Integrations Archives - Symatech Labs

Integrate Your QuickBooks Online To KRA eTIMS

Symatech Labs — Wed, 21 May 2025 20:25:44 +0000

Integrate QuickBooks Online To KRA eTIMS

QuickBooks Online is a powerful, cloud-based accounting software built for small businesses, freelancers, and entrepreneurs to easily manage their finances. In light of the requirement by KRA for businesses to be compliant with eTIMS, below are the steps one can follow when integrating the QuickBooks Online account:

Step One

Navigate to the Intuit Developer Section.
Create an App.
Set up a valid redirect URI in your App settings.

We’ve published a GitHub repository that includes method definitions for obtaining the Authorization Code after your App has been set up. The getAuthCode function will return a URL which you can open using your browser

    def getAuthCode(self):
        params = {
            "client_id" : CLIENT_ID,
            "redirect_uri" : REDIRECT_URI,
            "response_type" : "code",
            "scope" : "com.intuit.quickbooks.accounting",
            "state" : "15874"
        }
        return "https://appcenter.intuit.com/connect/oauth2?" + urllib.parse.urlencode(params)
        
        #The method will return a URL i.e http://localhost/quickbooks/?code={Authorization Code}&state={State}&realmId={CompanyID}

Select the Connect option, this action will result in the browser redirecting to the redirect link you had set.

Step Two

We would need to exchange the Authorization Code for the Access Token.

    def getTokens(self):
        token_url = OAUTH_URL+"/oauth2/v1/tokens/bearer"
        auth = base64.b64encode(f"{CLIENT_ID}:{CLIENT_SECRET}".encode()).decode()

        headers = {
            "Authorization": f"Basic {auth}",
            "Content-Type": CONTENT_TYPE_FORM_URL_ENCODED
        }

        data = {
            "grant_type": "authorization_code",
            "code": AUTHORIZATION_CODE,
            "redirect_uri": REDIRECT_URI
        }

        response = requests.post(token_url, headers=headers, data=data)
        return response.json()

Step Three

With the Access Token, we can then proceed to getting the sales transactions.

    def getSalesReceipts(self, accessToken, companyID, maxResults):
        url = f"{SANDBOX_URL}company/{companyID}/query"
        headers = {
            "Authorization": f"Bearer {accessToken}",
            "Accept": "application/json",
            "Content-Type": CONTENT_TYPE_TEXT
        }

        query = "SELECT * FROM SalesReceipt ORDERBY TxnDate DESC MAXRESULTS "+maxResults
        response = requests.get(url, headers=headers, params={"query": query})
        return response.json()

Step Four

The result of Step Three above can then be submitted to our KRA Agent App which would then handle the submission to KRA eTIMS.

Github

Find the full codebase on Github

Symatech Labs is a Software Development company based in Nairobi, Kenya that specializes in Software Development, Mobile App Development, Web Application Development, Integrations, USSD and Consultancy.

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How to Integrate KRA eTIMS API With Your Point Of Sale Or System

Symatech Labs — Thu, 08 May 2025 18:35:43 +0000

How To Integrate KRA eTIMS API With Your Point Of Sale Or System

eTIMS is a software solution by KRA that offers taxpayers a simple, convenient, and flexible way to manage electronic invoicing. It is accessible across a range of computing devices, ensuring ease of use and broad compatibility. Businesses can now generate and submit invoices using the following options:

Online Portal – a web-based platform for invoicing accessible via etims.kra.go.ke
eTIMS Client – a downloadable software that supports multiple branches and cashier tills/pay points. The software can be configured for both Windows and android devices, i.e. Windows based computers & laptops, android smart phones, tablets & Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices
eTIMS Lite (Web) – a web-based solution accessible through eCitizen.
eTIMS Lite (USSD) – accessed through the short code *222#. This solution is for individuals and sole proprietors.
eTIMS Lite (Mobile app) – accessible on Play Store and Apple Store.
eTIMS System to System Integration – This solution is tailored for businesses with an invoicing system and would like to integrate with eTIMS i.e., Virtual Sales Control Unit (VSCU) and Online Sales Control Unit (OSCU).
Reverse Invoicing and Buyer Initiated Solution – both solutions enable the buyer to generate a tax invoice on behalf of a seller.

In this case, we will focus on the OSCU(Online Sales Control Unit) and VSCU(Virtual Sales Control Unit) and how businesses can integrate their point of sale or system. KRA advises businesses that have a lot of transactions to consider using OSCU or the VSCU.

OSCU is preferred for businesses that primarily have their operations done in an online setting, while VSCU is good for businesses that are not always online.

