// consultancy > systems_integrations
Where systems talk, refunds clear.
Across food processing, manufacturing, retail and services — we configure the chain that links your ERP to KRA: TIMS, eTIMS, iCMS, iTax. Quiet, signed, reconciled. The kind of integration nobody notices, until they have to.
what we integrate
Four lanes of work — one delivery team.
01 · ERP ⇄ tax
ERP-to-TIMS / eTIMS
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Sage and custom ERPs — wired to Datecs Type C devices and the eTIMS virtual stack.
02 · customs ⇄ tax
iCMS ↔ iTax reconciliation
Export trails matched end-to-end: CU Invoice Number ↔ Customs lodgement ↔ VAT return prefill. Variances closed before filing.
03 · payments
Payments & gateways
M-Pesa Daraja, card processors and wallet rails — reconciled back to the GL with withholding-tax logic that survives audit.
04 · data
Reporting & audit trails
Weekly reconciliation reports, immutable transaction references and tax dashboards your finance lead can defend in a sitting.
e-TIMS · deep dive
TIMS, eTIMS & the iCMS–iTax handshake.
From May 2026, KRA prefills zero-rated export values directly from iCMS into your VAT return — and locks manual overrides. If an export isn’t validated in Customs and linked to a valid TIMS/eTIMS invoice, it won’t appear in your return, and you can’t add it back. The systems haven’t changed. The discipline around them has.
eTIMS / TIMS
Invoice raised in ERP, signed by device, CU Invoice Number assigned and transmitted to KRA in real time.
iCMS (Customs)
C&F agent lodges the export document with exporter PIN + CU Invoice Number. Customs validates.
iTax VAT return
Validated export value prefilled into zero-rated supplies. Manual override no longer permitted.
The match is one-way: if any of the three is missing or wrong, the prefill fails — and you cannot fix it manually.
The eight configuration touchpoints where exporters get caught.
- Tax type / class — export customers and items resolve to a zero-rated class on every line. No silent defaulting to standard-rated.
- Customer PIN capture — exporter PIN, buyer PIN (SCT/EPZ/SEZ) and customer reference present on every zero-rated invoice. ERP rejects exports without a PIN.
- Export flag & document type — explicit at the sales-order level, driven by customer master or order-type rule. This is what triggers zero-rated downstream.
- Real-time transmission — devices sign and transmit in near real-time. Batch latency below the C&F lodgement window. Slow signing is no longer just an ops nuisance — it is a refund risk.
- CU Invoice Number handover — formal protocol between Finance and the C&F agent. The CU number, not the commercial invoice or delivery note, is what iCMS expects.
- Credit-note linkage — credit notes carry the zero-rated class and reference the original CU number. Value-only credit notes supported cleanly, without placeholder lines.
- No duplicate signing — ERP prevents re-signing of already-signed invoices. Historical duplicates identified and reversed.
- Dormant-gadget exposure cleared — historical zero-rated invoices that never passed through a compliant device, identified, reversed and re-issued.
downloadable resource
Take the playbook with you.
Eight-minute read, written for the people who actually have to fix this — Finance, Tax, IT and Operations leadership at exporters, plus the C&F agents who lodge in iCMS. Share it with your team before May closes.
Inside the advisory
- What changed in the 23 Apr 2026 KRA notice
- The 8 configuration touchpoints that break the prefill
- 10-point checklist with owners
- Common field pitfalls — and how to avoid them
- 30-day action sequence (Week 1 → Ongoing)
- Five focused engagements you can scope with us
Five engagements you can scope before May closes.
01
TIMS / eTIMS configuration audit
One-week audit of device estate, ERP tax configuration, transmission discipline and CU number handover. Written findings + prioritised fix list.
02
ERP-to-TIMS integration review
Business Central, Sage or custom — export flag, tax-type routing, PIN enforcement, real-time transmission, credit-note linkage.
03
Reconciliation workflow setup
Weekly reconciliation across eTIMS portal, ERP records and iCMS submissions — templates, ownership, runbook.
04
Historical clean-up — duplicates
Reversal of duplicate-signed invoices and dormant-gadget exposure, KRA 6-month-window aware. Full reconciliation reporting.
05
E-TIMS / VSCU migration assessment
Independent readiness assessment with timing, scope and integration approach. Scoped as discrete work, not a commitment to migrate.