Support at a glance
| Area | Status in Tanzania | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Currency | Supported | New organisations start in TZS, and multi-currency is available |
| Language | Kiswahili by default | Screens start in Kiswahili, and each person can change this |
| VAT | Records only | Starting VAT codes, which you check and edit, plus a VAT return report |
| TRA VFD / EFD | Not connected | Navigate does not issue fiscal receipts or send data to TRA |
| Mobile money | Manual records | Add an account and enter each receipt |
| Cards and online checkout | Possible through a provider | Connect your own Flutterwave or Pesapal account |
| Payroll | Set up by you | You must add Tanzanian rates before running payroll |
VFD, EFD and tax
TRA describes an EFD as an electronic receipt-issuing machine authorised by the Commissioner General. It describes a VFD as a cloud-based software system approved to capture, transmit and keep sales records.
- Navigate is not a VFD and has no EFD or VFD connection. A receipt or invoice from Navigate is not a fiscal receipt.
- If these rules apply to you, you must issue through an approved device or system as well as keeping your books in Navigate.
- That can mean entering sales twice, so consider this before you choose Navigate.
- In Navigate, new organisations in Tanzania start with Standard, Zero-rated and Exempt codes. Check the rates with TRA or your accountant.
- The VAT return report and its export give you figures. Navigate does not file them.
Mobile money
In Bank & cash accounts, add a mobile money account and choose a provider. The list includes M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Tigo Pesa, HaloPesa and Other. Each account can be a paybill, till or phone wallet, and has its own ledger account.
- A customer pays on their phone in the usual way. A staff member then enters the receipt and reference in Navigate.
- Navigate sends no payment prompts and does not fetch or match payments in Tanzania.
- On screens today, the mobile money method is labelled M-Pesa in every country. It records money into the mobile money account you chose, whichever provider that is.
- Navigate's live M-Pesa link uses Safaricom in Kenya shillings. It does not connect to M-Pesa in Tanzania.
Online payments through a provider
A business can connect its own Flutterwave or Pesapal account to send payment links on invoices. Navigate opens the provider's hosted page with the invoice currency. What the customer can use on that page is set by the provider. Flutterwave's documentation lists TZS with card and Tanzanian mobile money. Pesapal says it operates in Tanzania. Confirm these with the provider, then test a small payment before you rely on it.
Payroll
The payroll engine is driven by rates per country and year. Only Kenya is set up for you. You must add Tanzania's PAYE bands and deductions before running a pay group. The ready-made statutory return exports are Kenyan formats, so you would use the general payroll reports to prepare your own returns.
Kiswahili
Menus, buttons, headings and labels are translated. Your own data, such as names and descriptions, stays as entered. Printed documents also stay as entered. A phrase not yet translated stays in English. Each person can choose English, Kiswahili or French on the Dashboard.
Paying for Navigate
Prices on the website appear in TZS where a rate is available, as a guide. M-Pesa subscription payments are for businesses in Kenya, so a Tanzanian business pays by card where offered. The charge is in US dollars by default at the day's rate.
Where Navigate may not fit
- No TRA VFD or EFD link. If you must issue fiscal receipts, you need a separate route, and Navigate may mean double entry.
- No live link to any Tanzanian mobile money service. Payments are entered by hand unless a provider checkout is used.
- Navigate's Kenyan M-Pesa and eTIMS features do not apply in Tanzania.
- No Tanzanian payroll rates or return formats are set up for you.
- A business that wants fiscal receipts and its ERP in one approved system should look elsewhere today.
Frequently asked questions
Is Navigate a TRA-approved VFD?
No. Navigate is not a VFD and has no connection to a TRA VFD or EFD. It records VAT for your books only.
Does Navigate work with M-Pesa in Tanzania?
Only as a manual record. You can add an M-Pesa account and enter receipts by hand. Prompts and automatic matching use Safaricom in Kenya and do not work there.
Is Navigate available in Kiswahili?
Yes. Screens start in Kiswahili for organisations in Tanzania. Printed documents and your own data stay as entered.
Can I run payroll for Tanzanian staff?
Yes, after you add Tanzania's statutory rates in Payroll Setup. The rates are yours to enter and keep up to date. There is no ready-made Tanzanian return export.