A checklist that gets you to your first invoice
The point of a checklist is to take you all the way from intending to register to actually issuing compliant invoices, without missing a step. eTIMS registration is not just creating an account; it is being set up to issue invoices that transmit and validate, with your products and customers configured correctly.
So a good checklist runs from the prerequisites, an active KRA PIN and iTax access, through onboarding and choosing your eTIMS option, to the practical setup, mapping your products to the right tax treatment and being ready to capture buyer PINs, and finally to issuing and verifying your first invoice. Working through it in order means nothing is left half-done. Because the exact onboarding steps change, confirm them with KRA as you go.
Getting the basics right once means compliance runs quietly in the background of your business.
The eTIMS registration checklist
A practical path for a Kenyan business.
- 1
Confirm KRA PIN and iTax access
Check your KRA PIN is active and you can access iTax, the prerequisites for onboarding.
- 2
Gather documents and onboard
Collect your business documents, then onboard onto eTIMS and choose the option that suits you.
- 3
Set up products and tax treatment
Map your products and services to their correct standard, zero-rated or exempt treatment so invoices validate.
- 4
Issue and verify your first invoice
Issue a test or first compliant invoice, confirm it carries the control number and QR code, and that it transmitted.
Common mistakes to avoid
Stopping at account creation
Registration is not done until you can issue compliant invoices. Finish the product setup and a test invoice.
Skipping product tax setup
Without products mapped to the right treatment, invoices fail validation. Set this up as part of registration.
Not verifying the first invoice
Confirm your first invoice carries the control number and QR code and transmitted, so you know setup is complete.
A business goes live cleanly
A business in Nairobi treated eTIMS registration as just creating an account and was surprised when its first real invoices failed validation.
It went back through a proper checklist: confirmed its PIN and iTax, mapped its products to the right tax treatment, and issued a verified test invoice.
With the full checklist done, it went live cleanly, and its invoices transmitted and validated from the first real sale.
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.
How Veira makes this simple
Veira is built for Kenyan businesses. It issues compliant KRA eTIMS invoices automatically on every sale, applies the right tax treatment per item, captures the buyer KRA PIN, keeps your records reconciled and ready for filing, and reconciles M-Pesa and Pochi payments to each sale.
It runs on a free handheld terminal or the phone you already own, keeps working offline, and runs from KES 2,999 a month with a free terminal and a 30-day money-back guarantee. See how Veira works, or book a free demo.
Frequently asked questions
What is on an eTIMS registration checklist?
Is creating an eTIMS account the same as being registered?
Why do my first invoices fail after registering?
How do I know registration is complete?
Does Veira handle this for me?
Where do I confirm the current rules?
eTIMS registration checklist is straightforward once you know the essentials, and with a compliant system like Veira the day-to-day part is handled for you. See how Veira works, or book a free demo. Always confirm current KRA rules and rates at kra.go.ke, as they can change.