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. Consumer trade at receipt level. Invoices appear for corporate grooming accounts and event work, which is worth handling properly since those are the bookings with real value.
A hair and beauty business charging per service, usually with stylists working on commission or chair rental.
How stock behaves in this trade
Products consumed per service plus a retail shelf, where the same tub of relaxer serves both and nobody records which, so product cost per service is usually unknown. The usual lines are hair styling, braiding and treatment, nails and beauty treatments, retail hair and beauty products and bridal and event bookings.
What invoicing actually looks like here
Consumer trade at receipt level. Invoices appear for corporate grooming accounts and event work, which is worth handling properly since those are the bookings with real value.
What tends to go wrong
- Stylist commission disputes
- Retail product used in services untracked
- No-shows on appointment slots
- Cash taken directly by stylists
Customers here usually pay by m-pesa, cash and package and prepaid bookings.
How customers pay in this trade
Payment in a salon usually comes through m-pesa, cash and package and prepaid bookings. 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
- turnover tax
- vat registration
- invoice contents
What the rules say
This page explains how a requirement generally works. It is not tax advice, and it cannot account for the specifics of any one business. For a position you intend to rely on, confirm with KRA directly or with a registered tax agent.
Tax rules in Kenya change with each Finance Act and with regulations made during the year. Before acting on any figure, deadline or threshold, check the current position on KRA's own website.
What we are not stating here. Some of the specific requirements relating to this topic have not yet been verified against their primary source by our reviewer, so they are withheld from this page rather than stated from memory. That means you will not find a threshold, rate, deadline or penalty figure below. For those, check KRA directly. Everything else on this page explains how the mechanism works and is not affected.
Common questions
Does a salon need to issue a tax invoice for every sale?
Consumer trade at receipt level. Invoices appear for corporate grooming accounts and event work, which is worth handling properly since those are the bookings with real value.
What usually goes wrong with records in a salon?
The recurring problems in this trade are stylist commission disputes; retail product used in services untracked; no-shows on appointment slots; cash taken directly by stylists. Each of them shows up in the records before it shows up in the bank balance.
How should a salon keep stock records?
Products consumed per service plus a retail shelf, where the same tub of relaxer serves both and nobody records which, so product cost per service is usually unknown. Records that do not reflect that pattern will not tell you anything useful, whatever system produces them.
How do I know this information is current?
Tax rules in Kenya change with each Finance Act and with regulations made during the year. Before acting on any figure, deadline or threshold, check the current position on KRA's own website.
eTIMS channels for salons
More for salons
- Who must comply for salons
- Registering for eTIMS for salons
- Choosing an eTIMS channel for salons
- Issuing an eTIMS invoice for salons
- Credit and debit notes for salons
- Expenses and deductibility for salons
- Working offline for salons
- Records and audit for salons
- VAT registration for salons
- Turnover Tax for salons
- What eTIMS costs for salons
- Stock and inventory control for salons
- M-Pesa reconciliation for salons
- Staff and shrinkage for salons
- Choosing a POS system for salons
- Pricing and margin for salons
- Suppliers and purchase records for salons
Related trades
Where salons cluster
Salons are a named sector in 7 of the towns covered here.
Sources
- officialeTIMS (Electronic Tax Invoice Management System) — Kenya Revenue Authority, checked 2026-09-18
- officialIncome Tax Act (Cap. 470) — National Council for Law Reporting (Kenya Law), checked 2026-09-18
- officialKenya Revenue Authority — Kenya Revenue Authority, checked 2026-09-18
- officialValue Added Tax Act, 2013 (Act No. 35 of 2013) — National Council for Law Reporting (Kenya Law), checked 2026-09-18