Built for Kenya

Restaurant POS Software in Kenya

Cloud restaurant POS and billing for Kenya — 16% VAT invoices in shillings, M-Pesa payments through Paystack and Flutterwave, and billing that runs on the phone already in your pocket.

16%
VAT-ready invoicing
M-Pesa
Via Paystack & Flutterwave
30 days
Free trial, free plan after

Why Kenyan Restaurants Choose MealNix

The things that actually differ market to market — tax, currency, language and how people pay — handled rather than worked around.

M-Pesa Where It Belongs

M-Pesa is how Kenya pays. Take it through Paystack or Flutterwave, or keep your Buy Goods till and record it as its own payment type so the day-end actually reconciles.

16% VAT, Inclusive Pricing

Kenyan menus are usually priced VAT-inclusive. Switch MealNix to inclusive pricing so the price on the menu is exactly what the guest pays, and the VAT is still broken out correctly on the invoice.

No Terminal Required

Runs on any Android phone, tablet or browser, so you can start with hardware you already own and add a thermal printer when you want one.

QR Ordering at the Table

Guests scan to browse the menu, order and pay without waiting for a server — useful when the room is full and staff are stretched.

Live Inventory & Food Cost

Stock deducts as you sell, with low-stock alerts and recipe-level costing so meat and produce cost stays visible.

Nairobi to Mombasa

Run outlets in different counties from one dashboard with per-branch pricing and group-level reporting.

How Your Guests Pay in Kenya

Every payment type lands in the same day-end report, so cash, card, gateway and delivery money reconcile together instead of in four places.

Paystack

Built in, and it covers M-Pesa alongside cards for Kenyan customers, settled in shillings.

Flutterwave

Also built in. M-Pesa, cards and bank payments, with cross-border reach across East Africa.

Stripe & PayPal

International cards for the tourist and safari-lodge trade and for corporate catering.

Cash & M-Pesa till

Keep your existing Buy Goods till and record the payment type in MealNix so the day-end still balances across cash, M-Pesa and card.

Tax & Invoicing in Kenya

What MealNix does, stated plainly.

Kenya — VAT at 16%

  • VAT on restaurant and catering service in Kenya is standard-rated at 16%. Set it once and MealNix applies it to every order, with per-item overrides where a line differs.
  • Print an invoice showing your PIN with the net amount, the VAT amount and the gross total in shillings.
  • Choose tax-inclusive menu pricing — which is how most Kenyan menus are priced — or tax-exclusive, per outlet.
  • Pull a VAT summary for any date range for your return.
KRA eTIMS: Kenya requires electronic tax invoices to be transmitted to KRA through TIMS/eTIMS. MealNix does not currently integrate with eTIMS. MealNix handles the billing, the 16% VAT calculation, the itemised invoice and the reporting; transmitting compliant invoices to KRA has to be handled by an eTIMS-compliant device or solution alongside it. If eTIMS transmission is a hard requirement for your outlet — and for most VAT-registered Kenyan restaurants it is — talk to us before you buy so you know exactly where the line sits.

Built for Every Food Business in Kenya

One system that adapts to how your outlet actually runs.

Nyama Choma Joints

Weight-based items, fast parcel billing and kitchen tickets routed to the grill, with shift-wise cash register closing.

Cafés & Coffee Houses

Kenya grows the coffee and increasingly drinks it too. Modifier-heavy drink menus, loyalty and counter-speed billing.

Full-Service Restaurants

Table plans, course-wise kitchen tickets, split bills and service charge handling for the Westlands and Kilimani trade.

Coast & Safari Lodge Dining

Seasonal trade in Mombasa, Malindi and the lodges. International card acceptance and no minimum usage on the free plan.

Cloud Kitchens

Several delivery-only brands out of one kitchen, each with its own menu, pricing and reporting.

Catering & Events

Advance bookings with part payments, bulk orders and ingredient planning against confirmed covers.

Serving Restaurants Across Kenya

MealNix is cloud software with remote onboarding, so there is no install visit to wait for — wherever you are in Kenya, you can be billing today.

Nairobi Mombasa Kisumu Nakuru Eldoret Thika Malindi Naivasha

Bill from a phone on the floor, a tablet at the table or a full terminal at the counter.

