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ZEP

ZEP review

Central platform for time tracking, project control, and professional services automation.

ZEP costs from €2/mo · 3 plans

By Ciroapp Editorial Team · Updated May 15, 2026
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At a glance

Quick overview for ZEP: rating, pricing summary, key features, and highlights.
Vendor page checked Oct 23, 2026

Ciroapp score

3.8/ 5

Specialized German compliance & project tool

We found ZEP to be a well-focused platform for service providers needing legally compliant time tracking and project automation. Its modular design is a key strength, though it requires careful planning. Overall, it's a strong choice for its niche but may be overly complex for basic needs.

Pros

  • Modular pricing starts at a low €2/user for simple time tracking.
  • Strong focus on German legal compliance for working hours.
  • Centralizes time, projects, and invoicing in one platform.

Cons

  • Total cost can rise quickly with multiple modules and users.
  • Core strength in German compliance may be less relevant for other markets.
  • Limited details on integrations beyond key ones like DATEV.
Best for
  • IT service companies and consultancies tracking billable hours
  • Professional services firms needing full project lifecycle control
  • Growing businesses replacing multiple disconnected tools
Free trial
Yes — 14 days
This section is a summary. Detailed sections about features, use cases, pricing, and reviews follow below.

What is ZEP?

Juggling manual timesheets, project expenses, and billing across different tools is a common headache. It eats into your time and makes compliance a constant worry. ZEP aims to solve this by bringing working time tracking, project management, and invoicing into one central platform.

✨ It's designed to replace scattered processes with a single, legally compliant system you can tailor to your needs.

💡 ZEP is a German-developed software platform for project-based service providers. It serves as a central hub for three main activities: legally compliant working time tracking, detailed project time management, and full professional services automation. The system scales from simple time clocks to complete project ERP solutions, offering modular add-ons to fit different company sizes and workflows.

Should you choose ZEP?

Quick buyer guidance before you compare plans or click through.

Choose it if

  • Organizations needing to track time against specific customers and projects
  • Project managers who want to monitor budgets and expenses in real-time
  • Companies looking to automate processes from time recording to invoicing
  • Businesses prioritizing data security with German hosting and GDPR compliance

Skip it if

  • Very small teams or startups with minimal budget, as per-user pricing starts at €2 and requires a modular purchase.
  • Companies not operating under or concerned with German labor law compliance, as this is a core selling point.
  • Businesses needing a very simple, standalone time tracker without project or ERP features.
  • Organizations requiring deep, out-of-the-box integrations with non-listed systems, as specifics beyond Personio and DATEV are not detailed.

Next steps before buying

  1. 1Check the pricing calculator to understand the cost for your team size and which modules you need.
  2. 2Identify any critical integrations (like your HR or accounting software) and confirm they are supported.
  3. 3Sign up for the **14-day free trial** to test the core features relevant to your use case.
  4. 4Compare ZEP's modular pricing structure against alternative all-in-one or best-of-breed solutions.
  5. 5Contact their sales team to discuss your specific workflow and request a demo before committing.

Ease of use

The website emphasizes an **intuitive** and **user-friendly** platform. It highlights personal support during the test phase and easy onboarding to help with setup and data migration. The modular design also suggests you can start simple and add complexity as needed.

ZEP Key Features

✨ Legally Compliant Time Tracking

ZEP automates the tracking of working hours, breaks, and rest periods. This is designed to meet German labor law requirements accurately. It replaces manual time sheets and records time down to the minute.

Employees can log hours through a mobile app, web browser, or on-site terminal. This approach helps reduce legal risk and administrative overhead for your team.

✨ Customer and Project Time Allocation

With ZEP, you can allocate time directly to specific customers, projects, and sub-projects. The system allows you to add details like activities and comments for more context. This gives you a clear view of where time is spent.

It's a core feature for managing billable work and understanding project profitability.

✨ Project Control and Financial Clarity

ZEP records and evaluates project expenses to help ensure success. You can monitor budgets and costs in real-time. This provides a clear view of a project's financial health.

It helps project managers make informed decisions and stay on track.

✨ Professional Services Automation

ZEP manages and automates core project processes. It connects phases from planning and documentation to travel expenses and invoicing. This transforms manual workflows into an automated lifecycle.

The goal is to cut down on administrative work and speed up your billing cycles.

✨ Modular and Flexible Design

The platform is built with a modular structure. You can start with basic time tracking and add features as your needs grow. This might include project controlling, sales calculations, or travel expense management.

