece of equipment. You'll get triple the tax deduction or something like that. You know, it's not, there's not really any, any magic sauce, but the biggest thing that we see that everyone should be taking advantage of is the PTET, the pass through entity tax. Most States have it.

And if you're an escorp or a partnership, you pay tax at the entity level and you're able to deduct it on your business return. And that's something that we see maybe one out of two clients knows about and takes advantage of before they, before they meet us. And then it's like, you know, we talk it through and make sure it works for them, which is 99 % of the time it does work for these people. Um, but yeah, that's commonly overlooked, not knowing that we can deduct the state tax and have the entity pay the tax on your behalf.

Melissa Swink (:

Okay?

Carmine Guida (:

then we get a deduction. mean, yeah, the salt tax limit, right, the state and local tax was just expanded to 40,000 with the big beautiful bill. But that's assuming you itemize deductions and it can work for you. The pass through any tax, everybody could deduct it no matter what happens on their personal return. They deduct it at the business level. So that's probably the biggest thing that I would say everyone should be taking advantage of. That's very simple.

Melissa Swink (:

Mm-hmm.

Melissa Swink (:

Okay, I'm sitting here nodding going like, yes, that makes perfect sense. I know all about this. I don't. So case in point, I'm learning along with our audience. Like I have no idea what that is. I should probably look into that. So yes, we'll definitely have to have a follow-up conversation, it sounds like. Absolutely. So on the flip side of things when it comes to deductions, what are some of the things that people think?

Carmine Guida (:

See?

Carmine Guida (:

Yeah.

Carmine Guida (:

That works.

Melissa Swink (:

should be deductible, but often are not. Is there anything that you can think of that's a common theme that's misunderstood?

Carmine Guida (:

normally it's people just trying to push the envelope. You know what I mean? It's like, it's something that, yeah, I get it. You use it for X, Y, and Z, but you know, like I'm taking my wife out to dinner. Like it's not, yeah. Is your wife a client or an employee? Maybe, but like, you know, it's not, I'm not buying it. You know, just trying to push the envelope.

Melissa Swink (:

Okay.

Melissa Swink (:

Yep, yep. It happens to be your anniversary and clearly we're going to talk business. That's really funny. Yes. Yes.

Carmine Guida (:

Yeah. They're just, yeah. But that will happen till the end of time. Everyone will be trying to do stuff like that forever.

Melissa Swink (:

Yeah, yeah, 100%. It's interesting because I personally know business owners. Now, I would put them in the category of more hobbyist business owners where this is not necessarily what they're doing to provide for their families, put food on the table and things like that. But the income is kind of nice and they have fun doing it. But I say that because I know many people who fall into this category

that they just think, well, I don't want to show that I made any money. I just want to break even so then I don't have to pay taxes. But then they hold themselves back at the same time by doing that.

Carmine Guida (:

Yeah, yeah. mean, it's things have changed so much where it's beneficial for you truly to show the income. mean, nobody likes paying taxes, but it's beneficial. You need a loan, right? A lot of people we work with trying to buy a house, refinance, get business loans. You need to show money to get money from the bank. Nowadays, it's not, you know, can't just give them a piece of paper. They want bank statements. They want tax returns. So it's beneficial.

Melissa Swink (:

Right. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, that's something that I can certainly relate to, because you need to be able to show buying power at the end of the day. If you're showing that you're not making any money and then you go to apply for a loan, the two cannot be true. Both cannot be true. Yes. Yes. It's interesting. People have a lot of money stories, which I'm sure that you run into those all the time.

Carmine Guida (:

Mm-hmm.

Carmine Guida (:

Right. Right.

Carmine Guida (:

Yes, yes, unfortunately, but it's okay. That's what we're here for, part therapist.

Melissa Swink (:

Right, yes. I would imagine that you are at times where somebody comes in or they have a quarterly meeting with you and they're like, okay, this happened and that happened and that happened. Now, what do I do? And you're hearing the whole story and you're advising along the way.

