eTIMS Filing Step-by-Step: Monthly Guide for Kenyan Businesses

eTIMS invoicing: every time you make a sale, an invoice is transmitted to KRA instantly. (Automatic if using a POS system.) eTIMS filing: at month end, you reconcile all invoices and file a monthly return showing total sales, VAT collected, and tax due. You can't skip either.

Most businesses understand invoicing but get confused about filing. This guide clarifies the filing process completely.

Filing goes smoothly or badly depending almost entirely on the weeks before it rather than the session itself. If your transmitted invoices and your own records already agree, filing is reading figures across. If they do not, filing becomes an investigation conducted against a deadline, which is the worst possible time to run one.

So the useful version of this guide starts before the window opens. Reconcile, resolve anything that does not match while you can still identify the transactions, and only then file. The reconciliation is the work; the filing is the short part that follows it.

The part that separates an easy filing from a hard one is the credit notes. Corrections made as adjustments rather than as credit notes referencing the original invoice leave your records and KRA’s disagreeing with no explanation attached, and that difference surfaces precisely when you are trying to file.

So handle corrections properly as they arise rather than tidying at the end. A credit note raised the same week is a two-minute task; the same correction attempted during the filing window, against an invoice nobody can now identify, is the reason filing overruns.

So the useful version of this guide starts before the window opens. Reconcile, resolve anything that does not match while you can still identify the transactions, and only then file. The reconciliation is the work; the filing is the short part that follows it.

Here's the exact process:

1. 1

   Step 1: Access Your eTIMS Reports (From Your POS)

   In your POS system: Reports → Monthly eTIMS Report → Select month → Download. The report shows: total invoices, total sales, total VAT, total amount including VAT.

2. 2

   Step 2: Log Into iTax (https://itax.kra.go.ke)

   Enter your KRA PIN and password. If you don't have an iTax account, create one.

3. 3

   Step 3: Navigate to eTIMS Filing

   Click "eTIMS" or "Returns" section. Click "File eTIMS Return". Select the month.

4. 4

   Step 4: Enter Your Sales Information

   From your eTIMS report, enter: total invoices issued, total sales (before VAT), total VAT, total including VAT.

5. 5

   Step 5: Enter Any Adjustments

   If you issued credit notes (refunds) or received advance credits, enter them.

6. 6

   Step 6: Review Tax Calculation

   KRA calculates: tax due = total VAT - advance payments - credits. Verify this matches your records.

7. 7

   Step 7: Make Payment

   If tax is due, pay via M-Pesa, bank transfer, or visit KRA office. Get receipt.

8. 8

   Step 8: Submit Return

   Once payment is confirmed, submit the return. KRA validates and sends confirmation email.

9. 9

   Reconcile before the filing window opens

   Compare recorded sales to accepted invoices for the period, and resolve differences while there is still time to correct rather than explain.

10. 10

    Keep the working alongside the return

    A question months later is answered from your reconciliation in minutes, or reconstructed from nothing in days.

11. 11

    Raise credit notes as corrections happen

    Referencing the original invoice, the same week. Tidying corrections at filing time is what makes filing long.

12. 12

    Check the period is closed before filing

    Confirm nothing is still pending transmission. An unsent queue means the figures you are filing are not the figures KRA holds.

13. 13

    Keep the working alongside the return

    A question months later is answered from your reconciliation in minutes, or reconstructed from nothing in days.

Veira automatically generates your monthly eTIMS reports. Every sale is recorded perfectly. Your report shows exact totals. Filing becomes a 5-minute task instead of an hour. No manual data entry. No mistakes. No stress.

Plus: Veira reminds you before the deadline. Veira generates the report automatically. Veira shows you the tax due before you file. You just enter numbers into iTax and pay. Done.