Registering for OSCU and VSCU

The two implementations(OSCU and VSCU) follow a similar signup process:

Visit the eTIMS portal.
Select the Sign Up option.
Enter the PIN number of your business and click the verify button. This will auto-populate the other input fields with the details of your business.
The Send OTP button, when clicked, would send a one-time password to the registered phone number. There are cases where you might want to change the phone number, you can do this by going to iTax and updating it there. Consider contacting timsupport@kra.go.ke for any incidental technical issue.
Once you have been able to Sign Up, you will then log in and choose the type of eTIMS solution you would want(OSCU or VSCU). This will be done by selecting the Service Request tab, then eTIMS.
You will be required to submit details of the directors and confirm the same using the personal PIN of the directors, together with their corresponding mobile phone numbers. An OTP will be sent to the directors to confirm this action.
In the Service Information section, you will be presented with the eTIMS type options: eTIMS Client, Online, VSCU and OSCU. Select the preferred option and proceed.

Integrating Into Your System

Depending on the eTIMS type selected above, we can then proceed to integrate your point of sale or system to KRA. Symatech Labs’s implementation covers all the options above.

Recently the government placed a notice on all petrol stations to integrate eTIMS by June 30th 2025 as part of their compliance requirement.

Symatech L abs is a Software Development company based in Nairobi, Kenya that specializes in Software Development, Mobile App Development, Web Application Development, Integrations, USSD and Consultancy.

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Creating the M-PESA B2C API Initiator with it’s Password

Brian Osoro — Sun, 23 Jul 2023 11:03:41 +0000

Creating the B2C API Initiator to allow you make API calls can be summarized in the following three steps.

Step One: Create a Business Manager

Log in as the Business Administrator
Select operators
Then click the add option
It will take you to a new page where you will enter the username of the operator
Select access channel as Web
Then select web profile default rule profile
Then assign the following roles: Business Manager and Set Restricted ORG API PASSWORD.
Enter the KYC information of the operator then submit

Step Two: Create the API User

Log in as the Business Administrator
Select operators
Then click the add option
It will take you to a new page where you will enter the username of the API initiator ,
Select access channel as API
Then select web profile default rule profile
Then assign the following roles: ORG B2C API initiator, Balance Query ORG API, Transaction Status query ORG API roles
Enter the KYC information of the operator then submit

Step Three : Setting the API User’s Password

Log in as User with the Set Restrict Password Role i.e. The Business Manager
Go to My Function >> Operator Management >> Search with the Username of the API user >> Click on icon under Operation >> Set Password
Then click on set password. Validity of the password is 90 days.

Symatech L abs is a Software Development company based in Nairobi, Kenya that specializes in Software Development, Mobile App Development, Web Application Development, Integrations, USSD and Consultancy.

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SDK and APIs, what is the difference?

Brian Osoro — Sat, 28 May 2022 10:29:56 +0000

Modern software development paradigms make a lot of use of APIs and SDKs. We live in a world that is more connected than it used to be. Apart from people being able to communicate with each other more intimately than they used to (video/audio calls, emails), different systems also communicate with each other much more than they used to. An example is a user making a ticket purchase to an event using mobile money. You will notice that the mobile money service is run by a different system/company and the ticketing service is run by another system/company, but ultimately the two will have to communicate. In a way, both concepts (API and SDK) overlap and are somewhat interrelated.

What is an SDK

The word SDK stands for Software Development Kit, SDKs can be looked at as a carpenter/workman’s toolkit that contains the various parts they use.

Sample tool kit, image from Skygarden

Different manufacturers have different parts in their toolkits, the same also applies to SDKs. A basic SDK will include:

Debugger
Compiler
Drivers
APIs
Libraries
Documentation
Development environments
Testing and analysis tools

Some SDKs will include test projects/code snippets to allow developers to make quick references, for example how to take a photo from an Android device or an iOS Device

What is an API

API is an acronym for Application Programming Interface. It can be looked at as a connection between different software modules to allow for message passing. APIs contain specifications of how the communication is to occur.

Consider an API to be like a restaurant’s menu. The menu includes a list of available dishes as well as a description of each item, i.e. their prices. When you pick the dish(es) you want from the menu, the restaurant’s kitchen prepares them for you. You don’t have to know how the restaurant cooks the food, all you care about is the food being delivered to you on time and in the manner advertised on the menu.

A good example is the Safaricom M-PESA API (find a project on Github we did that enables developers to invoke the M-PESA STK functionality) that allows software developers integrate their system with the mobile money service.

Another example is an API inteface by the Kenya Revenue Authority to allow registered taxpayers (B2B, B2C, and B2G) to submit their invoice details to KRA by generating Electronic Invoices (E-Invoices) and sending the same to the Tax Invoice Management System (TIMS). There’s a deadline set for the compliance requirement, which is on the 31st of July 2022.

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