Is Yayoi profitable in 2026?

Yayoi is privately held under KKR and does not disclose financials, so no confirmed profit figure exists. The company reports 3.5M+ registered users as of April 8, 2025 and 14,000+ partnered tax firms, signaling scale, but profitability itself remains undisclosed in any primary source.

Who owns Yayoi Co., Ltd.?

KKR completed its acquisition of Yayoi from ORIX Corporation on February 28, 2022, after signing the definitive agreement on December 17, 2021. ORIX had owned Yayoi since December 2014. In early 2024 KKR extended broad-based employee equity ownership to all Yayoi staff.

Could AI replace Yayoi's accounting software?

AI is automating Yayoi's core 'easy bookkeeping' function: it shipped a beta AI transaction-entry feature on June 26, 2025, but rivals freee and Money Forward ship near-identical auto-journal AI. Yayoi's defense is its 3.5M+ user base and 14,000+ tax-firm distribution channel, not unique AI, as of late 2025.

Is freee or Money Forward Yayoi's biggest competitor?

Both are contesting Yayoi directly. freee dominates the self-employed segment Yayoi historically served, per a June 2, 2026 comparison, while Money Forward actively courts IPO-track companies. Both had shipped comparable AI auto-journal features by 2025-2026, matching Yayoi's cloud push.

Is Yayoi laying off employees?

Yayoi's own headcount figures show a drop from 978 employees (including temp/contract) in September 2023 to 801 employees in September 2025, per the company's about page. No official restructuring announcement explains the change, and counting methodology may differ between the two dates.

Will Yayoi go public (IPO)?

No confirmed IPO date or timeline has been found for Yayoi as of mid-2026; it remains 100% owned by KKR Group since February 28, 2022, with no secondary sale or public listing announced. Any IPO claim for Yayoi is currently speculative, not confirmed by primary sources.

Accounting, tax and business software · subsidiary of KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.) · Japan

Yayoi

yayoi-kk.co.jp ↗

Japan's longtime #1 desktop accounting and tax software maker, now KKR-owned and moving to cloud.

Losing its protection

Assessed 25 July 2026 · Evidence as of 25 July 2026

The structural protection is eroding.

On the recordSince 25 July 2026 · Checkable from unannounced, expected FY2025-2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Release of a cloud version of Yayoi Kaikei Next for sole proprietors, still unshipped as of April 2025

The call

Yayoi still leads on scale and accountant ties, but its cloud catch-up against freee and Money Forward is unfinished while KKR's ownership timeline stays unclear.

Yayoi makes accounting and bookkeeping software used by millions of small businesses in Japan, mostly on desktop computers. The company faces real competition from freee and Money Forward, newer companies built for the cloud from the start that already offer AI features to help with bookkeeping and are attracting new customers, especially young business owners and sole proprietors. Yayoi's survival depends on whether its 14,000 accountant partners stay loyal as everyone moves to cloud software, and whether the company can finish its own cloud products and shrink its workforce without losing too many people.

Why

AI pressure: freee K.K. and Money Forward, Inc. AI-assisted bookkeeping tools. Both rivals already run AI bookkeeping and tax features cloud-native, cutting into the easy-entry bookkeeping edge Yayoi built its name on. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.

Bigger players: None apparent. No global tech giant currently targets Japan's SME accounting and tax-filing niche directly. Could a giant copy it? Probably.

What protects it. A 14,000-firm tax-accountant referral network plus deep ties to Japan's e-Tax and invoice rules that new entrants must still navigate.

What would change this call

Yayoi ships and grows a cloud sole-proprietor product beyond the April 2025 launch of Yayoi Kaikei Next. Shows Yayoi can defend the sole-proprietor segment against freee and Money Forward.
Public reports of tax-accountant firms shifting their 14,000-firm channel loyalty toward freee or Money Forward. Would show Yayoi's core distribution moat is eroding.
Yayoi headcount trend past 801 (Sept 2025) reported in future filings or press. Continued decline would signal restructuring pressure under KKR ownership.

