In short: The income source sequence is the number of a business activity on your tax file. You pick it when you link a device or add a sub-user on JoFotara, and many people call it the activity number.
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When your accountant or your POS asks for the activity number for JoFotara, they mean the income source sequence. Your tax file at the Income and Sales Tax Department can hold one business activity or several, and each has its own sequence number. It is not your tax number: the tax number identifies you, while the income source sequence identifies the activity an invoice is issued under.
That is why the income source sequence goes into every e-invoice sent to JoFotara, next to the seller's tax number and registered name. If the number is wrong, or belongs to another activity, the portal may refuse the invoices or file them under an activity that has nothing to do with your shop.
Where the income source sequence appears
- When you link a device on the JoFotara portal under device linking, to connect your POS.
- When you add a sub-user on the portal to issue invoices by hand.
- In your activity details inside your business account on the JoFotara portal.
- In your POS's JoFotara connection steps, where you enter it once.
Why the portal sends you back to the home page
A common complaint: you try to register or link a device on the portal and it sends you back to the home page with no clear message. The usual reason is that your tax file has no income source sequence yet, so the portal has no activity to attach invoices to.
The fix is not in your software or the portal but in your tax file: ask the Income and Sales Tax Department to add an income source sequence for your activity, or ask your accountant to follow it up. If the invoicing service does not show on the portal at all, your tax file type is usually registered wrongly, and that too is corrected at the department.
More than one activity on the tax file
If your tax file holds more than one activity, each has its own income source sequence. On every device and in every shop, use the sequence of the activity that actually sells there, so each shop's invoices are filed under its own activity and two different shops never share one record.
What your POS asks for to connect to JoFotara
| Field | Where to get it |
|---|---|
| Your tax registration type | Registered for sales tax, or income tax only, as on your tax file |
| Tax number and registered name | Exactly as on your tax file; the name can differ from the shop sign |
| Income source sequence | Your activity details on the JoFotara portal |
| Client ID and Secret Key | Device linking on the portal: create a new device and copy its two keys |
These are the fields Ghalleh asks for in its JoFotara connection steps. Device linking is not the same as adding a sub-user, and mixing them up can remove the manual issue-invoice option from the portal.
Everything about JoFotara on one page: the JoFotara e-invoicing guide.
A shop example
One taxpayer runs two activities on a single tax file: a grocery in Marka and a stationery shop in Hashmi Al-Shamali. Each activity has its own income source sequence on the portal. The grocery's POS is linked with the grocery's sequence and the stationery shop's with its own, so each shop's invoices are filed under its activity.
Common questions
Is the activity number the same as the tax number?
No. The tax number identifies you as a taxpayer with the Income and Sales Tax Department, and the income source sequence identifies the activity within your tax file. Every invoice carries both.
Why does the JoFotara portal send me back to the home page when I register?
Usually because your tax file has no income source sequence. Ask the Income and Sales Tax Department to add one for your activity, or have your accountant follow it up, then try again.
Where do I get the income source sequence if I cannot find it?
It shows with your activity details on the JoFotara portal. If it is not there, ask the Income and Sales Tax Department or your accountant, and never enter a number you have guessed.