The short answer
eTIMS Client is software installed on a machine at the business and Buyer-initiated invoicing is a change to who raises the invoice rather than to what you install. The choice follows from how your business issues invoices: how many, how fast, and whether the connection holds while you do it.
Side by side
| eTIMS Client | Buyer-initiated invoicing | |
|---|---|---|
| Kind of thing | An application installed on a device the business owns, rather than a page in a browser. | An invoicing model rather than a piece of software: it changes who raises the document, not what you install. |
| Connection | Copes with drops | Depends on setup |
| Invoice rhythm | Steady, through the trading day | Per supply relationship |
eTIMS Client
Software installed on a machine at the business. KRA documents a Windows option and an Android one, so this covers both a counter PC and a handset. Steady invoicing through the day from a fixed point. It assumes there is a counter and that the counter has a machine on it.
Buyer-initiated invoicing
An arrangement where the buyer raises the invoice rather than the seller. It exists because plenty of real supply relationships have a large buyer and a supplier with no system at all. The invoice originates with the party that has the system, which is the opposite of the usual direction.
How to choose between them
Our reading, not a rule. Nothing below is a statement of what KRA requires.
eTIMS Client gets awkward when
A business with no machine of its own, where a handset is the only computer. Several branches, because each one is a separate installation to keep current. Anywhere nobody is responsible for updates, which is how a working setup quietly stops working.
Buyer-initiated invoicing gets awkward when
Any relationship where the supplier can issue the invoice perfectly well, in which case this is a complication rather than a solution. A buyer not prepared to carry the record-keeping, because the burden moves with the document.
What the rules say
Stated by the publisher from the cited KRA material. Our reviewer has not yet re-checked it against the source, so confirm anything you are about to act on with KRA directly.
KRA identifies several categories of eTIMS solution, among them eTIMS Online, the eTIMS Client, eTIMS Lite, system-to-system integration, reverse invoicing and buyer-initiated invoicing. Which one suits a business depends on how it issues invoices rather than on what it sells.
KRA documents eTIMS Client options for Windows and for Android, and makes eTIMS Lite reachable through eCitizen, through USSD and as a mobile solution.
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.
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.
Common questions
Which is better, eTIMS Client or Buyer-initiated invoicing?
Neither, as a general matter. They assume different invoicing patterns, and the one that suits a business follows from how many invoices it issues and how reliable its connection is.
When would eTIMS Client be the wrong choice?
A business with no machine of its own, where a handset is the only computer.
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.
Sources
- officialeTIMS (Electronic Tax Invoice Management System) — Kenya Revenue Authority, checked 2026-09-18
- officialKenya Revenue Authority — Kenya Revenue Authority, checked 2026-09-18