I've been with Smeed for several years and have always received personalized care for my personal and business entities. It's been comforting knowing I have a team to help navigate the complexities of accounting and taxes...my business books have never been this organized and consistent. Michael is a tax wiz, and it's especially awesome knowing that he's so versed in the tax law and the minute changes that allude a lot of CPAs in my experience. read more

This will be a long review, so TLDR: if you value honesty, integrity, organization, accuracy, personalized tax guidance, and good customer service, DO NOT use Smeed CPA for their tax services. I unfortunately did not give much weight to the negative reviews I saw of them, and have now paid the price with my money, time, energy, and sanity. When my husband and I agreed to work with Smeed, we thought we were getting CPAs that we could trust and would help us navigate this complicated tax system as new business owners. Unfortunately, they turned out to be dishonest, not honoring promises made when we signed up, disorganized in planning our meetings and tax returns, and did not provide good tax advice for the stage we were at in our businesses, recommending we do an S-Election when we weren't even profitable yet (luckily, due to their disorganization, the documents were never actually filed). They didn't truly understand our businesses, or at the very least, greatly oversimplified them, and seemed to offer a one size fits all solution for tax planning. Not to mention, they are very unresponsive to email communications, which required us to reach out several times and in some instances having to call before we got a response. This entire experience was a nightmare that was dragged out for entirely too long. Our 2021 tax return was not completed until January 2023, and that was only after me getting fed up and letting them know I'd be doing a chargeback on my credit card if they did not complete our returns. Then they had the nerve to push the blame on us and our bookkeeping, when we were looking to their guidance all year and doing what they told us to do as our CPAs. They knew we were new business owners. They took it upon themselves to recommend entity types, all kinds of documents and meeting minutes we should keep and notarize, getting hotel event space quotes, but apparently ensuring we had proper bookkeeping was out of scope? They didn't even let us know what documents they would need from us for tax filing until it was tax filing time, leaving us scrambling, and all the other documents they had us working on all year turned out to be irrelevant and a waste of time. Fast forward to filing our 2022 tax return, we have found a CPA who actually cares enough to fully understand our tax situation and they have found multiple glaring issues with our 2021 return, requiring us to do an amendment. Smeed preaches education, which is what drew us to them as new business owners, but they are not educating you on information specific to your situation, just general tax loopholes. All in all, highly DO NOT RECOMMEND. They did not provide the support and guidance expected of a CPA, and we ultimately overpaid for an INCORRECT personal tax return. read more

We've reached out multiple times with no avail. They don't answer the phone or their emails. They charged for financial planning, and then canceled the meetings without reason, and did not provide the service. We just got a call from the IRS that they didn't even file our returns in 2019, and we paid for those services. We've continued to reach out daily, but they have no active extensions or potentially are lying about being in business. Absolutely do not recommend. read more

Pretty mediocre customer service. They gaslighted me telling me I was in the wrong after I sent them multiple emails. They don't send you estimated tax forms so you get a bunch of fees at the end of the year. Wasn't impressed by their service at all. Pretty much just like all subpar CPAs. Overpriced too. $1850 dollars for filing where other CPAs charge 750. Save your self the dough and search for someone else. That was my second year working with them and couldn't return for a third. read more

March 2018 - Take a calculator with you! Went for a consultation for tax purposes in regards to capital gains. The calculations were done mentally and stupid me did not check his math! Needless to say my Mom and I walked out shocked at the information to find out later the calculations were off by about 200k! Thank goodness our realtor noticed the math error. I was charged $100 for a 30 minute consultation. The 30 minute complimentary appointment posted online at the time was an error on their website and should have been removed. Requested a discount or refund and they refused! Would not recommend this company to anyone! Update 2019 - sell and move was completed with money in the bank after captial gains paid!! Thanks for the shock and awe placed on my elderly mother and myself - thank heavens we did not listen to your advice! read more

Ok I have a company in contra costa I did business with smeed cpa for the from 2013 to 2017 they have a portal where they are supposed to upload all your documents on February 2017 they stopped uploading employees pay stub to the portal they where not providing paper pay stubs either for employees with direct deposit. on June 2017 they stop uploading p&l's to the portal due to that we had 2 meetings with Michael and Zoraya they said that they were going to fix it they never did, on December 2017 I received an email from Michael saying that there was going to be an increase in the monthly charge. I did not take any chances and switch accountants I have an employee that has his identity stolen. the IRS is asking him for all his pay stubs from 2017 I contacted smeed to get the pay stubs that they never uploaded to their portal they want to charge me $400 dollars to give me the documents that belong to me and we paid for this is a copy of the email that i received from them Hello Ismael, My name is Trina, I have taken over payroll at SMEED. I have reviewed your account- currently you will find payroll processing reports in the client portal that was previously established for you. These reports do not include individual paystubs, but they do have all of the same information that you would need. If you would like me to reset your password to your account please let me know. Since your account has been terminated with SMEED and our payroll processing service there will be an additional fee to reactivate your account as well as a monthly fee to pull the paystubs, as summarized below. If you would like us to reactivate your account please let me know so I can issue a invoice for payment in full and an engagement letter for signature prior to pulling the requested information. Fee per month to pull reports 25.00 12 months x 12 Annual Fee to Pull Reports $ 300.00 SMEED Payroll Reactivation Fee 100.00 Payroll Invoice Total $400.00 Please let me know if you have any questions and how you would like to proceed. "To ensure faster processing, please send ALL payroll related emails to payroll@smeedcpa.com and ALL Client Request/Source Documents to clientservices@smeedcpa.com read more

