Summary
Challenge: Red Ace needed to centralize operations across 20+ entities and eliminate inefficiencies tied to fragmented accounting systems and workflows. The firm had several entities lacking any accounting software, and its manual processes slowed reconciliation, reporting, and oversight.
Solution: Red Ace selected SumIt Software based on its white-glove onboarding approach, deep understanding of family office needs, and ability to scale cost-effectively without sacrificing usability or support.
Result: Red Ace is now fully live and closing in SumIt. The team has seen significant acceleration in its month-end workflows and enjoys the benefit of SumIt’s advanced, centralized entity management.
Customer Overview
Red Ace Capital Management is a private investment office overseeing a diverse set of entities, investments, and financial operations. As the team matured, they faced increasing pressure to consolidate their data infrastructure and modernize internal processes — all while maintaining lean staffing and controlling costs.
Built on the principles of flexibility and fiduciary excellence, Red Ace values precision in reporting and strong internal controls. The team’s evolving needs necessitated a platform that could scale with complexity while remaining simple and intuitive for daily use.
Challenges
When Red Ace first approached SumIt, they were operating lean. They were operating with only two employees in the back office.
Red Ace needed a way to migrate and centralize accounting across dozens of entities, replace error-prone manual processes, and eliminate costly QuickBooks instances for low-activity entities.
They sought out a new software vendor that would act as a partner and could support a smooth transition without adding additional implementation burdens.
Evaluation Process
Red Ace evaluated several alternatives, including Sage, SEI Archway, and Intuit’s QuickBooks Enterprise. QuickBooks Enterprise was a heavy contender, but, although it offered an “immediate” switch, it still required internal lift.
SumIt ultimately stood out from other options initially because of the team’s responsiveness, adaptability, and ability to understand the nuances of family office operations.
David Fried, Chief Financial Officer at Red Ace, shared that talking to SumIt and sharing the actual challenges made a difference in the evaluation process. “We’re family offices,” he said, “Any money we’re spending is literally out of the principal’s pocket. So everyone is extremely cost-sensitive and can move quickly if you’re giving them what they need. SumIt fit that purpose.”
The ultimate decision came down to the implementation lift. Red Ace had been holding off on switching systems largely because onboarding felt like such a heavy burden. When SumIt outlined their approach, i.e., doing the actual work of getting the information into the system, the Red Ace team had the confidence they needed to pull the trigger.
“The onboarding is such a heavy lift… that was a major reason why we were holding off converting. The way you guys did it — and your support — made it much easier.” — David Fried, Chief Financial Officer at Red Ace
Solution
Solution
Red Ace decided to choose SumIt Software as its partner for its family office operations. Since kicking off with SumIt, Red Ace has grown its internal finance team from just two team members to a full bench, including a dedicated assistant controller.
Having a growing team has helped Red Ace take fuller advantage of SumIt’s reporting features, including custom reporting.
The Red Ace team also expressed excitement over continuous touchpoints with the SumIt team, where they can evaluate the roadmap and give feedback on the product. The dynamic feels more like a partnership rather than a traditional software transaction.
Key Results
Red Ace went fully live with SumIt on July 1, 2025, and saw an immediate improvement in how they operate.
The most notable transformations include accelerated month-end workflows. Red Ace’s previous system of reviewing Amex transactions was always at month end, plus a couple of extra days. Now, the team reports that they’re pushing that review 10 or 15 days earlier and “just running it” from SumIt.
Further, Red Ace now has one place for 22 different entities, instead of manually logging into 22 different QuickBooks instances.
A final but notable piece that the Red Ace team highlighted was SumIt’s customer service. “It’s been exceptional,” cited David Fried. To this day, the team works closely with SumIt, even post-onboarding, and meets weekly with the Customer Success team to ensure consistent results and smooth operations.
Advice To Other Family Offices
The Red Ace team concludes with advice to other family offices considering a transition. “Be specific,” said David Fried, “and evaluate what you're actually trying to solve for? It’s not that solutions like QuickBooks were inefficient, but we had to ask ourselves why QuickBooks was inefficient for us specifically.”
And, for Red Ace, the driver was clear: dozens of entities with low transaction volume were too expensive and time-consuming to maintain under a traditional setup. “Putting everything into QuickBooks wasn’t going to be cost or time-efficient,” David explained, “It would have cost $100 per month for one transaction.”
He also cautioned that software is only as good as the data behind it. Red Ace now has a scalable platform alongside a growing team, and the team feels confident in their choice to partner with SumIt as their technology vendor.
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