For many Kenyans, M-Pesa is the bank. Customers pay by till or Paybill, staff are paid by phone and suppliers are settled in seconds. That is convenient, but it also means your M-Pesa statement is often the best evidence of your income and spending. Used well, it supports your tax return, a loan application and your own bookkeeping.

Why statements matter

KRA, banks and auditors all want evidence. A statement is dated, shows the sender and the amount and cannot easily be altered. In a tax review, a till statement can support the sales you declared. In a loan application, six months of statements show that your business has steady income. For your own records, they show exactly where the money went.

How to get your statements

You can request statements from the M-Pesa app, from the USSD menu or through the business portal for till and Paybill accounts. Choose the date range, ask for the full statement and save the PDF. Name the file with the month and the account, such as "2026-09 till statement", and keep it with that month's records. The full guide to keeping records with M-Pesa Business shows the steps in more detail.

Separate business and personal money

The biggest problem with statements is mixed use. If personal and business payments go through the same number, the statement is hard to explain. Where possible use a till or Paybill for the business, and a personal number for personal spending. Our guide to separating business and personal money explains why this protects both your tax position and your finances.

Turn the statement into a record

A statement is raw data. To make it useful, copy the lines into a simple record with a category for each:

  • money in: sales, deposits, refunds, loans received;
  • money out: supplies, rent, wages, transport, airtime, personal withdrawals.

The M-Pesa till reconciliation lines up the till statement against your sales records and shows any gap, and the simple cashbook holds the combined picture of cash and mobile money.

Match it to your tax

Once you have totals, you can see which tax applies. A business with sales under the threshold may use turnover tax, so test the sums in the turnover tax calculator; one above the VAT threshold must register for VAT, and how to register for VAT on iTax shows how. A freelancer can estimate tax with the freelancer tax calculator, and tax for freelancers and content creators in Kenya explains the rules.

Using statements for loans

Lenders look at the average monthly inflow, the regularity of income and whether your balance ever falls to nothing. Prepare by downloading at least six months of statements, removing nothing, and having a summary ready. Borrowing for your business explains what lenders expect and how interest is treated for tax.

Things to watch

  • Statements show gross amounts; fees are shown separately, and fees are a deductible expense if they relate to the business.
  • A transfer between your own accounts is not income, so do not count it as a sale.
  • Deposits from friends or family are not income and should be labelled clearly, in case a reviewer asks.
  • Keep the statements for at least five years.

Build the habit

Download the statement on the first day of every month, file it with your other records and spend ten minutes labelling the lines. After a few months, preparing a return or a loan application becomes a matter of adding up totals you already have. See how to keep business records for KRA for the full standard KRA expects.

What a lender or reviewer will ask

Be ready for simple questions. Which number or till is the business's? Which deposits are sales, and which are loans or transfers from family? Why does the balance fall at the end of each month? An honest, short explanation backed by labelled statements is far more convincing than a pile of unexplained pages. If one month was unusual, say so and say why. Reviewers trust people who explain their numbers without being asked.

Keep statements consistent

Use the same format and the same date range every month, and never edit a statement. If you need to highlight lines, work on a copy. Store the originals in a read-only folder so you can always show the document exactly as the system produced it. Consistent habits make it easier for anyone to trust your figures.