POS Glossary for Tanzania
TRA, payment and stock terms explained for businesses in Tanzania.
What do common POS, stock and tax terms mean in Tanzania?
This glossary explains 60 terms business owners meet when choosing and running a POS system in Tanzania, from FEFO and Z-reports to TRA tax rules. Each term has a short, plain-language definition.
- Tanzania tax and payment terms
- POS system basics
- Inventory and stock control
- Payments
- Tax and compliance
- Restaurant, pharmacy, retail and salon terms
Tanzania tax and payment terms
The standard VAT rate in Tanzania is 18% (Mainland) (tra.go.tz, checked 2026-10-02).
What is TRA (Tanzania Revenue Authority)?
Tanzania’s tax authority. It administers VAT and the electronic fiscal device rules.
What is EFD (electronic fiscal device)?
A TRA-approved machine that issues fiscal receipts and sends sales data to TRA.
What is VFD (virtual fiscal device)?
TRA’s cloud-based alternative to a physical EFD, used by software systems to issue fiscal receipts.
What is M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa and Airtel Money?
The main mobile money services customers use to pay in Tanzania.
POS system basics
What is POS (point of sale)?
The place and the system where a sale is completed: the customer pays, a receipt is issued and the sale is recorded. A modern POS also updates stock and reports.
What is Cloud POS?
POS software that stores sales and stock data online instead of on one shop computer, so owners can see every branch from a phone. A good cloud POS still sells offline and syncs later. Cloud vs traditional POS →
What is Offline mode?
The ability of a POS to keep selling, printing receipts and recording payments when the internet or power drops, then sync the sales once the connection returns.
What is ERP (enterprise resource planning)?
Software that runs sales, stock, purchasing and accounts in one system. A POS with ERP removes the need to reconcile separate books. ERP for growing businesses →
What is Multi-branch management?
Running several shops or outlets from one system, with stock, prices and sales visible per branch and transfers between branches.
What is Z-report (end-of-day report)?
A report that closes the day: total sales, payments by method, refunds and voids. It is used to check that the cash drawer and mobile payments match the system.
What is X-report?
A mid-shift sales report that shows totals so far without closing the day, often used at a shift change.
What is Void?
Cancelling an item or a whole sale before it is completed. A POS logs who voided what, which helps prevent till fraud.
What is Refund?
Returning money for a completed sale. The POS reverses the sale, returns the item to stock and records the payment method used for the refund.
What is Split payment?
Paying for one sale with more than one method, for example part cash and part mobile money. The POS records each part against the same sale.
What is User roles and permissions?
Settings that control what each staff member can do, such as giving discounts, voiding items or seeing reports.
What is Barcode scanning?
Reading a product code with a scanner or camera so the item is added to the sale at the right price, without typing.
What is Receipt printer?
A small printer, usually thermal, that prints the customer receipt at the till. Many POS systems also send receipts by SMS or email.
Inventory and stock control
What is Inventory management?
Tracking how much stock you hold, where it is and what it cost, so you can reorder in time and spot losses. Inventory management software →
What is SKU (stock keeping unit)?
A unique code for each product variant you sell, such as one size and colour of a shirt, used to track stock precisely.
What is Reorder point?
The stock level at which you should order more, worked out from how fast the item sells and how long the supplier takes to deliver.
What is Stock take?
Counting the stock you physically hold and comparing it with what the system says you should have. The difference shows losses or errors.
What is Shrinkage?
Stock that disappears without a matching sale, through theft, damage, expiry, supplier short-deliveries or counting mistakes.
What is FEFO (first expiry, first out)?
Selling the items that expire soonest first. It cuts waste for food, drinks, medicines and cosmetics.
What is FIFO (first in, first out)?
Selling or costing the oldest stock first. FEFO is the expiry-based version used for perishables.
What is Batch and lot tracking?
Recording the batch or lot number of each delivery, so you can trace and recall items and manage expiry dates.
What is Stock transfer?
Moving stock from one branch or warehouse to another in the system, so each location’s count stays correct.
