San Francisco, CA – November 21, 2018 – Serent Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity firm focused on investing in fast-growing software and services businesses, announced that its portfolio company KEV Group (“KEV”) has acquired Technology Resource Associates (“TRA”), a provider of cloud-based school activity fund accounting software to K-12 schools.
Together, KEV and TRA serve more than 16,500 schools in Canada and the U.S., processing over $3 billion in transactions annually, making it the largest provider of cash accounting management and online payments software in North America.
“This acquisition is a major milestone for KEV,” said Bram Belzberg, CEO of KEV Group. “TRA is a highly respected provider recognized by their customers for the strength of their school accounting software solution and their dedication to customer service. Together, KEV and TRA become the market leader in helping parents and school manage online payments and cash.”
“We are thrilled about joining forces with KEV and bringing the benefits of our partnership to our customers and the market,” said Tom Rickman, Founder of Technology Resource Associates. “We’ve always admired the KEV platform, and look forward to bringing even more value to our clients as a result of this partnership.”
The scale of the combined companies will unlock increased investments in customer support, sales and marketing, and product innovation. TRA customers will specifically benefit from access to KEV’s feature-rich, fully integrated online payments offering, which brings the benefits of a natively integrated payments solution to TRA’s cash accounting platform. The companies will continue to enhance their accounting software solutions, while expanding the scope of their offerings to address administrative, payments and parent communication needs of the K-12 market.
“TRA is an important acquisition for KEV, solidifying KEV’s leadership in this market” shared Serent Capital Partner Kevin Frick. “The combined companies enjoy strong customer loyalty, clear market leadership in their category, and significant potential to transform the school financial management software and payments segments. We are excited to partner with the KEV and TRA teams and look forward to supporting their growth in the coming years.”
TRA represents Serent’s seventh investment in the education sector. Prior Serent education investments include KEV Group (2018), USATestprep (2018), ArbiterSports (2017), Digital Architecture (2016), Diamond Mind (2014), and C2 Education (2011).
About TRA, Inc.
TRA, Inc. provides cloud-based school activity fund accounting software and related services for K-12 schools. Founded in 1988 by a school district finance officer, TRA delivers practical and affordable software solutions designed for the unique needs of schools and school boards. TRA is based in Wilmington, North Carolina and provides software, training, and customer support to more than 8,000 school partners in the United States. For more information, visit www.trasoft.net.
About KEV Group
KEV Group provides industry-leading online payment, accounting and activity tracking solutions to almost 17,000 schools across North America. For more than 20 years, KEV Group’s School Cash Suite of products has helped schools and school boards ensure the security and transparency of student activity funds. KEV Group has been recognized on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 as one of North America’s fastest growing technology companies. For more information, visit kevgroup.com and schoolcashonline.com.
About Serent Capital
Serent Capital invests in growing businesses that have developed compelling solutions that address their customers’ needs. As those businesses grow and evolve, the opportunities and challenges that they face change with them. Principals at Serent Capital have firsthand experience at capturing those opportunities and navigating these difficulties through their experiences as CEOs, strategic advisors and board members to successful growing businesses. By bringing its expertise and capital to bear, Serent helps growing businesses thrive. www.serentcapital.com.