If you also want to record and settle your travel data, you can extend ZEP Clock with the "Traveling Expenses" module. With "Traveling Expenses," you can use the following additional functions:

The following additional employee reports are available to you:

Additionally, you have the Receipts tile, where you can store settings for receipts, currencies, and payment types.
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In the administration section the tile "travel" with the following settings is available:

Calculation method
You have the choice:
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​no calculation:
No additional meal expenses are calculated.
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Germany:
Specify a flat rate for an absence of more than 8 or at least 24 hours respectively. If you also had breakfast, lunch, or dinner paid for on a day, the tax regulation provides for a deduction from the additional meal expenses. This is specified as a percentage depending on the location. You specify the flat rates per location under Administration > Travel > Locations, as well as the percentage deduction for paid meals.
Further information on the legal provisions: Details on the calculation of additional meal expenses can be found in the documents of the Federal Ministry of Finance.

Austria Calendar Day Regulation (A calendar day is used as the basis for the calculation of the daily allowance) or

​Austria 24-Hour Regulation (Calculation of the daily allowance is carried out in 24-hour intervals starting from the "start of the journey".)
Under "Travel expense daily allowance", you specify the flat-rate daily allowance valid for the location. Additionally, for each location, you have the choice between the twelfth regulation and the third regulation:

Detect overnight stay
This setting influences the calculation of additional meal expenses in the event that an employee travels overnight.
If you specify "No" here, ZEP will not detect any overnight stay, meaning an overnight stay will never be taken into account for the calculation of additional meal expenses, as by definition there is none. This has an impact on arrival and departure days where the minimum absence is not met: accordingly, ZEP never calculates additional meal expenses here.
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If you specify "Yes" here, ZEP applies your definition for overnight stays. Specify the time frame within which a non-booked period must lie for ZEP to recognize an overnight stay.
Specify the minimum overnight stay in hours. For the time frame, enter the overnight stay start in the evening (must be greater than 12:00) and the overnight stay end in the morning (must be less than 12:00).
The minimum overnight stay in hours must not be greater than the duration from start to end. (You can also enter "0", in which case an overnight stay is always recognized, even if there was no "break". For arrival and departure days where the minimum absence time is not met, this means: ZEP always calculates additional meal expenses.) This means an overnight stay is always assumed if: a journey is present, i.e., the location of the time bookings is, for example, not the "primary place of work" and
between your specified overnight stay start in the evening (must be greater than 12:00) and the overnight stay end in the morning (must be less than 12:00), the minimum overnight stay in hours amounts to the specified number of hours.

Further information on additional meal expenses in ZEP

Where do I see the calculated additional meal expenses?
Additional meal expenses are shown in the employee's cost report.

When do additional meal expenses arise?
Additional meal expenses arise when an employee books working times at a work location that is not the "primary place of work" location. ZEP determines the time the employee was traveling, including breaks. This works best if the employee begins each journey with an "outbound" booking and concludes it with a "return" booking. (If you have instructions that the actual travel time is not working time, the outbound and return journey can also be booked as a single point in time, i.e., with a duration of "0", so that only the start and end of the journey are clearly set.)
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Where do the figures for calculating the additional meal expenses come from?
The country-specific parameters for each location are specified in "Locations". For an employee's absence per calendar day, the additional meal expenses are determined from the duration of the absence and the parameters of the work location.

Path: Administration > travel > vehicles

When recording travel times, the employee specifies which vehicle they drove. The tax-relevant vehicles are already included in ZEP.

You can store vehicles in several languages. The entry is made in the Designation field: click on "German" and enter the German designation for the short form, click on "English" and enter the English designation, click on "French" and enter the French designation. Depending on the language set for the employee, the German, English, or French designation will be displayed.

For each vehicle, you define here which km flat rate (tax-free or optionally taxable) and any passenger flat rate will be reimbursed to the employee in the travel expense report for journeys made with a private vehicle.

For Germany and Austria:
The flat rates already entered in ZEP are the tax-free amounts to be reimbursed as specified by the tax office. You can also store higher flat rates for your employees; these must then be taxed and shown separately on the cost report. Enter the amount here that you wish to pay in addition to the tax-free amount. ZEP shows these amounts separately on the employee's cost report.

You can also create several identical vehicle types in ZEP; for example, if there are several vehicles in the fleet to choose from, you can create each one in ZEP with its respective license plate. Employees then select the specific vehicle used when recording their journey. Additionally, you can select a separate currency for each vehicle.

Path: Administration > Travel > Locations

When booking working times, employees specify the location where the work took place. If they did not work at their usual standard work location, this is a period for which additional meal expenses can be reimbursed. Define which locations are available for selection. Generally, the work locations are intended to map the different additional meal expense flat rates, i.e., there should only be Germany and other countries. Cities only exist as exceptions with higher flat rates in some countries.