What is Inventory turnover?
How many times you sell through your average stock in a period. Higher turnover means less money tied up on the shelf.
What is Unit of measure conversion?
Buying in one unit and selling in another, such as buying a carton and selling single packets. The POS converts stock automatically.
What is Purchase order?
A formal order sent to a supplier. When the goods arrive they are received against it and added to stock.
Payments
What is Mobile money?
Money stored and sent through a mobile phone account run by a telecom or fintech, widely used for in-store payments in Africa. How customers pay →
What is Payment reconciliation?
Matching every payment received (cash, card, mobile money, transfer) with the sales in the system, so the day’s totals add up.
What is Contactless payment?
Paying by tapping a card, phone or watch on a card terminal instead of inserting the card.
What is Card terminal?
The device that reads cards and sends the payment to the bank. The POS records the card payment against the sale.
What is Payment gateway?
A service that processes online or card payments between the customer, the business and the banks.
What is Transaction fee?
A charge taken by a payment provider on each payment, often a percentage of the sale. It is separate from the POS subscription.
Tax and compliance
What is VAT (value added tax)?
A consumption tax added at each stage of sale and paid by the final customer. Registered businesses charge it on sales and reclaim it on purchases. Tax-compliant POS →
What is Tax-inclusive and tax-exclusive pricing?
A tax-inclusive price already contains the tax; a tax-exclusive price has tax added at checkout. The POS must show the tax correctly on the receipt.
What is E-invoicing?
Issuing invoices in an electronic format that a tax authority can receive, validate or record, often in real time.
What is Fiscal receipt?
A receipt issued through a system or device approved by the tax authority, carrying details such as a serial number or QR code that the authority can verify.
What is TIN (taxpayer identification number)?
The number a tax authority gives a business or person. It appears on tax invoices and returns.
What is Tax return?
The periodic filing that reports sales, tax charged and tax paid to the tax authority. POS sales and tax reports are used to prepare it.
Restaurant and hospitality terms
What is KDS (kitchen display system)?
A screen in the kitchen that shows orders as they are placed, replacing paper tickets.
What is Table management?
Tracking which tables are free, occupied or waiting to pay, and which server looks after each.
What is Open tab?
A running bill that stays open while a customer keeps ordering, common in bars and lounges.
What is Recipe costing?
Working out the cost of each dish from its ingredients, so menu prices cover cost and margin.
What is Modifiers?
Options added to a menu item, such as extra cheese or no onions, which may change the price.
What is Food cost percentage?
Ingredient cost as a share of food sales. Restaurants watch it to protect their margin.
Pharmacy and health terms
What is Expiry tracking?
Recording each item’s expiry date and alerting staff before stock expires, so it can be sold, returned or written off in time.
What is Dispensing record?
The record of which medicine was given to whom, in what quantity and when, kept for safety and audit.
What is Controlled items?
Products such as certain medicines that need extra checks and logs at sale, set up as restricted items in the POS.
What is Patient billing?
Charging for consultations, procedures and products on one bill, with each payment recorded.
Retail terms
What is Product variants?
Versions of one product, such as sizes and colours, each with its own stock count and barcode.
What is Gross margin?
Sales minus the cost of the goods sold, shown as an amount or a percentage. It shows what you actually make on each product.
What is Loyalty programme?
Rewards such as points or discounts that encourage customers to come back, tracked by the POS against each customer.
What is Layaway (lay-by)?
Holding an item for a customer who pays in instalments and collects it once it is paid off.
What is Wholesale and tiered pricing?
Different prices for different customer types or quantities, such as a lower price for bulk buyers.
Salon, spa and service terms
What is Appointment booking?
Scheduling clients for a service and staff member, with walk-ins and bookings in one calendar.
What is Commission tracking?
Calculating what each stylist or therapist earns from the services and products they sell.
What is Job card?
A record of one service job, listing the work done, parts or materials used and the amount charged.
What is Membership and packages?
Prepaid bundles of visits or classes, tracked so the POS knows how many remain for each client.