Carmine Guida (:

Yeah, absolutely. It happens all the time. And I would say the most is during tax season, because we see those people once a year. So when they come in, they go over their whole year, good or bad. And it's like, you know, we sit there and talk about their personal life for a while. It's like a therapist. They let everything out. We know these people for a while. They're comfortable with it.

Melissa Swink (:

you

Melissa Swink (:

Yes.

Melissa Swink (:

Yep, yep, absolutely, absolutely. Okay, the last thing that I want to touch on before we kind of wrap things up, because I want to make sure that our audience knows where they can find you, because if anybody's like me they're listening to this going like, hmm, there's a lot of things that I don't know, I really do need to have a conversation with Carmine. So what are some habits or systems that entrepreneurs can put into place now so that they are audit ready just in case and to reduce that risk?

Carmine Guida (:

Let's say big thing is separating personal and business expenses as much as you can. That's a big help. mean, can you have personal things on the business and we could show that as distributions and not expensive? Yes, but from the IRS perspective, whenever they look at somebody's information, it's more beneficial to have everything separate. There's no confusion. They're not questioning everything. That's a big piece. And really giving yourself a good document retention guideline.

in terms of receipts, credit card statements, line of credit statements, anything that it is, whether it be digital or physical. Having digital copies is pretty easy nowadays and you can print everything out if you ever needed the physical paper copy.

Melissa Swink (:

Okay, gotcha, gotcha, absolutely. So going back to some of the basics, not co-mingling personal and business, but then also having the appropriate documentation that you need.

Carmine Guida (:

Yeah.

Carmine Guida (:

Yeah, I'd say it's the perfect starting point.

Melissa Swink (:

Yeah, absolutely. Are there any particular tools or apps that you personally recommend or that you know clients are using in order to keep track of some of these things?

Carmine Guida (:

People use a lot of different stuff. mean, I think, I forgot the name, Dext was one that somebody is using, which is fine. mean, QuickBooks has the capability where you can attach things to transactions and receipts and they've streamlined that process. So that's good too. And that ties right into the financial records. And even as simple as like OneDrive or Google Drive, know, something simple like that, know, separating things and organizing it in your own cloud storage is an effective way of doing it as well.

Melissa Swink (:

Yeah, I'll be honest that pretty much any receipt for any software subscriptions or certainly, you know, invoices that I get from our vendors, anything like that, they all have a folder in our accounting email box where it's all in there. So if anybody asks, we have it. So, and it's searchable, you know, that way by date and things. Gone are the days I think are the shoe boxes of receipts.

Carmine Guida (:

Yeah. Well, I mean, we still have one client who brings us a shoe box of stuff every year, but now it's just like a funny joke, but yeah, it's only one person.

Melissa Swink (:

One out of how many? You know what I mean? Like one out many. Right. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. Well, Carmine, this has been very, very informative. Thank you so much. I think overall what I've gotten from this is that really business owners who are actively growing and scaling need to have a relationship with a tax accountant that they like and that they can communicate well with, they feel comfortable with and enjoy working with.

Carmine Guida (:

Hundreds, right, yeah.

Carmine Guida (:

you

Carmine Guida (:

Yeah.

Melissa Swink (:

And then having regular conversations throughout the year are going to be a game changer for them when it comes to tax preparation.

Carmine Guida (:

Yeah, yeah, you nailed it.

Melissa Swink (:

Yeah, absolutely. So to our audience who's listening, where can we connect with you or find you online?

Carmine Guida (:

So I'm on LinkedIn as Carmine Guida Jr. And we have a business Instagram account, Basso underscore Guida underscore LLC, all spelled out. And we try to release a lot of content on there, blog updates, stuff like that. Not really too much of my partner and I quacking around and the activities that we do, more just like educational stuff.

Melissa Swink (:

Yep. Yep. Okay. Gotcha. So value added information for sure. Love it. Love it. Absolutely. Well, again, thank you so much for taking the time to have this conversation. Really appreciate you. And thank you to our audience for tuning into today's episode. I will be back with another episode next week of Make Space for More, where we'll discuss some more tips, tools, and strategies to grow your business beyond you. Have a wonderful day, everyone. Bye-bye.

Carmine Guida (:

Yes. Yeah.

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