What actually moves when you switch
Your eTIMS registration and your KRA identity belong to the business, not to a particular software. So switching software does not change who you are to KRA; it changes the tool that issues and transmits your invoices.
What you migrate is your operational data: your products, prices, tax types and customers. Done in order, with testing, the switch is smooth and your compliance is unbroken throughout.
The part of switching that goes wrong is rarely the new system; it is what did not come out of the old one. Your item list with its classifications, customer records including PINs, and above all the invoice history with its eTIMS references are what a question about a past sale is answered from, and they are easy to leave behind.
Export before you cancel anything, and confirm you can actually open and read the export without the old system running. A backup nobody has opened is not a backup, and the moment to discover that is not after the subscription has lapsed and the data sits behind a paywall.
Want to see it running in your own business first?
Sign UpHow to switch eTIMS software cleanly
- 1
Export your data
Export your products, prices, tax types and customers from the current system so you can load them into the new one.
- 2
Set up the new system in parallel
Configure the new software alongside the old, mapping items and tax types, before you stop using the old one.
- 3
Test that it signs and transmits
Issue test invoices on the new system and confirm they sign, transmit to KRA and return control numbers, ideally in a sandbox first.
- 4
Switch over once proven
Move to the new system for real sales only after testing confirms it is compliant and fits your trade.
- 5
Keep your old records
Retain the records from the old system for reconciliation and any future KRA query. Do not discard them.
- 6
Export and verify before you cancel
Take the item list, customers and invoice history out, then open the files without the old system to confirm they are readable and complete.
- 7
Run both briefly where you can
A short overlap lets you compare the new system’s output against the old on the same trading days, which is the fastest way to catch a mapping error.
Mistakes to avoid
Switching without testing
Moving fully before confirming the new system signs and transmits risks non-compliant sales. Test first.
Not migrating tax types
If item tax types do not carry over correctly, invoices get rejected. Map them carefully.
Discarding old records
Keep the old system's records for reconciliation and queries. You may need them later.
Rushing the cutover
Run the new system in parallel and switch when it is proven, rather than flipping overnight and hoping.
A worked example
A retailer outgrew its first eTIMS tool and wanted to switch but feared losing compliance.
It exported its products and customers, set up the new POS in parallel, mapped the tax types, and tested that invoices signed and transmitted to KRA. Once proven, it switched for real sales and kept the old records. Compliance never lapsed, and the migration took a weekend.
Because the switch was planned and tested, moving software was routine, not risky.
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 helps you switch cleanly: it imports your products and customers, its team helps map your tax types, and onboarding confirms invoices sign and transmit before you rely on it, so your compliance never lapses.
Moving to Veira is designed to take a weekend, not a leap of faith, with local support throughout. See how Veira works and book a free demo.