You can store locations in several languages. The entry is made in each case in the Designation field: click on "German" and enter the German designation for the short form, click on "English" and enter the English designation, click on "French" and enter the French designation. Depending on the language set for the employee, the German, English, or French designation will be displayed. The tax office determines the amounts for tax-free reimbursement of additional meal expenses. It is not necessary to buy a software update in the event of changes in the law, as you can update the figures yourself. The "primary place of work" is not managed in the list of work locations, as it is not relevant for travel expense accounting. It always appears automatically in the "Work location" selection list during working time recording.

If you do not use ZEP to calculate additional meal expenses, each location consists only of a short form and designation and has no effect on travel expense accounting.

If you use ZEP to calculate additional meal expenses, you have specified the appropriate country setting for you under the menu item Administration > Travel > Additional meal expenses under "Calculation method for additional meal expenses". Depending on this, the locations have further parameters that are used for the calculation of additional meal expenses or travel expense daily allowance.

Tax-free
Specify the tax-free flat rate for an absence of more than 8 or at least 24 hours respectively. If a meal (breakfast or lunch/dinner) was also paid for on a day, the tax regulation provides for a deduction from the additional meal expenses. This is specified as a percentage depending on the location. Please note: the percentage deduction always refers to the flat rate for 24 hours, even if the employee was absent for less than 24 hours. The indication of whether a meal was paid for is made on the Working times page for the respective day using the symbol.

Taxable
You can also store higher flat rates for your employees; these must then be taxed and shown separately on the cost report. Enter the amount here that you wish to pay in addition to the tax-free amount. ZEP shows these amounts separately on the employee's cost report. Optionally, you can also specify a percentage deduction for meals.

ZEP supports the calendar day and the 24-hour regulation. Under "Travel expense daily allowance", you specify the flat-rate daily allowance valid for the location. Additionally, for each location, you have the choice between the twelfth regulation and the third regulation, as well as the regulation according to the collective agreement:

If you also had breakfast, lunch, or dinner paid for on a day, you can make a deduction from the additional meal expenses. This is specified as a percentage depending on the location.

You specify the flat rates per location under Administration > Travel > Locations, as well as the percentage deduction for paid meals.

The employee records their journeys with all relevant data.

employee-related
Based on the recorded journeys and any receipts, ZEP determines the meal allowances for the employee (minus any paid meals), the reimbursement of privately paid receipts (e.g., hotel bills, parking fees), and the reimbursement of mileage for trips in private vehicles at the push of a button in the cost report.
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Travel times are working times with some additional data. They are therefore recorded via the same page as all working times. Only when you select the travel activity, generally "re", does the page change, and you have the additional entry fields for the specific travel data alongside the input fields for "normal" working time.

After the travel activity has been set, the entry fields for the journey are displayed. The travel activity is available for selection next to the label "Activity" or can be selected via the dropdown field.

The work location is decisive for the reimbursement of additional meal expenses for business trips. The journey to a work location that is not the "primary place of work" and back also counts as reimbursable time.

If you have specified the travel activity as the activity, a selection other than "- primary place of work -" is mandatory for the work location.

A journey begins with an outbound trip and ends with a return trip. All time bookings between the outbound and return trip must be booked to a work location that is not "- primary place of work -".

Fields for travel activity
The fields in the "Travel activity" section are only required for a travel activity. For other activities, these fields are hidden.

ZEP also pre-fills this information sensibly. ZEP detects whether you are starting a new journey (pre-filled with "outbound", start and destination and vehicle details identical to the last journey) or are already in the middle of a journey (pre-filled with "return", start and destination reversed, vehicle details identical). Of course, this information can also be overwritten.

outbound / onward / return
With "outbound" you mark the start of a journey, and with "return" the end of a journey. An "onward" journey is a segment of travel time within a journey. Please note: For outbound and onward journeys, the destination must always be specified as the work location; for the return journey, the travel start. If you are traveling in Germany, this usually means the work location is always "D (Inland off-site)".

Generally, the work locations are intended to map the different meal allowances, meaning there should only be Germany and other countries. Cities only exist as exceptions with higher allowances in some countries.

Start / Destination
The details are displayed in your cost report.

Vehicle The vehicle type you select from the select box refers to the vehicles managed by the administrator in the master data / vehicle types. The mileage allowances per vehicle type are also defined there.

Check whether it is a private or a company vehicle. This information is required for the cost report, as the mileage allowance is reimbursed to the employee for trips with a private vehicle. If colleagues also rode in the car, you can optionally specify this here. Trips with a company vehicle appear on the employee's cost report without reimbursement.
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Check private if you are traveling with your private vehicle.
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Enter the distance between the start and destination. You can use the integrated calculator right next to the km entry to enter the mileage at departure and arrival; ZEP calculates the difference.

The specification of the work location is only relevant for the calculation of travel costs and additional meal expenses during travel. This field is pre-filled with the most recently recorded information. The work location "primary place of work" designates your normal work location.

This refers to the place where you "normally" work (e.g., the office) when you are not off-site at a customer's premises or an external event.

When booking working times, you always specify your work location. If you are in the office, select the setting "-primary place of work-" for the work location.

