Both a Paybill number and a Till Number let you receive M-Pesa payments from customers, but they work differently once you try to connect them to a website or online order system. The right choice depends mainly on whether you need to automatically match each payment to a specific order, invoice, or customer.
What Is a Paybill Number?
A Paybill is a business number paired with an Account Number field that the customer fills in when they pay. You decide what goes in that field: an invoice number, an order number, a customer ID, or anything else that helps you identify the payment.
- Good for matching a payment to a specific order or invoice automatically, since the account number travels with the transaction.
- Works well with an online store, a booking system, or any website where customers place individual orders.
- Can be integrated into a website so the system checks payments against expected account numbers and confirms orders without you checking M-Pesa messages manually.
What Is a Till Number?
A Till Number (sometimes called "Buy Goods and Services") is designed for simple, in-person retail and service payments. The customer enters the till number and the amount, with no separate reference field for your website to read.
- Simple to use at a physical counter or for a one-off payment.
- Harder to connect automatically to a specific website order, since there is no account number to match against.
- Usually means you reconcile payments manually: checking the M-Pesa confirmation message or statement against your orders yourself.
Paybill vs Till Number: Key Differences
- Reference field: Paybill has an account number field you control. Till Number does not.
- Automatic order matching: Easier with Paybill. Manual with Till Number.
- Typical use case: Paybill suits an online store, invoicing system, or any business billing multiple customers for different amounts. Till Number suits a shop counter or simple service payment.
- Setup: Both are set up directly with your mobile money provider and are independent of your website or hosting account.
Which Should You Use for Your Website?
If your website sells multiple products, takes bookings, or issues invoices to different customers for different amounts, a Paybill is almost always the better fit. You can tell each customer to enter their order number or invoice number as the account number, then match payments to orders either manually or through an automated integration.
If you run a small shop or offer a single flat-rate service and you are comfortable checking payments by hand, a Till Number is simpler to set up and explain to customers.
If you already have a Till Number for your physical shop, you do not need to replace it. Many businesses keep the Till Number for walk-in customers and add a Paybill specifically for website orders, since it is the reference field that makes automatic reconciliation possible.
Can You Use Both?
Yes. There is nothing stopping you from keeping a Till Number for in-person sales while using a Paybill for your website. Each is set up and managed separately through your mobile money provider, so running both does not create any conflict.
ZIPROF's own billing uses a Paybill with your invoice number as the account number, which is a practical example of this pattern in action: see How to Pay Your ZIPROF Invoice via MPesa. If you want to add M-Pesa payments directly to your own site, see How to Add M-Pesa Payments to a Non-WordPress Website.