Key numbers

3.5M+ registered users (2025-04-08)
22 straight years #1 in desktop business software (2021-12-17)
Headcount fell from 978 to 801 staff (2025-09)

Named risks

Cloud sole-proprietor product still unshipped as of April 2025, ceding self-employed segment to freee. Severity: high
14,000+ tax-accountant partner channel could defect to freee or Money Forward during cloud transition. Severity: high
AI auto-journal features now commoditized across freee, Money Forward and Yayoi, eroding differentiation. Severity: medium
Headcount declined from 978 (Sept 2023) to 801 (Sept 2025) with no disclosed restructuring rationale. Severity: medium
No disclosed KKR exit timeline creates uncertainty for 2024 employee equity program value. Severity: low

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
freee K.K.	gaining on	Dominant with self-employed users, Yayoi's core segment, per comparison dated 2026-06-02
Money Forward, Inc.	contesting	Actively courts IPO-track companies; shipped comparable AI auto-journal features by 2025-2026
OBC (Kanjo Bugyo)	contesting	Long-standing desktop/cloud incumbent competing for mid-sized firms, per 2025-05-19 comparison

Questions people ask

Is Yayoi profitable in 2026?: Yayoi is privately held under KKR and does not disclose financials, so no confirmed profit figure exists. The company reports 3.5M+ registered users as of April 8, 2025 and 14,000+ partnered tax firms, signaling scale, but profitability itself remains undisclosed in any primary source.
Who owns Yayoi Co., Ltd.?: KKR completed its acquisition of Yayoi from ORIX Corporation on February 28, 2022, after signing the definitive agreement on December 17, 2021. ORIX had owned Yayoi since December 2014. In early 2024 KKR extended broad-based employee equity ownership to all Yayoi staff.
Could AI replace Yayoi's accounting software?: AI is automating Yayoi's core 'easy bookkeeping' function: it shipped a beta AI transaction-entry feature on June 26, 2025, but rivals freee and Money Forward ship near-identical auto-journal AI. Yayoi's defense is its 3.5M+ user base and 14,000+ tax-firm distribution channel, not unique AI, as of late 2025.
Is freee or Money Forward Yayoi's biggest competitor?: Both are contesting Yayoi directly. freee dominates the self-employed segment Yayoi historically served, per a June 2, 2026 comparison, while Money Forward actively courts IPO-track companies. Both had shipped comparable AI auto-journal features by 2025-2026, matching Yayoi's cloud push.
Is Yayoi laying off employees?: Yayoi's own headcount figures show a drop from 978 employees (including temp/contract) in September 2023 to 801 employees in September 2025, per the company's about page. No official restructuring announcement explains the change, and counting methodology may differ between the two dates.
Will Yayoi go public (IPO)?: No confirmed IPO date or timeline has been found for Yayoi as of mid-2026; it remains 100% owned by KKR Group since February 28, 2022, with no secondary sale or public listing announced. Any IPO claim for Yayoi is currently speculative, not confirmed by primary sources.

Timeline

2025-12-05Released desktop update 'Yayoi 26 Series' with e-invoicing and e-Tax/XBRL compliance updates
2025-10-24Added beta AI chat feature 'Kantan Keiei Tips' in cash-flow analysis module
2025-06-26Released beta AI transaction-entry feature in Yayoi Kaikei Next
2025-04-08Officially released 'Yayoi Kaikei Next' cloud accounting for corporations
2023-10-11Launched cloud brand 'Yayoi Next'; reported 978 employees and 3M+ users
2022-02-28KKR completed acquisition of Yayoi from ORIX
2021-12-17KKR signed definitive agreement to acquire Yayoi from ORIX
2014-12ORIX Corporation first acquired shares of Yayoi

Revision history

25 July 2026

First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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