The electronic Tax Invoice Management System, eTIMS, is how the Kenya Revenue Authority receives your invoices electronically instead of waiting for a return at month end. If you charge VAT, it applies to you; if you do not yet, it is worth understanding before it does. This guide stays in plain English and stops short of tax advice — your accountant is the person to confirm your own position.
Who eTIMS applies to
VAT-registered businesses first, with KRA extending the requirement to more registered taxpayers over time. Suppliers to government and businesses whose customers need a valid tax invoice to claim input VAT feel it soonest, because a customer will refuse an invoice that is not compliant.
What a compliant invoice carries
- Your KRA PIN, and the customer's PIN for business-to-business sales
- A sequential invoice number that never repeats or skips
- Each line's description, quantity, price and the VAT on it
- The VAT total shown separately from the goods total
- The KRA verification details and QR code once the invoice has been transmitted
The daily habits that make filing easy
- Keep VAT split on every sale, whether it is a till receipt or an invoice, so the total for the month is a report and not a calculation.
- Record purchases with their VAT — input VAT you cannot show is input VAT you cannot claim.
- Never delete a document. Void it with a reason and issue a credit note; a gap in your numbering invites questions.
- Reconcile M-Pesa and bank weekly, so the sales you declare match the money that arrived.
Where NodePoint stands today
NodePoint files with KRA eTIMS through DigiTax, a KRA-approved eTIMS integrator. Every till receipt from Retail POS, every restaurant bill, every hotel folio and every invoice from NodePoint Accounts is submitted as it settles, and the copy your customer takes away carries KRA's receipt number, signature and QR code — the verification details from the list above. A void or a refund files a credit note rather than deleting anything, so your numbering stays whole. Activation is per business: enter your KRA PIN and branch in Settings, request activation, and fiscalised receipts switch on — a setting, not a data migration.
What NodePoint does not do is file the return for you. Invoices with the customer's PIN and VAT split out, bills recorded with their input VAT, and the tax summary report — output VAT less input VAT — give you the figures; checking them against your own position is still your accountant's job, and we do not claim more than that.
Related: bookkeeping for a small business in Kenya and handling USD and shillings in the same set of books.