It's designed to adapt to your specific workflow and company size.

✨ Data Security and German Hosting

Your data is hosted in Germany and the platform is ISO 27001 certified. It is designed to be GDPR-compliant. ZEP also provides daily backups and a disaster recovery plan.

This focus on security is important for companies with strict data requirements.

Use Cases

✅ Ensuring Legally Compliant Time Tracking for a Remote Team

A district manager's team often works from home, making manual timesheets unreliable and risky for compliance. They need a simple way to track hours accurately without complex tools. With ZEP, employees clock in and out directly from the app or browser.

The system automatically handles break times and rest periods according to German law. This provides peace of mind for HR and replaces multiple old tools with one central platform.

📊 Gaining Financial Clarity on a New Client Project

A consulting firm starts a large project and needs to monitor its budget in real time. Without clear visibility, they risk overspending. They allocate all team hours directly to the client project and specific tasks within ZEP.

As the work progresses, they evaluate project expenses with just a few clicks. This allows them to see profitability immediately and keep the project on track.

💸 From Hours to Invoice: Automating the Billing Cycle

A service provider spends weeks manually compiling billable hours, travel expenses, and document entries into invoices. This slows down cash flow and creates errors. Using ZEP Professional, they connect all these processes.

Project phases from planning to travel expenses are captured. Time is recorded against customers, and hourly rates are applied. This automates the path from completed work to a ready-to-send invoice.

🚀 Problem → Approach → Outcome: A Startup's Growth

A small consultancy used separate apps for time tracking and project notes, leading to data silos. Problem: They couldn't see true project costs or ensure legal compliance easily. Approach: They started with the basic ZEP Clock plan for compliant time recording.

As they grew, they upgraded to ZEP Compact to allocate time to specific clients. Outcome: They now have a single source of truth for billable hours, improving accuracy for invoicing.

🔄 Replacing Disconnected Tools in a Mid-Sized Agency

An agency with over 50 employees juggled a basic time tracker, spreadsheets for project planning, and a separate invoicing tool. This manual overhead ate into productive time. They migrated their existing data to ZEP and chose the Professional tier.

Now, project master data, controlling, and travel expenses live in one system. They cut down administrative work and sped up their billing cycle.

ZEP pricing

From€2/mo

  • 3 plans

Vendor page checked on Oct 23, 2026; confirm current prices on ZEP's pricing page

ZEP pricing page screenshotView pricing page screenshot
PlanBilled monthlyBilled annuallyIncludes
ZEP Clock
€2/mo
—
Individual offers for teams with +100 users
  • Working time tracking
  • Legally compliant settings
  • Employee master data
  • Unlimited reports
  • Automated workflows
ZEP Compact
€7/mo
—
Individual offers for teams with +50 users
  • Project Time Tracking
  • Project management
  • Project controlling
  • Project master data
  • Task management
ZEP Professional
€18/mo
—
Individual offers for teams with +25 users
  • Project planning
  • Document entry
  • Hourly and daily rates
  • Travel expense management
  • Sales & cost calculation

Price history

Tracking prices since Oct 1, 2026. No price change detected yet.

Pricing types: Free trial, Monthly subscription, Usage-based pricing

Pricing notes

ZEP offers modular subscription plans starting at €2 per user for basic time tracking. Pricing scales based on the depth of project management features, with tiers for compact project tracking and professional service automation.

ZEP costs between €2 and €18 per user with 3 plans: ZEP Clock at €2, ZEP Compact at €7, and ZEP Professional at €18.

Take a look at the feature breakdown below to see which package fits your workflow best.

ZEP Clock

Price: €2 per user/month

Best For: Legally compliant working time tracking

Other Features: Unlimited reports, automated workflows, mobile app & browser, phone and email support, GDPR-compliance.

This plan is perfect for businesses that only need to record hours reliably. It keeps you compliant with labor laws without the extra weight of project tools.

ZEP Compact

Price: €7 per user/month

Best For: Basic project time tracking and task management

Other Features: Project master data, project controlling, customer master data, and all features from ZEP Clock.

Choose this tier if your team needs to assign hours to specific clients. It builds a bridge between simple clock-ins and full project administration.

ZEP Professional

Price: €18 per user/month

Best For: Full professional services automation

Other Features: Project planning, travel expense management, sales & cost calculation, and hourly/daily rates.

This is the choice for service providers who manage the entire lifecycle from quote to invoice. It handles complex billing and resource planning in one place ✅.

