eTIMS for hardware stores

The short answer

Whether a business in this trade has to issue eTIMS invoices follows from the rules that apply to any Kenyan business, not from the trade itself; the rules on who must comply are what decide it. What the trade changes is the shape of the job. This is one of the trades where tax invoices matter most. Contractors, developers and institutions buying materials need a compliant invoice with their PIN on it to claim the expense against their own income, so a hardware shop that cannot issue one loses the jobs, not just the paperwork.

A building and construction supplier selling cement, steel, timber, paint, plumbing and electrical goods, usually to a mix of walk-in buyers and contractors.

How stock behaves in this trade

A mix of heavy bulk lines measured in tonnes and bags against thousands of small fittings sold in single units, with the bulk lines carrying low margins and high capital and the small fittings carrying the opposite. The usual lines are cement, ballast and sand, steel bars, sheets and nails, paint, plumbing and electrical fittings and tools and fixings.

What invoicing actually looks like here

This is one of the trades where tax invoices matter most. Contractors, developers and institutions buying materials need a compliant invoice with their PIN on it to claim the expense against their own income, so a hardware shop that cannot issue one loses the jobs, not just the paperwork.

What tends to go wrong

• Quoting a job, then losing the quote
• Deliveries going out without paperwork
• Contractor credit that stretches past terms
• Counting rods, sheets and bags accurately

Customers here usually pay by m-pesa, cash, bank transfer for large orders and contractor credit accounts.

How customers pay in this trade

Payment in a hardware store usually comes through m-pesa, cash, bank transfer for large orders and contractor credit accounts. That mix decides how hard reconciliation is: every separate channel is a separate record that has to agree with the sales it paid for, and the trades that struggle most are the ones running three or four at once without anything joining them up.

Compliance angles that apply to this trade

• vat registration
• invoice contents
• credit notes
• customer pin
• deductibility

What the rules say

Common questions

More for hardware stores

• Who must comply for hardware stores
• Registering for eTIMS for hardware stores
• Choosing an eTIMS channel for hardware stores
• Issuing an eTIMS invoice for hardware stores
• Credit and debit notes for hardware stores
• Expenses and deductibility for hardware stores
• Working offline for hardware stores
• Records and audit for hardware stores
• VAT registration for hardware stores
• Turnover Tax for hardware stores
• What eTIMS costs for hardware stores
• Stock and inventory control for hardware stores
• M-Pesa reconciliation for hardware stores
• Staff and shrinkage for hardware stores
• Choosing a POS system for hardware stores
• Pricing and margin for hardware stores
• Suppliers and purchase records for hardware stores

Related trades

• Spare parts shops
• Wholesalers
• Electronics shops

Where hardware stores cluster

Hardware stores are a named sector in 45 of the towns covered here.

• Hardware stores in Nairobi
• Hardware stores in Mombasa
• Hardware stores in Kisumu
• Hardware stores in Nakuru
• Hardware stores in Eldoret
• Hardware stores in Thika
• Hardware stores in Nyeri
• Hardware stores in Machakos
• Hardware stores in Kitale
• Hardware stores in Kakamega
• Hardware stores in Kisii
• Hardware stores in Meru