I have had the opportunity to get to know Michael, owner of Smeed CPA. He came highly recommended by friends who had used him for their business accounting needs. He is a an all round great guy! His company/team are highly professional, passionate and knowledgeable in their field of accounting/CPA. I recently had them assist in my business taxes. I am very happy with their service & results. read more

I was so excited to support a minority owned business in the East Bay. That is, until I called and found out that they charge a minimum of 1,000 for personal income tax. I thought I was mistaken and proceeded to ask- what if the person doesn't own a business, no assets, no earned income credit etc. I'm just curious? Do you have a tiered program for W2 only - no additional doc filers? The very kind lady repeated the 1,000.00 minimum. I am completely taken aback this -after all this is not SF or Santa Clara County- you have out priced the major markets?! Wow! read more

I have been using Smeed CPA since 2016 when I bought a house in California. I owned a condo out of state, too, and I knew it was too much for me to do on my own. They've consistently helped me every year since then. They are so thorough and helpful--and they're fast, too! read more

Smead CPA is a great Tax, Accounting Firm. I've been a customer with them for 3 - 4 years. The Services have been great. Very Friendly group. I've been pleased with the results for my personal and Estate/Trust Tax. I highly recommend their services for Tax, Accounting, Trust/Estate Tax services. Sharon D. read more

The SMEED Team rocks! My first encounter was last year when i needed some help dealing with the IRS. SMEED responded quickly, professionally, and resolved the matter in days - at a fair price too! This is the second year I am using SMEED for my taxes. They do a great job. The Client online website is easy to use and makes it possible for me to engage them on any device, anywhere, anytime. read more

I own a small business and recently started using Smeed CPA. They do accounting and financial planning in Brentwood CA. At our first meeting, I was most impressed by Michael's true interest and curiosity about our business. He was very knowledgeable about accounting (you think that would be a given, but I think I know more about accounting than our last CPA). Michael and his team (which is extensive) have quickly resolved the issues our last CPA created and are filing correct returns that are now due under a deadline. I have also met twice with their financial planner, Pablo, and was equally impressed with him. They are both very clear and give as much information as you want to have. You will quickly come to know they're strongly committed to being thorough, fast, and ethical. read more

Smeed Cpa - Accountants Near Me - Brentwood, California

Great staff, great customer service, very lovely office and location. I am very pleased to learn that my previous accountant chose such a great team for me to work with. Look forward to having my taxes done with them! Happy Client! read more

If I could give this business zero stars I would. Their website claims they do a 30 minute private consultation for free but when you call to request the consultation they tell you that they're not doing that service at this time. Talk about false advertising!!! In addition, their receptionist Trina doesn't know how to return phone calls when she needs to ask a question about the consultation (essentially whether they are offering what they are advertising). So in essence they literally wanted to charge me $100 to answer a few questions. We required nothing more just a few questions answered. If you want to get ripped off and treated horribly go to SMEED!! While I appreciate your response your lack of accountability for your own business website with no sense of making it right shows what type of business owner you are. It's your responsibility and that is the problem with most businesses nowadays. You should have made it right and offered to honor what is clearly on your website. Wishing you all the best but I hope people see how you treat potential clients/customers. I will keep searching for someone to answer a few questions. read more

I took a chance and stepped out on my old CPA because I was not satisfied with the tax savings that were being presented each year based on their evaluation. Smeed saved me a substantial amount of money in tax savings and I have zero regrets for leaving my old CPA. I'm so grateful for the knowledge and attention to detail that Smeed has provided me! read more

I have used Smeed CPA for the past 8 years and have been very pleased with the results. They are very professional and responsive. I use them for both my personal and corporate taxes and want to recommend them with a 5tar rating read more

Class act professionals!! We were looking for an accounting firm that could confidently handle our somewhat complicated situation. We couldn't be happier to have found Michael, Karen, and the rest of this wonderful group! During our initial meeting with Michael, he exhibited a depth of knowledge and interest in his field (and beyond!) that immediately put us at ease. The firm has excellent resources at their hands and makes it very easy to interact and communicate. Karen is a pro and easily and quickly completed our taxes. Not only is this group professional, but they are all very warm and friendly!! As extremely happy clients, we HIGHLY recommend them! read more

