Buyer guide · Hardware POS in Kenya
Choosing a hardware shop POS in Kenya.
A hardware counter trades differently from a supermarket: contractors want quotes and credit, deliveries need notes, and prices bend with quantity. This guide covers what a Kenyan hardware store or equipment yard needs from a POS, where M-Pesa and KRA eTIMS fit, and the questions to ask before you tie your stock and your debtors to it.
Who it fits
Who this is for, and who it is not.
Trade-counter software and a plain retail till diverge fast once credit and quotes appear. Check where you sit.
A good fit if
- You quote contractors and want a quote to become an invoice without retyping it.
- You sell on account and need per-customer credit limits and statements.
- You issue delivery notes when goods leave the yard, sometimes before payment.
- You price in bulk and want quantity to change the price at the till.
Probably not if
- You run a small general shop with no credit customers and no quoting. A general retail till may fit better.
- You need heavy-equipment fleet telematics. That is a separate system from a counter POS.
- You expect the counter to run only on a phone with no computer on site. Omnix is a Windows desktop product.
The working day
Walk the day before you buy.
A hardware POS should follow a job from quote to statement. Walk a contractor sale and check each step holds.
- Quote
Prepare a quotation
Build a quote with bulk pricing, hand it to the contractor and keep it ready to convert.
- Convert
Turn it into a sale
Accept the quote as an invoice without keying the items again.
- Deliver
Issue a delivery note
Print and sign a note as goods leave the yard, and open the receivable when they do.
- Account
Sell on contractor credit
Record the sale against the account, apply the credit limit and produce a statement on demand.
- Stock
Track heavy and serialised items
Keep counts, tiered prices and serialised units with their warranty details.
Local and connected
What runs on the device, what needs the line.
A trade counter keeps selling on credit whether the line is up or not. Separate the local record from the connected steps.
Works on the device
- Quoting, converting quotes and issuing delivery notes.
- Recording contractor account sales and statements.
- Counting stock and applying tiered prices.
- Reading sales, receivables and the day's position.
Needs a connection
- An M-Pesa STK push at the counter.
- KRA eTIMS submission, retried when the connection returns.
Platform facts
The same platform facts, whatever you sell.
These hold for every Omnix product. The licence is a one-time purchase, and the optional update plan is a separate choice.
- Platform
- Windows desktop (Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit)
- Works offline
- Core sales, stock and records use the local database on the computer
- Install
- Protected download from the customer dashboard after purchase
- Activation
- Each device activates its own licence
- Licence
- KES 30,000 one-time, per device, perpetual
- Compliance updates
- Optional KES 12,000 per year, not required to keep the licence working
Before you switch
Questions about moving your data.
A hardware store carries debtors as well as stock. Ask these before the switch.
- Which products, tiered prices and opening stock must be ready on the first day?
- Do you have contractor accounts with opening balances and agreed credit limits?
- Are there open quotes or delivery notes that need to carry across the switch?
- Who confirms opening stock value and debtor balances before going live?
Questions for any vendor
Ask these before you commit.
Ask any hardware vendor these before your quotes and credit book depend on their software.
- Can a quote become an invoice without retyping the items?
- Does it hold per-customer credit limits and print a statement?
- Does issuing a delivery note open the receivable correctly?
- Can the price change with quantity at the till?
- Does the counter keep working when the internet is down?
Where Omnix fits
Omnix Hardware & Equipment
With the trade flow clear, look at the product built for a Kenyan hardware counter.
Omnix Hardware handles the way a trade counter actually sells: quotations that convert to invoices, contractor accounts and statements, delivery notes, tiered pricing and serialised units with warranty records, on a Windows desktop that keeps trading offline. M-Pesa and KRA eTIMS run as connected steps.