eTIMS is KRA's Electronic Tax Invoice Management System, and VAT-registered businesses in Kenya must issue their tax invoices through it so that each sale is recorded with KRA. You enrol on the KRA portal, choose an integration route, and then every invoice carries a control code from KRA.
Earlier, Kenyan taxpayers issued receipts from electronic tax registers and, later, the TIMS system. KRA replaced these with eTIMS to capture invoice data in real time, narrow the gap between declared and actual sales, and make it easier for buyers to verify that a supplier's invoice is genuine.
The practical difference is that the invoice is not complete until KRA's system has validated it. The response carries a control unit data set that appears on the printed or PDF invoice, typically including a QR code that a buyer can scan to confirm the document.
eTIMS also changed the buyer's position. Since 2023, KRA has tied the deduction of business expenses to invoices generated through the system, so customers now ask suppliers whether they are enrolled. A supplier that cannot issue an eTIMS invoice risks losing business from larger buyers.
VAT-registered taxpayers are required to issue eTIMS invoices, and KRA has extended its reach to other taxpayers over time, including smaller businesses through simpler channels. Whether you are caught depends on your registrations and the rules in force, so check KRA's current eTIMS notices instead of relying on an old article.
Enrolment is done on the iTax and eTIMS portal using your PIN and password. You register your business, list your outlets or branches and your items, and select the channel you will use. The configuration of items, including tax codes and units, determines how each line prints, so take care at set-up.
Large taxpayers usually integrate their own accounting or billing systems with KRA through an interface and obtain approval. Smaller ones may use KRA's own web, mobile or USSD options. Which route fits depends on invoice volume and whether you already run software that can integrate.
Each invoice line needs a validated item code, quantity, price and tax category. When the invoice is submitted, KRA returns a control code and signature that must appear on the document given to the customer. An invoice issued without those details is not a valid eTIMS invoice.
Corrections follow rules too. You do not overwrite an issued invoice; you issue a credit note referencing it, then a new invoice if needed. Buyers can also raise purchase invoices in some scenarios, such as buying from suppliers who are not enrolled, but those mechanics are set by KRA and may change.
Network failures happen. Know your channel's offline procedure, and do not hand over a handwritten receipt in the meantime without recording it for later regularisation. Staff training matters, because a cashier who does not understand credit notes will cause mismatches that the accountant discovers at month end.
Test before going live. Issue a few sample invoices, a credit note and an invoice with mixed tax categories, then compare what the system returned with what your ledger shows. Fixing an item code or unit mapping during testing is simple; fixing it after hundreds of invoices means credit notes and re-issues.
The data you transmit feeds KRA's view of your sales, so your VAT return and income tax return should agree with it. Differences between what eTIMS shows and what you declare invite queries, and KRA's systems increasingly cross-check them automatically.
On the purchase side, buyers can see invoices issued to their PIN. A supplier who makes a typing mistake in the buyer's PIN effectively removes the buyer's ability to claim the expense, so double-check PINs at the point of sale.
Keep reconciliations monthly. Compare the eTIMS sales totals with your ledger, investigate gaps, and file corrections promptly. Doing so is much easier than explaining a year of drift during an audit.
Corporate buyers increasingly run checks on supplier invoices before approving payment. A purchase invoice that does not appear in KRA's data may be rejected by accounts payable, so a supplier who delays transmission or issues documents outside the system will find payments delayed, even when the goods were delivered on time.
Before you buy any invoicing tool, ask whether it is integrated with eTIMS and approved by KRA, and whether it transmits invoices in your name or leaves that step to you. A friendly invoice template without transmission does not satisfy the requirement for VAT-registered businesses.
Compare the cost of a full integration with the volume you issue. A business with ten invoices a month might manage with KRA's own channel, while one with thousands will need system-to-system integration, error handling and retries.
Insist on an export of your data. If you change providers, you need your item master, customer list and invoice history in a usable file, and the right to retrieve them is worth confirming in writing before you sign.
Ask the vendor how the system handles outages, retries and duplicate submissions, and who bears the cost when KRA's servers are unavailable. A provider that cannot describe its failure handling has probably not run at scale, and the gaps will show in your month-end reconciliation.
4invoices.net is a general invoicing tool. It produces PDF invoices and an archive, and it does not integrate with eTIMS or transmit anything to KRA. For a VAT-registered business, it therefore does not replace eTIMS invoicing, and you should obtain an approved route from KRA first.
Some users keep 4invoices.net for quotations, pro-forma documents and non-tax records, and use their eTIMS route for official tax invoices. That split is a business decision, and you must ensure that no customer receives a PDF in place of a required tax invoice.
4notify.net can send SMS or e-mail messages from your account, for example to tell a customer that an invoice has been issued. It does not show KRA acceptance or rejection status, so check that in the eTIMS system itself.
The existing accounting system cannot transmit invoices to eTIMS, so every invoice needs a manual workaround.
Follow KRA's eTIMS onboarding to obtain an approved solution. 4invoices.net is a general invoicing tool (PDF invoices and archive) and does not replace eTIMS transmission.
It is unclear whether a given invoice has been accepted by KRA or is pending, which creates audit risk.
4b2b does not show KRA acceptance or rejection status. Check status in the eTIMS system itself and keep your own list of invoices to follow up.
Staff type the buyer's PIN wrongly, so the customer cannot claim the expense.
Train staff to read the PIN back to the customer and credit-note errors immediately. 4b2b does not validate PINs.
It stands for Electronic Tax Invoice Management System, the platform KRA uses to receive and validate tax invoices from businesses in real time. A valid invoice carries KRA's response data, usually including a QR code, so that buyers can verify the document and KRA can see the sale as it happens.
It is compulsory for VAT-registered taxpayers, and KRA has been extending its use to other taxpayers through simpler channels. Because the scope has changed through notices and finance legislation, check KRA's current guidance or ask your accountant whether your registrations bring you into the requirement. Buyers may also insist on it, since invoices outside the system can hurt their deductions.
Only as an additional document. For a business that must use eTIMS, the tax invoice is the one validated by KRA's system with its control data. A PDF from a tool that does not transmit to KRA does not satisfy the requirement, however professional it looks, so confirm that your software is integrated.
You do not edit it. Issue a credit note that refers to the original invoice, and then issue a corrected invoice if the sale stands. Keep both documents on file and make sure your ledger reflects the cancellation, because the VAT return should match what was transmitted to KRA. Do this the same day if you can, before the customer records the document.
No. 4invoices.net produces PDF invoices and an invoice archive; it does not integrate with eTIMS and does not transmit invoices to KRA. A VAT-registered business must obtain an approved eTIMS route from KRA and use that for official tax invoices. Treat it as a record-keeping and presentation tool, and check any invoice you send against KRA's requirements.
This page is informational. Confirm requirements with the competent authority; 4b2b tools cover general invoicing and records only.
