What makes a POS genuinely compliant
A compliant POS does more than ring up a sale and print a slip. It signs each invoice through a control unit, transmits it to KRA, and produces a receipt carrying a control number and a QR code anyone can scan to verify the sale reached the tax system.
The test is simple: a genuinely compliant receipt can be verified, and a non-compliant slip cannot. A POS that prints a tidy receipt but does not transmit to KRA is not compliant, however official it looks.
How to confirm a POS is eTIMS-compliant
- 1
Check the receipt has a control number and QR code
A compliant invoice carries both. If they are missing, the POS is not transmitting to KRA.
- 2
Verify a sample receipt
Scan the QR code on a test receipt to confirm it links to KRA verification.
- 3
Confirm the control unit
A compliant POS signs through a control unit (OSCU or VSCU). Confirm it is set up.
- 4
Test offline behaviour
A good compliant POS keeps selling offline and transmits when reconnected. Test an offline sale.
- 5
Check it fits your trade
Beyond compliance, confirm it handles your stock, payments and the way you sell.
Mistakes to avoid
Trusting an official-looking slip
Looks do not equal compliance. Confirm the receipt has a control number and a verifiable QR code.
Not verifying the QR code
Scan a sample receipt. If it does not verify with KRA, the POS is not genuinely compliant.
Ignoring offline
A compliant POS that stops in an outage still costs you sales. Confirm offline-then-sync.
Forgetting trade fit
Compliance is the baseline; a POS that does not fit your trade still hinders you day to day.
A worked example
A shop bought a till that printed neat receipts and assumed it was eTIMS-compliant.
When a customer tried to verify a receipt, the QR code did not exist, because the till only printed slips and never transmitted to KRA. The shop replaced it with a genuinely compliant POS whose receipts verified, and the problem disappeared.
A receipt that looks official is not the same as one that is compliant. The QR code and verification are the proof.
Trading without eTIMS-compliant tax invoices risks KRA penalties, blocked VAT input claims for your customers, and receipts a business buyer cannot expense.
Veira signs every sale to KRA eTIMS automatically, so each receipt is compliant the moment it prints, with no separate device to reconcile.
Where Veira fits
Veira is a genuinely eTIMS-compliant POS: it signs and transmits every invoice through a control unit, prints a control number and verifiable QR code, works offline and syncs to KRA when reconnected, and also handles M-Pesa, inventory and reporting.
You get real compliance plus the tools to run the shop, on a free terminal from KES 2,999 a month. See how Veira works and book a free demo.