Because we've been there — not just as accountants, but as people who've worked in the kind of businesses you run.
Scott VanSlooten spent 16 years inside a millwork company on Jacksonville's north side — not as an outside consultant, but as the person responsible for making the numbers work day after day. He understands job costing because he's built job cost reports for real projects. He understands cash flow pressure because he's felt it firsthand.
Ron Ross took a different road — from 14 years on an auto assembly line in Kentucky, to banking, to earning his bachelor's and master's degrees in accounting, to 11 years as an accounting manager across small, mid-size, and large organizations. His background spans manufacturing and corporate finance, and he has a rare ability to make business owners feel comfortable being honest about their finances.
We built Cross Bookkeeping and Tax because small business owners deserve more than generic bookkeeping. They deserve a team that understands their industry, speaks plainly, and is genuinely invested in their success.
"Get back to running your business, instead of your business running you."
On every consultation, you get both of us — Ron leads the conversation and puts you at ease, Scott brings the technical depth and trade industry knowledge.
Ron's path to accounting wasn't straight — and that's exactly what makes him a better partner for business owners who've built something from the ground up. After nearly 14 years as an auto worker in Kentucky, Ron made a career change, transitioned into banking, and earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees in accounting along the way.
He's spent the last 11 years as an accounting manager across organizations ranging from small teams to companies with over 1,000 employees — in industries from manufacturing to software. That range means he's seen almost every financial challenge a small business can face.
What sets Ron apart isn't just his experience — it's his ability to make clients feel at ease talking honestly about their finances. Most business owners are embarrassed about how behind their books are. Ron's approach makes that conversation feel safe, not shameful.
Scott has been working with numbers since 1992 — but what sets him apart isn't the years, it's where he's spent them.
For 16 years, Scott managed the financials for a millwork company on Jacksonville's north side. That means he understands the real-world complexity of a trade business: job costing, seasonal cash flow, payroll for crews, managing costs across multiple projects simultaneously. He's not guessing at what your business looks like from the inside — he's lived it.
When a contractor or trade business owner sits across from Scott, they're not talking to someone who learned their world from a textbook. They're talking to someone who's been in it.
Scott is a certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor with a passion for creating order from financial chaos. If your books are a mess, he's exactly the person you want in your corner.
We won't hide behind jargon or make your finances more complicated than they need to be. Plain language, honest answers.
We work with contractors, trade businesses, and small business owners. We speak your language because we've used it ourselves.
Your books will be clean, current, and compliant. No surprises at tax time. No errors that come back to haunt you.
When you call, you'll talk to Ron or Scott — not a call center. We're local, we're accessible, and we're genuinely invested in your success.
The first consultation is free. No pressure, no jargon — just an honest conversation about where your books are and how we can help.