Credentials and experience

Where it started. I grew up in a working-class household in Austin, and I learned early that the people who depend on you notice whether the work gets done right. Accounting suited that.

Learning the mechanics. My first accounting job was inventory control at Samuels Jewelers. I reconciled and maintained inventory across the chain, ran store-level bank reconciliations every month, and helped coordinate company-wide counts twice a year. It taught me something I still rely on: a balance is only as good as the count behind it.

Corporate accounting at scale. From 2019 to 2022 I was a corporate staff accountant at American Campus Communities, then a publicly traded real estate company. I ran monthly, quarterly, and year-end closes, reconciled intercompany accounts for wholly owned subsidiaries, and compiled and presented the Canadian subsidiary’s financial statements, including currency conversion into the parent company’s reporting. It taught me to hit hard close deadlines and keep the books organized month after month, so year-end ran smoothly.

Controller of a venture-backed software company. In 2022 I joined Get-Grin Inc. as Lead Accountant and was promoted to Assistant Controller and then Controller. As Controller I ran the full finance function: close, US GAAP reporting and revenue recognition, cash planning, budgeting and forecasting, financial modeling, management and board reporting, and audit coordination. I managed the company’s outside accounting and tax providers. I learned to connect budgets, forecasts, commercial metrics, revenue planning and cash to leadership decisions.

Controllership and FP&A for a private family office. In 2026 a private family office brought me in to rebuild its books and balance-sheet support and produce owner, lender and tax reporting tied to those books, reporting directly to ownership across a multi-entity portfolio of real estate, operating businesses and investments. I also budgeted and reforecast one of its operating businesses, assembled lender packages, put bank-side payment controls in place and underwrote acquisitions ownership was considering.

What I bring.

• Books you can rely on: reconciled accounts, corrected records and a dependable close, including multi-entity books and fixed-asset support.
• Reporting that explains results: owner, lender and tax packages from one tied set of books, and a regular cash report that shows where cash is heading.
• Plans tied to decisions: budgets, forecasts and financial models that show what a hire, a spend or an acquisition does to cash before you commit.

The work below shows each of these in practice.

The engagement. We start with your goals and decisions. I assess the records as needed, recommend a scope, and agree deliverables, timing, fees and responsibilities with you in writing before implementation.

Who does the work. I do. You work directly with me, with no hand-off to junior staff.

Working model. Remote by default, with in-person meetings around Austin when they help. I work in the accounting system and tools you already use, and deliver reporting as interactive dashboards or in the format you prefer. Systems I’ve worked in include QuickBooks Online and Desktop, Bill.com, Stripe, Gusto, Carta, and MRI.

• Certified Public Accountant, Texas.
• JR Gonzales CPA, PLLC, a Texas professional limited liability company formed in 2026.