Smeed has my business. They're square, efficient and dependable. In addition to using this firm myself, I have recommended them to a client, who also reports very satisfactory results. I can testify to personal and small business tax preparation services, handled as a new client at the height of tax season, without fuss or frenzy. Very impressive. The firm has made decisions (and investments) to automate their business line, and these shows up as throughput and simplicity for the client. I plan to consult Smeed again as I prepare to make some capital investments and to re-organize finances. I feel very comfortable recommending them to the yelp community. Alex I'm adding that after I wrote this review, and BEFORE it was posted (still in draft-mode) I received an unsolicited gift card for 50.00 from Smeed thanking me for a referral. Now that's customer service! read more

My wife and I moved to California from Michigan in July of 2014. Due to the fact that we had income from Michigan and moving to the state of CA we thought it was imperative to have our taxes completed by a professional tax service. I researched various tax services in the Brentwood area for a couple of weeks and narrowed my choices to three. After calling to get a ball park figure of cost, we decided to go with Smeed. In one weeks time we had our appointment and 2 weeks later our taxes were complete. We met with Jennifer who was friendly and professional and in approx. 1 hour we were out of the office. We are very satisfied with our experience with Smeed and would recommend them and Jennifer. Jeff S. read more

I was late on my refund for 2014 and had my taxes completed for 2014 & 2015. Office staff was very helpful and professional. Michael was fast and efficient. I love how everything is paperless and online, makes things neat, easy to find and store. The client portal is easy to use and user friendly. Good experience will go back! read more

The accountants at SMEED are both knowledgeable and courteous. Also they are reasonably priced. I love the fact that they scan all my documents into my own personal and secure portal for reference whenever I need to check on those documents. Never had this done before from a tax preparer. They don't rush the tax returns because I believe they are looking at them from every angle to get you the best refund you can so don't expect to get it back immediately. Thanks again! read more

I've just started using smeed tax service last couple years and I must say that I am satisfied with the service. you can have it done electronically like faxes and scans or walk in and do it that way me myself I like to walk in person and do my taxes I'm more old fashioned but either way they help you and there are nice and helpful and most importantly the price is reasonable hopeful it stays that way I WOULD RECOMMEND this service to anybody so don't be shy and give them a call read more

Smeed was great and easy to work with! I called them and the next day they were already going on my taxes. A few days later it was all finished and ready to go. The process was super easy. We uploaded all of our documents online and they contacted us with additional questions. We will definitely use them again! read more

Smeed CPA, Inc. was incredibly organized, efficient and timely. The easiest and transparent tax return process that I've ever done.

This year was my first and last time taking my taxes to SMEED. Very unprofessional, took 3 weeks to receive my taxes back (which are very simple) I called/ emailed during this process to make sure everything was moving along smoothly and no returns! Zoyora was the person I was dealing with and when I finally did get a hold of her she was very rude and unprofessional. I'm not sure how there is so many positive reviews but I would nit recommend SMEED to anyone. read more

Recently moved to Brentwood and have always done our own taxes. Given this was the first year we were filing as first time home buyers we felt the need to go to a professional. We scheduled an appointment fairly quickly to go over all of our documents and our taxes were filed within a week. They've been extremely helpful and patient through all of our questions and we'll definitely go to them again! read more

I had my taxes done here based on all these Yelp reviews and boy was that a mistake! They have ZERO customer service I have been waiting 2 weeks for a call back and still nothing! I've left 2 messages with requests for a call back. I gave them all my paperwork 2 weeks ago with a promise of having my taxes done by then. Still nothing! Maybe as accountants for small businesses they are good, but for the love of God if you want your taxes done by a competent company please go elsewhere. By the way I don't have complicated taxes either so I don't know why 2 weeks is not enough time. read more

Our previous accountant told us to turn our business into an S-Corp, which we did, then he decided to reduce the size of his practice and left us trying to figure out how to do our taxes for 2013 (1/2 as a sole proprietor and 1/2 as an S-Corp). I met with Michael and he answered a ton of my questions, as well as gave me a deal on getting all our expenses/costs/income from 2013 inputted into Quickbook, which our business had never used. I worked with Kaitlyn for the next month helping her sort out which expense was for what, and which cost was attributed to which client, and she finally got us all caught up. She was going to teach me how to use QuickBooks so that I could continue on my own, but partway into my "lesson", I realized there was so much I could easily get confused about and decided to hire them to keep up with my accounting every month. As a new business I wasn't sure we could afford to hire them, but I'm afraid of how much it will cost me in the long run if I don't. read more

Saved our business thousands!! With their knowledge and experience, Smeed is able to take care of all our complicated tax needs. We feel confident in Michael's abilities and he is patient when dealing with our multiple tax questions. read more

I went to Michael for some tax advice regarding an IRA I was inheriting. He was very clear on options, honest as to his feelings, and quickly processed the numbers I needed the same day in order to make my decision. He was very professional and knowledgeable, as well as friendly and kind to work with. I would highly recommend him to anyone needing a knowledgeable CPA and will not hesitate to return to him with any of my future needs. Thank you! read more