“SumIt let us move from constantly fixing errors to actually focusing on strategic decisions.” — Christophe Poline, Chief Financial Officer at TRM
TRM is a multi-generational family office dedicated to preserving and growing family and legacy capital. The firm offers a comprehensive suite of family office services, including direct investing, portfolio and liquidity management, estate and tax planning, and operational oversight.
What sets TRM apart is its strong commitment to philanthropy. Giving back is central to the firm’s identity, with a focus on supporting initiatives in community development, education, and expanding access — reflecting the family’s longstanding dedication to making a positive impact.
Internally, TRM combines the agility of a startup with the discipline of an institutional platform. The team prioritizes operational efficiency and takes pride in the depth of involvement they bring to every aspect of their work — whether that’s managing family capital, supporting a founder, or driving philanthropic initiatives.
TRM operates with a lean, high-caliber team built around discretion, flexibility, and specialized knowledge across core functions. They also rely on a close network of external advisors, specialists, and institutional partners; this hybrid model helps them remain agile while still drawing on institutional-grade capabilities.
With that, the team previously relied on accounting systems, such as QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online, which were supported by in-house Excel models. These systems were only sustainable up to a certain level of operational intricacy, but in a multi-entity, multi-asset environment like TRM, those systems would often break down.
Relying on a patchwork of accounting software, Excel models, and ad hoc workflows, the TRM team had to pull from multiple systems when they needed specific information. This process required many manual efforts to triple-check for errors across multiple entities, which was, overall, highly time-consuming and resource-intensive. It also created a reactive environment that limited the team’s capacity and pulled them away from higher-value work.
When TRM reached the point when most of the team’s time was spent keeping the system running and chasing down data, they knew they had hit a limit. Switching back and forth between their other preferred software vendors, including Addepar and BILL, they struggled to connect all of the information they needed without hours of manual work.
The team needed to find a solution that could build their responsiveness back up and give the team the time back to focus on more strategic, forward-looking priorities.
The TRM team sought a platform purpose-built for family offices and explored several platforms. They found that while each of them had a specific strength, few of them delivered the level of integration, control, and simplicity they needed. TRM needed software that could handle complex entity structures, integrate with other solutions like Addepar and BILL, deliver clean consolidated reporting, and reduce manual work — all without sacrificing control.
Considering the operational realities of a complex family office, TRM’s final decision criteria came down to the following:
They landed on SumIt Software.
“SumIt stood out because it was clearly designed with the complexity of family offices in mind,” said Christophe Poline, Chief Financial Officer at TRM. “It offered the right balance of structure and flexibility, the technology was clean, and the team behind it understood our challenges immediately. It didn’t feel like we had to adapt our workflows to fit the software; it felt like the software was already built around how we operate.”
From day one, the process of getting SumIt up and running at TRM was smooth. And, most importantly for the team, it didn’t disrupt day-to-day operations. TRM also cited that SumIt’s careful onboarding process made the transition feel more like a partnership than a handoff, which was an overall great experience.
Since implementing SumIt, TRM has seen substantial improvements from their previous QuickBooks and Excel solutions, including faster reporting cycles, decreased manual entry and reconciliation errors, and improved visibility across entities, which has made cash flow planning and investment more proactive and precise than ever. The time spent on reporting and reconciliation has been reduced by over 50%, and TRM’s month- and quarter-end reports specifically are being produced in a fraction of the time compared to before.
“SumIt has allowed us to spend less time gathering data and more time making decisions.” — Christophe Poline, Chief Financial Officer at TRM
What used to take multiple days across multiple team members now happens in hours, and TRM employees now require far fewer back-and-forth checks. SumIt’s integrations with Addepar and BILL allow the TRM team to see all of their information in one tab, without having to switch between multiple screens and logins.
That valuable time has been given, and can once again be spent on forward-looking analysis, internal strategy, and engagement with investment and philanthropic initiatives. The shift from manual processing to thoughtful review has made TRM’s team “not just more efficient, but more effective.”
SumIt is now a core part of TRM’s day-to-day workflows. The ability to get accurate information quickly — as well as the team’s confidence that the data is right the first time — has made a measurable difference in both confidence and productivity.
When asked about what other family offices can take away from TRM’s experience, Christophe shared: “Don’t underestimate the cost of doing nothing. Legacy systems and manual processes may seem manageable until they’re not. Technology should simplify, not complicate. And just as importantly, choose a partner who understands the nuances of family office operations.”
With a clear return in efficiency, accuracy, and time saved, TRM continues to focus on scaling operations without adding unnecessary complexity. The team hopes to deepen their data insights even further and enhance visibility across investment performance, liquidity, and tax planning.
“For us, the investment paid for itself in both reclaimed time and better decision-making. SumIt, both as a software and as a team, has been nimble in taking feedback and executing it. The combination of thoughtful design, responsive support, and real-industry functionality has made a meaningful difference for us.”