ZEP offers a 14-day free trial so you can explore all features without any obligation. While a standard refund policy isn't listed, the platform allows monthly contract adjustments for both users and features.

Cost calculator

Estimate what ZEP costs for your team.

Billing
Per month
€2
Per year
€24

ZEP Clock has a flat price: the number of seats does not change the total. Estimate based on published list prices, before taxes, add-ons and discounts.

How to pay less for ZEP

  • Use the 14-day free trial before you pay.
Start free trial

Email me when ZEP changes price

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User Reviews

From the snippets we gathered, external user sentiment for ZEP is extremely limited. On Trustpilot, reviews are sparse, but some users praise the platform's intuitive interface and strong compliance features.

A few note that customer support is responsive and helpful during onboarding. On Capterra, we couldn't access detailed reviews due to a security block, so we can't confirm broader trends.

⚠️ Overall, the available feedback suggests ZEP is a solid, specialized tool for German-based service firms, but its reputation outside core markets is harder to gauge.

Summarized from public reviews on Trustpilot, Capterra

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Why use ZEP?

If your team uses separate tools for time tracking, project reporting, and invoicing, you're likely dealing with data silos and manual overhead. ZEP offers a unified solution to streamline these core processes. Here’s how it delivers value:

✅ Ensure Legal Compliance: It automates the tracking of working hours, breaks, and rest periods, helping you meet German labor regulations accurately. This reduces legal risk significantly.

✅ Gain Project Financial Clarity: You can allocate time directly to customers and projects, then evaluate expenses in real-time. This gives you a clear view of project profitability and budget adherence.

✅ Automate the Project Lifecycle: ZEP connects project phases—from planning and documentation to travel expenses and invoicing. This cuts down on administrative work and speeds up billing cycles.

✅ Adapt to Your Workflow: The platform is modular. You can start with a basic time tracker and add features like project controlling or sales calculations as your business grows and needs evolve.

✅ Work Flexibly and Securely: Employees can log time via app, browser, or terminal, making remote work easy. Data is hosted in Germany, with ISO 27001 certification and GDPR compliance for peace of mind.

Try it nowView pricing

ZEP alternatives

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ZEP FAQ

How much does ZEP cost?

ZEP's cheapest paid plan, ZEP Clock, costs €2 per month. Paid plans range from €2 to €18 per month.

Does ZEP have a free plan?

No. ZEP lists no free plan; the cheapest paid plan starts at €2 per month.

Does ZEP offer a free trial or a money-back guarantee?

ZEP offers a 14-day free trial.

Has ZEP's price changed recently?

No. We have not detected a price change since we started tracking on Oct 1, 2026.

What specific software does ZEP integrate with?

ZEP integrates with Personio for HR data and DATEV for accounting. It also connects to HubSpot, Salesforce, and other systems via its interface. Check the 'View all interfaces' section on their website for the full list.

How is my data secured and where is it stored?

Your data is hosted in Germany on ISO 27001 certified servers. It features daily backups, disaster recovery plans, and encrypted transfers. The platform is fully GDPR-compliant.

Are there any limits on users, projects, or time entries?

The core plans don't list specific project or entry limits. However, large teams get individual pricing offers: over 100 users for Clock, 50 for Compact, and 25 for Professional. Confirm any specific limits in the terms before purchase.

What does the onboarding process include? Will you migrate my data?

Free onboarding focuses on basic setup and structured entry. Data migration or extended consulting is available as an extended service. They offer personal support even during the test phase.

What kind of customer support do you offer and what is the response time?

Phone and email support are included in all plans. The site mentions 'world-class personal support' and responsiveness during onboarding. An official SLA with specific response times is not listed.

Which languages and regions does ZEP support?

ZEP is a German-developed platform with a strong focus on German labor law compliance. The user interface is available in multiple languages, but the core compliance features are tailored for Germany.

How do I cancel my subscription?

The site states monthly contract adjustments for users and features are possible. For formal cancellation, you should review the terms of service or contact their support team directly.

Who is ZEP best suited for?

ZEP is ideal for IT consultancies, service providers, and agencies tracking billable hours. It's great for teams needing legally compliant time tracking in Germany and those replacing multiple disconnected tools.

Are there discounts for specific organizations?

Yes. Non-profits get a 50% discount, student consulting firms use it for free, and startups can get up to 50% off for up to 2 years. Larger teams also qualify for custom pricing offers.

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