Buyer's guide
Akaunting is a well-known name with Kenyan small businesses, and for good reason — it's open source and the core is genuinely free. But if you sell over a counter, hold stock, or run an online store, you may be stitching Akaunting together with a separate till and spreadsheets. This guide compares the two honestly so you can decide whether to stay put or move to one connected app.
Key takeaways
Akaunting is open-source accounting and invoicing software with a free self-hosted core and paid add-on modules. It's strong for invoicing-led service businesses that are comfortable managing their own hosting or paying for the cloud plan.
| Feature | Tallium AI | Akaunting |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | One all-in-one app: accounting, invoicing, POS, inventory, e-commerce, plus Marketing and CRM under a single account | Accounting and invoicing core, with extra capabilities added through paid app-store modules |
| Point of sale (POS) | Built-in POS that posts straight to your books and stock — no separate till system | No native POS in the core; you'd add a module or use a separate till |
| Inventory & stock | Real-time inventory across locations built in, linked to sales and purchases | Available via add-on modules rather than the free core |
| E-commerce / online store | Online store option that shares one product catalogue and one set of books | Not part of the core; needs external tools or paid modules |
| Kenya VAT & eTIMS | VAT handling and reports designed to help you prepare the VAT3 return in iTax and work with eTIMS invoicing | Handles VAT calculations; eTIMS/KRA-specific workflows depend on modules or manual steps |
| Users & seats | Unlimited users on every plan, no per-seat fees | Cloud plans are tiered by users; more staff can mean a higher plan |
| AI automation | AI receipt scanning, auto-categorisation and business insights included | No built-in AI automation of this kind |
| Setup & maintenance | Fully hosted for you — nothing to install, update or back up yourself | Free version is self-hosted: you manage hosting, updates and backups (or pay for cloud) |
| Pricing model | One flat per-unit USD price: shop/store $79, online store $159, warehouse $99, factory $269 per month | Free self-hosted core; paid cloud plans and paid modules add up as you need more |
| Support | Email support included on every plan (support@tallium.online) | Community forums for the free version; direct support mainly on paid plans |
The honest verdict
Akaunting is a solid, budget-friendly choice for service and invoicing-led businesses in Kenya that don't sell physical stock and are happy to self-host or pay for its cloud plan. Tallium AI is the better fit if you run a shop, restaurant, wholesale or online business and want POS, inventory, e-commerce and KRA-ready accounting in one app with unlimited users. If you're spending your evenings reconciling a till against Akaunting by hand, that's the signal it's time to switch.
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