The eTIMS requirements, grouped
Think of eTIMS requirements in three buckets: who you are to KRA, how you will issue invoices, and what each invoice must contain. Get all three right and you are compliant. Miss one and either onboarding stalls or your invoices get rejected.
The good news is that none of this requires expensive hardware. The barrier dropped deliberately when KRA moved from TIMS to eTIMS, so a smartphone is enough for many businesses.
- An active KRA PIN for the person or business issuing invoices.
- Working iTax access, since eTIMS onboarding is tied to your iTax profile.
- A current phone number and email on your KRA profile for verification codes.
- A chosen invoicing method: eTIMS Lite, the portal, or an integrated POS.
- Correct business details (name, branch, contact) that match iTax.
- On each invoice: seller and buyer details, item lines, VAT where applicable, totals, a control number and a QR code.
Meeting each requirement, step by step
Work through these and you will have everything eTIMS asks for.
- 1
Confirm your KRA PIN is active
Log in to iTax and check your PIN is valid and your obligations are current. A dormant or restricted PIN blocks onboarding.
- 2
Update your contact details
Make sure the phone and email on your KRA profile are ones you actually use, because verification codes go there during onboarding and login.
- 3
Decide your invoicing method
Match the method to your volume: eTIMS Lite for occasional invoices, the portal for low volume, an integrated POS for any real counter activity.
- 4
Prepare your business details
Have your trading name, branch and contacts ready exactly as iTax shows them, so onboarding does not fail verification.
- 5
Know your VAT position
Decide whether you are VAT registered, because that determines whether invoices carry VAT lines and at what rate.
- 6
Set up buyer details capture
For business customers you must capture their KRA PIN. Make sure your method lets you add it to the invoice.
- 7
Test a compliant invoice
Issue a small test invoice and confirm it returns a control number and QR code. That proves every requirement is genuinely met.
Requirements people overlook
An outdated profile contact
If the verification code goes to a dead number, you cannot onboard or log in. This is the single most common blocker, and it is invisible until you try.
Forgetting the buyer PIN requirement
Business-to-business invoices need the buyer’s KRA PIN. Without it your customer cannot claim the cost and will demand a corrected invoice.
Choosing a method that cannot scale
Manual entry meets the requirements on paper but fails in practice at a busy counter. The right method is part of the requirement.
Ignoring supplier invoices
Your own compliance is only half of it. To keep your expenses deductible you also require compliant invoices from the businesses you buy from.
Assuming registration equals compliance
Holding an eTIMS account is not a requirement met; issuing compliant invoices for actual sales is. Always finish with a test invoice.
A requirements check for a new retailer
A new VAT-registered shop runs the checklist. KRA PIN active, yes. iTax contact details updated, yes. Method chosen, an integrated POS because the shop expects 200 sales a day. Business details match iTax, yes. VAT position clear at 16 percent on standard-rated goods.
The owner issues a test sale of KES 1,160 inclusive of VAT. The POS shows KES 160 VAT inside the total, signs the invoice, and returns a control number and QR code. Every requirement is now demonstrably met, and the shop is ready to trade compliantly from its first real customer.
The whole exercise took under an hour. The only delay was updating an old phone number on iTax, which is exactly the requirement most businesses forget until it stops them.
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 covers the requirements for you
Veira handles the invoice-level requirements automatically: every sale produces a compliant invoice with the right VAT, a control number and a QR code, and supports capturing a buyer PIN for business customers. You do not have to remember the mandatory fields because the till enforces them.
It runs on the phone you already own plus a free handheld terminal, so the no-expensive-hardware promise of eTIMS holds in practice. The only requirements left to you are the KRA-profile basics, which are a one-time setup.
Frequently asked questions
What do I need to register for eTIMS?
Do I need special hardware for eTIMS?
Is VAT registration an eTIMS requirement?
What must every eTIMS invoice contain?
Do I need the buyer’s KRA PIN?
How do I confirm I meet all the requirements?
The eTIMS requirements come down to a tidy KRA profile, the right invoicing method, and a handful of mandatory fields on every invoice. Sort the profile once, let a capable system enforce the invoice fields, and you are compliant. Run the readiness checker to confirm your list, or book a free demo and let the till meet the invoice requirements automatically.