You will learn where your client files are kept, how each client’s folder is named, and what happens when you change providers.
Who can do this
Section titled “Who can do this”Company Owners and Company Admins with access to Settings & Apps, on the Elite plan.
Choose where files are kept
Section titled “Choose where files are kept”Uku offers five options, and a firm uses one at a time.
| Option | Best for |
|---|---|
| Uku Storage | Firms with no document system of their own. Nothing to set up. |
| Google Drive | Firms already working in Google Workspace. |
| OneDrive | Firms already working in Microsoft 365. |
| SharePoint | Firms with a document library on a SharePoint site. See Connect SharePoint to Uku. |
| Dropbox | Firms whose team works out of Dropbox. |
Uku Storage is the default and needs no connecting. Connect a service only when your team already works in it every day. The point of connecting is that people open client files where they already are.
Connect a storage service
Section titled “Connect a storage service”Path: Settings & Apps → Documents → Settings
- Open Settings & Apps and open the Documents app. If the app is not active, activate it on the Overview tab first.
- Go to the Settings tab.
- Find the service you want and click Connect.
- Sign in and allow Uku the access it asks for. SharePoint asks for four values from your Microsoft tenant instead — see Connect SharePoint to Uku.
- Choose the Main folder. Uku creates a folder for every client under it.
- Click Save.
Keep a backup in Uku
Section titled “Keep a backup in Uku”Backup files to Uku file storage keeps a second copy of every file in Uku’s own encrypted storage. Uku turns it on when you activate the app.
Leave it on. A backup costs you nothing. Uku can still serve a file when your storage service is slow, unreachable, or has lost the file.
Name each client’s folder
Section titled “Name each client’s folder”Under Client folder name, pick how the root folder for each client is named on your connected storage. The choices are the client name, the client code, the registration code, the client ID, or two of those joined together — for example K-17 - Acme OÜ.
Pick the one your team already uses to refer to clients. A firm that files by client code should choose a code option, so the folders on the drive match the paperwork.
Two limits are worth knowing before you choose:
- Changing this later does not rename existing folders. Clients already on your drive keep the names they have.
- Uku Storage ignores the setting. Folders there are named after the client.
You can also point one client at a specific folder of your own, in that client’s own settings.
Folders appear when files arrive
Section titled “Folders appear when files arrive”Uku builds each client’s full folder tree straight away, but creates a folder on your connected storage when the first file lands in it. A folder that is in Uku and not yet on your drive is normal.
Each client’s root folder is the exception, and Uku creates it up front so you can find the client on your drive at once. Google Drive and OneDrive support this fully. SharePoint and Dropbox cannot create an empty folder at all. On those services every folder, the client root included, appears with its first file.
Switch providers or disconnect
Section titled “Switch providers or disconnect”Path: Settings & Apps → Documents → Settings
- Click Disconnect on the active service.
- Click Connect on the service you are moving to.
- Choose the new Main folder and save.
After a disconnect with nothing connected in its place, Uku keeps working and stores new files in Uku Storage.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”The Connect buttons are all greyed out
Section titled “The Connect buttons are all greyed out”A service is already connected. Disconnect it first, then connect the one you want.
A client’s files are going to the wrong folder
Section titled “A client’s files are going to the wrong folder”Uku remembers which folder on your storage belongs to each client. The link can go stale, for example when somebody deletes or moves the folder on the drive. Open the affected client and set its folder again in the client’s own settings.
A client’s folder is missing from our storage
Section titled “A client’s folder is missing from our storage”Check whether any file has been saved for that client. Folders appear with their first file, so a client nobody has filed anything for has nothing on the drive yet. On SharePoint and Dropbox this applies to the client’s root folder too.
Uploads suddenly fail on OneDrive or SharePoint
Section titled “Uploads suddenly fail on OneDrive or SharePoint”Microsoft connections expire. A OneDrive connection needs renewing periodically, and a SharePoint client secret expires on the date set in Azure. Open the Settings tab, disconnect, and connect again. For SharePoint, create a new client secret in Azure first.
We want to keep files in Uku but also on our Drive
Section titled “We want to keep files in Uku but also on our Drive”Both at once is the default arrangement. Connect your drive and leave Backup files to Uku file storage on. Every file is then written to both.