Holmes & Swafford CPAs

Erin O'Rourke

a year ago

I couldn't be more grateful to Holmes and Swafford!! A few years ago I had a new side hustle and was completely clueless about how that would impact my tax filings. I couldn't get appointments at any of the other places I called, so I was surprised and relieved when they had availability. Kevin Swafford helped me sift through all my paperwork and made sure I was on top of all the filings I needed to do. I was confused about a sales tax issue, so he called up the government office on the spot so we could get clarification. Once we knew what to do, he had his office manager, Melissa, file it for me and it was finished before I left. Melissa is also super sweet and very helpful! Just got my taxes done there for the third time, and I'm consistently impressed with the level of attention to detail and help I've gotten. A planner is emailed each year in the fall, and they were on top of a change in the filings this year and let me know about that. My tax situation is changing, so Kevin went over the various things I could do to prepare for it when I file for 2025. My friend is always telling me I should just do it myself - but honestly after my experience with Holmes and Swafford I don't think I ever would again. Their knowledge of the law and the guidance I've consistently received has made me a loyal client.

Ryan Johnson

12 months ago

They do fine work on tax returns but aren’t responsive to the needs of a small business. When hired, I was under the impression I would meet with Mr. Swafford twice per year to go over my financial picture. That never materialized. I’m sure they will respond that I didn’t follow up on that, which is true, but managing customers requires leadership and their business model places all the burden on the client to coordinate their needs. That was a bad fit for me because I’m not in financial service, so I need some leadership as to what I need to do. I had asked for monthly profit and loss statements, but they were incapable of providing that kind of service. The yearly profit and loss statement was accurate as to the total figure; however, did not provide any data that I needed for daily decision making. For example, my marketing firm was labeled as a subscription service. That means I can’t look at a document and find out how much was spent on marketing because they blurred that expense with things like our internet subscription. I had provided a key that listed every item on my bank statements and credit cards and what the service meant. (i.e. affinipay solutions would be processing fees for credit cards). I update this list each year and it was not used. No one ever went over how expenses where quantified in my Quickbooks or used the material I provided to update them. I’ll note there is nothing wrong with that for tax purposes, they were all proper business expenses and qualified as such, but you couldn’t make any sort of decisions on the data they returned to you. My business had an internal issue where a staff member had to leave for a well-founded family emergency. I needed the financial data that I had as we needed to hire new people. Granted, I did request it quickly and assertively, but that should have been in place some months prior. They let me go as a client 9 days before my income taxes were due. They had all the information necessary to prepare for several months minus an interest statement on a small loan. I am giving them a mid-tier review because they can provide adequate work; however, they could not provide the level of customer service I needed. They really should have discharged me earlier or never taken me in the first place as it was a bad fit. These frustration were very stressful and led to a poor and caustic relationship, so I’m ultimately glad to move onto a firm more responsive to my needs. I think they are to because money couldn't motivate the firm to do the work requested. I would remove this review if my profit and loss statements where made accurate in a timely manner and someone scheduled an in person meeting with me to review the classifications of expenses and a commitment to monthly accounting was made in writing, so if you see this review, know that was not offered. However, I don't think the business is built for that request. 4/10 edits: I never received a call, but did receive a portal message that it was best we not work together anymore and they would get me my documents and file extensions on my behalf. This wasn't followed up with so I mad an in person appointment. The document where uploaded to my client portal; however, my portal was deleted 45 minutes after upload. I emailed Mr. Swafford and Ms. Felton about this since I was not given an appropriate amount of time to retrieve the documents. They sent my a link to the documentation. The Extension for my excise tax did not have the correct address or business name on it. When I asked for that to be corrected I was informed it was already submitted. I had asked how to pre pay for my 2024 tax burden since I didn't want a late fee. I was provided a extension form 4868, which has a box on it to pay in this situation. The address provided in that document was not the correct address to send payment to. Accordingly, I would have received a late penalty if I had not double checked these documents.

Nam Schmelzer

a year ago

I recently had an experience with Holmes & Swafford that fell far short of my expectations, especially given their good online reviews. Initially, I worked with one of their associates during my first year, and I found her responses to my questions about tax filing to be unhelpful and vague. It seemed that she was merely gathering my information without providing any real guidance. I later learned that Tim, the owner, is supposed to sign off on all files, which made me question the efficiency of their system, especially considering the prices they charge. As tax season approached, my husband and I had some questions and decided to reach out. We were fortunate that Tim answered the call. He was knowledgeable and helpful, which encouraged us to schedule an appointment to file our taxes with him. However, when I needed to reschedule due to a change in my husband’s work schedule, my experience took a turn for the worse. The receptionist I spoke to was dismissive when I requested to specifically work with Tim. Despite my insistence that I would like to see him, she repeatedly stated that “everyone here is good” and my response was “not really” she then said “don’t come if you don’t think so” and ended the call abruptly with a rude remark, I was shocked by her unprofessional behavior. 😱 My husband then called back and spoke to Laura, who seemed to exhibit a similar attitude. To my surprise, I learned that the receptionist who hung up on me was Sherri, Tim’s wife. This revelation only deepened my disappointment, as I couldn’t believe that a business with such positive reviews could behave this way. I attempted to reach out to the Mount Juliet (the bad experience was located in Murfreesboro) location to express my concerns, but it became clear that the management did not care about customer feedback, which solidified my decision to take my business elsewhere. It’s disheartening to see a firm with multiple locations and high fees act in such a dismissive manner toward clients.

Sarah M

2 years ago

I recently had the absolute pleasure of working with Kevin, Melissa, and Jenny and I must say, my experience was truly exceptional. From start to finish, they demonstrated professionalism, expertise, and outstanding customer service. What really impressed me about Kevin and team was how quickly they finished my return while still upholding the most outstanding attention to detail. They were incredibly thorough, meticulous, and unbelievably prompt in their work, leaving no stone unturned. I was left in a real bind from the previous company I used and Kevin and team saved me. I truly cannot recommend them enough!!!

Rachael Weaver

a year ago

I went to see Kevin Swafford for help with a letter from the IRS. It only took an hour and he had everything taken care of. I’m now confident that everything is in order. He also assured me that should any letter come back from the IRS stating that I still owed, he would be there to intervene/assist. I would definitely recommend them to anyone.