VAT reports
VAT summary and zero-rated disclosure reports from the same sales data.
KRA eTIMS buyer's guide
KRA eTIMS compliant POS: eight things to check before you buy
Every retailer in Kenya has to issue eTIMS-signed invoices, and the way a POS does it decides how often your cashiers are held up. These are the questions to ask any vendor, with the way SalesLife POS answers each.
The signing flow, step by step
What happens to every sale, and what happens when signing cannot complete.
StartSale completed at the till
- Till
Capture buyer details
Add the customer's KRA PIN when the invoice needs it.
- VSCU agent
Sign the sale
The local VSCU agent signs the sale following the KRA specification.
- Till
Store the QR
The fiscal QR payload is stored on the document.
- Offline queue
If signing fails
Unsigned invoices queue and a background worker retries.
- Supervisor
Retry with control
Retry one invoice or a batch, with supervisor approval.
- Compliance
Escalate breaches
Invoices that breach the SLA go to a compliance officer task queue.
ResultEvery sale fiscalised or escalated
The checklist, and how SalesLife answers it
| Ask the vendor | How SalesLife POS handles it |
|---|---|
| Is signing part of the sale, or a separate step? | Signing happens inside the sale through a local fiscal agent, so the cashier does not re-key anything. |
| Are refunds and credit notes signed too? | Yes. Sales and refunds are signed, and fiscal credit notes are issued where required. |
| What happens when the signer or internet is down? | Unsigned invoices wait in an offline queue, and a background worker retries until they are signed. |
| Is the fiscal QR stored on the document? | Yes. The QR payload is stored with the document and printed on the receipt. |
| Can the buyer's PIN be captured? | Yes. The cashier can capture the buyer's KRA PIN at the till. |
| Who is told when signing keeps failing? | Items that breach the signing window go to an officer task queue, and head office sees the signing rate by branch. |
| Can a supervisor control retries? | Yes. Single and bulk retries of failed invoices need supervisor approval. |
| Can we test before going live? | Yes. A simulator mode lets you run user acceptance testing without a live signer. |
Why the offline case matters most
Most eTIMS problems happen when something is down. A system that blocks the till when signing fails turns a network fault into a queue of customers.
- Cashiers keep selling, and the unsigned invoice is queued instead of lost
- The queue retries automatically, and a person can retry by hand with supervisor approval
- Anything left unsigned past the window is escalated to a named officer
- Head office sees how much of the day's trading is signed, by branch
Beyond signing: the tax work around it
Withholding tax
Generate, issue and export withholding tax remittance certificates.
Reconciliation
M-Pesa paybill matching, Safaricom settlement files and bank or PesaLink settlements.
Audit trail
Security override and master-data change logs, with a month-end POS-to-ERP report.
FAQ
Common questions
Does SalesLife POS work with the KRA eTIMS VSCU?
Yes. It signs sales and refunds through a local VSCU agent, built to the KRA eTIMS specification, version 2.0.
What if the internet is down when we sell?
Cash sales continue. Invoices that cannot be signed are queued and retried automatically.
Do we need a separate eTIMS device?
SalesLife signs through a local fiscal agent on the branch, so cashiers use one screen for the sale and the signing.
Can we see how many invoices are signed?
Yes. SalesLife Central has a fiscal monitor showing the signing rate, receipts needing attention and every transmission attempt, by branch.
Keep exploring
See SalesLife on your products, your branches and your ERP.
Book a live demo with a SalesLife retail specialist, or email hello@saleslife.com.