What the eTIMS portal is for
The eTIMS taxpayer portal is the online workspace where you can onboard, issue invoices manually, view the invoices you have transmitted, and manage your branches and users. It is tied to your KRA profile, so what you see reflects your taxpayer type and registration.
Think of the portal as the manual, do-it-yourself route. It is reliable and free, and it is perfectly adequate when you issue a modest number of invoices. The constraint is human: every invoice is keyed in by a person, so it does not suit high transaction volumes.
It is worth being clear about what the portal is not. It is not a point-of-sale, so it does not track stock, take payment or shorten a queue. It is a compliance window into your invoices. Treating it as your shop system, rather than as KRA’s invoicing desk, is where most of the frustration starts.
Using the eTIMS portal
The core loop is the same every time, whether you issue one invoice or fifty.
- 1
Access the portal
Open KRA’s eTIMS portal in a browser and sign in with the credentials tied to your KRA PIN. First-time users complete onboarding here.
- 2
Set up your business profile
Confirm your trading name, branches and the users who can issue invoices, so every document shows the right details.
- 3
Create an invoice
Enter the buyer, the items or services, quantities and prices. Add VAT lines if you are VAT registered.
- 4
Sign and transmit
Submit the invoice so it is signed and a control number plus QR code are generated and transmitted to KRA.
- 5
Review your invoices
Use the portal to see what you have issued, reprint invoices and confirm your records match what KRA has received.
Where the portal trips people up
Relying on it for high volume
Manual entry cannot keep pace with a busy counter. If a queue forms while you type invoices, you have outgrown the portal.
Inconsistent buyer details
Typing client names differently each time makes records hard to reconcile. Keep them consistent.
Leaving invoices for later
Batching at day end risks forgotten sales and mismatches. Issue each invoice as the sale happens.
Treating it as your only record
The portal shows what you transmitted, but it will not reconcile your stock or your bank against it. Keep your own records too, so a discrepancy is something you catch rather than something an audit finds.
Portal versus POS in real life
A small consultancy issues 20 invoices a month. The eTIMS portal is perfect: they log in, enter each invoice, and transmit. No software cost, no fuss.
A grocery doing 400 sales a day cannot use the portal at the till. Standing there typing each sale into a browser would bring the shop to a halt. They connect a POS that signs and transmits invoices automatically, and only use the portal occasionally to review records. The right tool depends entirely on your volume.
A useful rule of thumb: if entering invoices is a task you set aside time for, the portal fits. If it has to happen in the middle of serving a customer, it does not. The consultancy slots invoicing into an afternoon; the grocery needs it to disappear into the act of taking payment.
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.
When to move beyond the portal
If the portal is slowing you down, that is the signal to integrate. Veira issues the compliant invoice as part of taking payment, so there is no manual typing and no queue building at the counter.
You still get the visibility the portal gives you, plus stock, sales analytics and offline trading, all on the phone you already own and a free handheld terminal.
Moving off the portal does not mean losing it. It stays available for the occasional review or reprint, while the daily grind of issuing invoices shifts to the till. You gain speed without giving up the window into your KRA records.
Frequently asked questions
How do I access the eTIMS portal?
Is the eTIMS portal free?
Can I issue VAT invoices on the portal?
Why is the portal slow for my shop?
Can I see past invoices on the portal?
Do I still need the portal if I use a POS?
Can I manage multiple branches on the portal?
Does the portal work on a phone browser?
The eTIMS portal is a solid, free option for low-volume invoicing and for checking your records. The moment manual entry starts costing you time at the counter, an integrated POS is the better answer. Run the readiness checker to see what suits your volume, or book a free demo and skip the typing entirely.