Android app on Google Play iOS Any web browser Cloud-hosted — no local server

Language & Receipts

Interface languages: English

English ships as the interface language, and the Language Pack module lets you add and edit others — including Swahili — if you need them.

  • Each staff member picks their own interface language on the same terminal.
  • Printed receipts, kitchen tickets and the guest-facing QR menu all follow the language setting.
  • Delivery volume from Glovo and your own branded ordering page can be logged alongside dine-in so one report covers the trading day.

MealNix vs a Generic POS in Kenya

Where a POS built for somewhere else tends to fall down.

CapabilityMealNixGeneric imported POS
Local tax handling Vat at 16%, with per-item overrides Often a single hard-coded rate, or none
Kenyan shilling formatting Correct symbol, placement and decimal precision Frequently forces two decimals and a foreign symbol
Interface language English Usually English only
Local payment rails Paystack, Flutterwave International cards only, if that
QR menu & table ordering Included on paid plans Usually a paid add-on
Runs on a phone or tablet Yes — Android, iOS and web Often needs proprietary hardware
Free plan Free Starter plan, no time limit Rarely offered

Getting Started in Kenya

Remote onboarding, so there is no waiting for an engineer to be in your city.

1

Sign up & set your tax

Create your restaurant, set your Kenyan shilling and your VAT rate. Takes a few minutes.

2

Load your menu

Import your existing menu rather than retyping it, then set modifiers, kitchen routing and pricing.

3

Connect payments

Link Paystack or another supported gateway, or keep your existing terminal and record payment types.

4

Go live

Train your staff on the terminal, phone or tablet you already have, and start billing. Support is available while you settle in.

Restaurant POS in Kenya — FAQ

Straight answers, including the ones that are not a simple yes.

Which restaurant POS software is best for Kenya?

MealNix is a cloud restaurant POS that runs in Kenya: it calculates 16% VAT, invoices in shillings carrying your PIN, supports M-Pesa through Paystack and Flutterwave, and handles QR table ordering, kitchen displays, inventory and multi-branch reporting from Nairobi to Mombasa. Note that eTIMS transmission is not included — see the question below.

Does MealNix integrate with KRA eTIMS?

No. MealNix does not currently integrate with TIMS or eTIMS and does not transmit invoices to KRA. What MealNix does is the billing itself: the 16% VAT calculation, the itemised invoice, the payment and the reporting. Kenya requires VAT-registered businesses to issue electronic tax invoices through an eTIMS-compliant solution, so that has to sit alongside MealNix. For most VAT-registered Kenyan restaurants this is a hard requirement, and we would rather tell you before you buy than after.

Does MealNix support M-Pesa?

Yes, through Paystack and Flutterwave, both of which are built-in integrations covering M-Pesa alongside cards with settlement in shillings. If you would rather keep your existing Buy Goods till, record M-Pesa as its own payment type in MealNix so cash, M-Pesa, card and delivery payments all reconcile in the same day-end report.

How does MealNix handle 16% VAT in Kenya?

Restaurant and catering service is standard-rated at 16%. Set the rate once and MealNix applies it to every order, with per-item overrides where a line differs. Because Kenyan menus are usually priced VAT-inclusive, you can switch MealNix to inclusive pricing so the menu price is exactly what the guest pays while the VAT is still broken out correctly on the invoice and in your VAT summary.

Does MealNix need an expensive POS terminal?

No. It runs on any Android phone, tablet or web browser, so you can start with hardware you already own and add a thermal printer later. For a small nyama choma joint or a café that is often the difference between getting a POS and not bothering.

Is MealNix suitable for a nyama choma joint?

Yes. Weight-based items, fast parcel billing, kitchen tickets routed to the grill and shift-wise cash register closing all work out of the box, and the whole thing runs from a phone if that suits the space.

Is there a free trial for restaurants in Kenya?

Yes. Paid plans come with a 30-day free trial, and the free Starter plan has no time limit, no per-user fee and no setup fee.

MealNix in Nearby Markets

Running outlets in more than one country? Each market has its own page.

Start Billing in Kenya Today

Free Starter plan with no time limit, or a 30-day free trial of the paid plans. No setup fee, no per-user fee.

Start Free Trial See Pricing

Cloud-hosted • Remote onboarding • Menu import • Vat-ready invoicing