The short answer
The browser route. You sign in to the taxpayer portal and issue invoices from there, with nothing installed on the machine you are using.
What it actually is
A web portal used in a browser, on whatever device has one. Runs on: a laptop, a desktop, a tablet, a smartphone. It needs the connection to be up while you use it.
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 states that taxpayers can onboard themselves, and that registration comes before installing an eTIMS solution rather than after it.
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.
When this is the right shape
Our reading, not a rule. Nothing below is a statement of what KRA requires.
- A business issuing a manageable number of invoices, where typing one out is not the bottleneck
- An office or back room rather than a busy counter with a queue
- A business that would rather not install or maintain anything
- Anyone who works from more than one machine
Where it gets awkward
Our reading, not a rule. Nothing below is a statement of what KRA requires.
- A counter under pressure: a browser form is slow when someone is waiting
- Trading through an outage, because the portal needs the connection to be up
- High invoice volume, where re-keying what the till already knows is duplicated work
The invoicing pattern it assumes
Our reading, not a rule. Nothing below is a statement of what KRA requires.
Invoices issued deliberately, one at a time, by someone who has a moment to do it. The pattern fits a service business or a wholesaler invoicing after the fact better than a shop invoicing at the till.
What getting started involves
Our reading, not a rule. Nothing below is a statement of what KRA requires.
Least to go wrong, because there is nothing to install and nothing to keep updated. What it needs is a reliable connection and someone who can sign in, which is the same access problem that blocks onboarding in the first place.
eTIMS Online in specific trades
Common questions
What is eTIMS Online?
The browser route. You sign in to the taxpayer portal and issue invoices from there, with nothing installed on the machine you are using.
What do I need to use eTIMS Online?
Its own description names these devices: laptop, desktop, tablet, smartphone. Confirm current requirements with KRA before buying anything on the strength of a summary.
When is eTIMS Online the wrong choice?
A counter under pressure: a browser form is slow when someone is waiting. That is our reading of how the channel behaves, not a rule.
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.
Other eTIMS channels
Sources
- officialeTIMS (Electronic Tax Invoice Management System) — Kenya Revenue Authority, checked 2026-09-18
- officialeTIMS taxpayer portal — Kenya Revenue Authority, checked 2026-09-18
- officialKenya Revenue Authority — Kenya Revenue Authority, checked 2026-09-18