Yuki: A Visma company from the Netherlands
“There are so many opportunities, learning communities and events going on at Visma, not to mention tools and technologies”, says Ellen Sano, Managing Director at Yuki.
Quick facts about our company based in Rotterdam (NL), Antwerpen (BE) and Barcelona (ES)
Yuki was founded in 2007 and delivers accounting software for Dutch and Belgian accounting offices and entrepreneurs in the SMB segment. Their story started in the Netherlands, but quickly expanded to the Belgian market. Today they’re also present in Spain and were acquired by Visma in 2020.
- Total revenue 2021: € 19.5 million
- Number of employees: 200
Ellen Sano, Managing Director at Yuki
Tell us a little bit about Yuki, and your story prior to becoming a Visma company?
Our belief is that entrepreneurs should be able to focus on running their business, instead of doing bookkeeping. When Yuki was founded, we were a disrupter in the market, a challenger with high ambitions. Since the very beginning, we’ve always focused on growth, with the ambition to become market-leading – an ambition we still have today.
Why did you choose to join Visma?
We weren’t for sale. Several companies have reached out to us throughout the years, Visma included. However, at a certain time, we realised that to make a leap forward, it could be beneficial to be a part of a bigger group. The only group we ever considered was Visma, because of their culture and the way they acquire companies.
Our biggest hesitation in being acquired was that we could risk losing our company culture, which is unique. It was, and still is, important for us to preserve it, in order to keep our ambition and drive. After our “investigations” on this, we were confident that we could keep our organisation running like before, only with a stronger backbone. We’re very happy with how the acquisition has turned out.
“The only group we ever considered was Visma, because of their culture and the way they acquire companies.”
How did you go about onboarding your company and employees?
Our employees were eager to have new colleagues and take part in a larger network across disciplines and borders. We spent some time getting to know all corners of Visma, before introducing our employees. There are so many opportunities, learning communities and events going on at Visma, not to mention tools and technologies. We wanted to help them navigate this ocean of opportunities.
In what ways has Yuki grown since being acquired?
Financially, we’ve been growing at the same pace, and according to the same plan, as before. The way we do things, however, has improved a lot. We’re challenged in so many different ways – which boosts our growth in the broad sense of the word. It’s been and still is really useful to be a part of Visma.
How do you experience your own autonomy and go-to-market freedom?
Oh, it’s very autonomous. I think we’re autonomous in our way of thinking and our strategy, only with Visma helping us with fine tuning. It’s a very good way of doing business. The promise we got when we agreed to affiliate has really lived up to its expectations, and I’ve personally experienced that companies who are acquired by Visma really can keep their independence and entrepreneurial spirit.
What are the advantages of belonging to a larger group of software companies?
There are lots of advantages! For example, being on different company boards is great for knowledge sharing. We all learn from each other across countries and segments. For Yuki, as a company in the Benelux market, it’s super helpful to have a broad regional network. At the same time, we benefit from having an international network of specialists who work within the SMB segment. I also learn a lot from attending the Managing Director Summit. There are lots of events and network possibilities within a single year.
“I’ve personally experienced that companies who are acquired by Visma really can keep their independence and entrepreneurial spirit”
