Offline mode, M-Pesa, eTIMS, stock and support: the questions to ask before you pay for a point-of-sale system for your Kenyan shop, restaurant or hotel.
A good point-of-sale system pays for itself by stopping stock leaks, speeding up the counter and showing you exactly how the business is doing. A bad one becomes an expensive receipt printer. Ask these questions before you buy.
Does it keep selling when the internet drops?
Connections in Kenya go down. A cloud-only POS that stops when the internet does will cost you sales and queues. Look for offline-first software that records sales locally and syncs automatically once you are back online.
How does it handle M-Pesa?
At minimum you need to record M-Pesa payments against each sale. Better systems send an STK push to the customer's phone and mark the sale paid automatically, which removes fake-confirmation fraud and end-of-day reconciliation headaches.
Is it ready for KRA eTIMS?
KRA's electronic Tax Invoice Management System (eTIMS) affects how many businesses issue invoices. Requirements have changed over time, so check the current KRA rules for your business type, and choose a POS that can integrate with eTIMS when you need it.
Stock control that matches how you work
- Units and pack sizes (sell by piece, dozen or carton).
- Low-stock alerts and purchase orders.
- Stock transfers between branches.
- Variance reports that show where stock is disappearing.
Staff accounts and permissions
Every cashier should have their own PIN. Discounts, voids and refunds should need a supervisor. Reports should show sales by staff member and shift.
Receipts, quotes and invoices
Thermal receipts for the counter, A4 invoices and quotations for corporate customers, and the option to send a digital receipt by SMS, WhatsApp or email.
Reports you will actually read
Daily sales, best sellers, profit by product and payment-method totals on your phone, without sitting at the shop computer.
Local support
When the printer stops at 7 pm on a Saturday, you need someone who answers. Ask who supports the system, how, and how fast.
Our POS
Bepents Tech Services builds and supports POS for retail, hardware, restaurants, hotels and cyber cafés, including our own offline-first Receiptify platform. Ask us for a demo on WhatsApp.