FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers about trying Yako, what it costs, how it works with your accountant, and what happens to your data. Something missing? Email support@yakobooks.com.
Getting started and pricing
- Is there a free trial?
- Yes. Every new workspace can be tried free for 15 days, with no card required. An organization gets one free trial.
- Do I need a card to start?
- No. You only add a card when you decide to keep using Yako after the trial. Payments are by card through Stripe.
- What is a workspace?
- A workspace is one legal entity's books, with its own chart of accounts, currency, fiscal year and tax settings. Each workspace costs $49 a month. If you run three companies, you have three workspaces under one organization and one bill.
- Can I cancel any time?
- Yes. The organization owner can cancel from the Billing page at any time. If a plan lapses, your data is not deleted.
Working with your accountant
- Will my accountant keep working with me?
- Yes. Yako is built to work with your accountant, not instead of them. It keeps your books organised and traceable so their time goes on review and advice. Many owners have their accountant approve the coded transactions and check returns before filing.
- Can my accountant use Yako?
- Yes, at no extra cost. Invite them as a team member with the Accountant role, or give an external accountant, auditor or tax adviser an engagement: access to one workspace for a set period, with the permissions you choose. Journal entries they propose wait for a member of your team to approve, and access ends automatically on the end date.
Your data
- Is my data used to train AI models?
- No. Your data is never used to train AI models. The AI in Yako is provided through Anthropic's API, which does not train on API data.
- How is my data protected?
- Your data is stored in a managed PostgreSQL database and files in cloud storage, both encrypted at rest by the providers, and all traffic uses HTTPS. Passwords are hashed, you are signed out automatically after 5 minutes idle, and role-based permissions and an audit trail record who did what.
- Can I export my data?
- Yes, any time. Reports and data export to CSV or Excel, and reports can be printed to PDF. You can also ask us to delete your data.
Countries, currencies and banks
- Which countries does Yako support?
- Yako works for businesses anywhere. Tax is deepest for the UAE (VAT returns in VAT201 boxes, Corporate Tax tracking) and Nigeria (the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, PAYE, VAT and withholding tax). Taxes are configurable per workspace, so businesses elsewhere can set up their own rates and filing frequencies. You file returns on the government portal yourself; Yako prepares the figures.
- Which currencies can I use?
- Each workspace has one base currency, including every African currency, the UAE dirham, US dollar, pound sterling, euro and others. Foreign-currency bank accounts are supported, with exchange rates and month-end revaluation. Invoices are issued in the workspace currency.
- Does Yako connect to my bank?
- Not directly. You upload the statements you download from your bank, as PDF, CSV or Excel files, and Yako reads every line. There are no live bank connections yet.
- Does Yako support e-invoicing?
- Not yet. The UAE and Nigeria are both introducing e-invoicing, and we are preparing Yako for both. Invoices already record the details it needs, such as tax numbers and each line's VAT treatment, but e-invoicing is not live in Yako yet.
AI and your books
- Does the AI post to my books?
- No. AI in Yako prepares work and a person approves it. Coded transactions, matches and proposed journal entries wait for a person with approval rights, and only their approval posts to the ledger. Ask Yako only reads and explains; it never changes anything.
- What is the Bookkeeper agent?
- An optional AI agent for one workspace, at US$50 a month, in early access. It codes bank transactions, matches payments to invoices and bills, flags duplicates and unusual amounts, keeps a month-end checklist and sends a weekly report. It can make mistakes, so every item is checked and approved by a person. It is arranged through sales for now.
Help
- How do I get help?
- Inside Yako, open Ask Yako and choose the Product guide for step-by-step answers, or the help panel on any page. You can also email support@yakobooks.com.
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