The work location can be used as a search criterion in reports. In addition, the work location (if it is not "primary place of work" and not home office location) is a prerequisite for the reimbursement of additional meal expenses to the employee.

As an administrator, department head, or controller, you can generate reports on travel costs for all employees, save cost reports as checked, and document payments.

You can find these reports via the menu item reports > Employees:

And for a selected employee in the Travel and Costs tab:

With the cost report, you receive an overview of the (travel) cost reports for a period for any employees. You can select the currency in which the cost report should be displayed. (If you want to save cost reports as checked, you can do this under selected employee > Travel and Costs > Cost report.) The tables are configurable.

Checked cost reports:
If there are cost reports saved as checked within the selected period, they are listed in the "Checked cost reports" table:

You can mark the entries by checking the checkbox and, for all marked entries together under Select action, generate the payment and send the marked entries as an email.

If "PDF" is specified as the format for the cost report (Administration > Travel > Cost report), a second combined cost report with receipt files is always offered as a download file when creating a checked cost report:

With you can download the checked cost report or the combined cost report with receipt files PDF, and with you can preview them.

If another format is selected, the checked cost report is offered for download in the corresponding format, and additionally, you can download the receipt files with and preview them with .

Please note: The period in the cost report saved as "checked" is locked! This means no changes can be made to the time bookings and receipts anymore. (To make changes, you must first delete the checked cost report using the symbol).

Unchecked cost reports:
In this table, the cost reports not yet saved as checked are listed if the checkbox "Display compressed to one row per employee" is activated.

Display compressed to one row per employee:
If this checkbox is activated (default setting), you receive the (unchecked) cost reports for the selected period in tabular form. Per row and per employee, the tax-free and taxable additional meal expenses are listed before and after meal deductions. The total kilometers driven, the kilometers driven in private vehicles, and the tax-free or taxable reimbursement amount are listed, as well as the receipts (total, reimbursement, VAT gross and net respectively). Finally, advance payments already made and amounts not yet paid out are listed.

If both checked and unchecked cost reports exist in the set period, they are each displayed in their own table.

If the checkbox is not activated, the unchecked cost reports are listed in detail; you can select the following further settings:

Deadline check for tax-free use of additional meal expenses: It is checked whether the employee has regularly booked more than two days per week to the same work location over a period longer than 3 months. Time bookings that ZEP identifies with this check could exceed the tax-free deadline. Check these times and, if necessary, rebook them to a location with the characteristic "Other travel, e.g., off-site activity longer than 3 months. Flat rates usually not tax-free." To make these rebookings easier for you, you can now also rebook time bookings to another work location under employee reports: working time report.

Optionally, you can specify the following:

Display remark of the first working time of the day:
For shorter journeys, the remark of the outbound and return bookings is output, which is generally more useful. For multi-day journeys, for days without a travel booking, the remark of the first time booking of the day is output in the cost report, which is not always desired or sensible. Activate this checkbox to suppress the remark in the cost report.

Display explanations for additional meal expenses, e.g., application of the midnight rule, arrival/departure without minimum absence.

Display warning for incomplete recording:
If the display of warnings is activated, you can switch directly to the working times of the respective employee by clicking on the warning and correct any incorrect entries if necessary.

The cost report consists of:

Table Checked cost reports All checked cost reports within the reporting period are displayed. You can easily send the cost report saved as checked to the corresponding employee via email directly from ZEP: Click on the -symbol in the last column (sent as email) of the table. The cost report will be sent to the employee in the defined format.

Header: An overview. The total amount to be reimbursed is displayed both as gross and net. The specified period is a link to the employee's cost report, where the cost report can be saved as "Checked".

Table Additional meal expenses:
For each day worked outside the standard work location, an additional meal expense is calculated depending on the location and the duration of absence. This is only displayed if the administrator has specified the appropriate country setting under the menu item Administration > Travel > Settings under "Calculation method for additional meal expenses". In the German calculation method for additional meal expenses, the statutory flat rates for breakfast or lunch/dinner are deducted if meals are specified. Please note: the percentage deduction always refers to the flat rate for 24 hours, even if the employee was absent for less than 24 hours. If the deduction for meals is higher than the flat rate to be paid for additional meal expenses, this amount is displayed but only deducted in the amount of the incurred meal flat rate. (In this case, the employee receives 0.00 euros reimbursement for that day). In the Austrian calculation method, the calculation of the daily allowance is the same, except for locations with the regulation according to collective agreement; here, the deduction for meals refers to the "aliquot daily allowance", i.e., the portion of the daily allowance calculated based on the duration of absence.

Table Receipts:
All receipts recorded by the employee are listed. The amounts to be reimbursed to the employee based on privately paid invoices are calculated. If invoices were paid with the company credit card that contained a private portion, these receipts are also listed and the amounts are deducted. The sum of receipts per VAT rate is listed individually, as is the sum of receipts by receipt type. The receipt number is a link to the receipt report of the corresponding employee.

Mileage allowance:
For trips with one's own private vehicle, a (reimbursement) amount is calculated: a km flat rate is reimbursed for each km driven. All trips with a company vehicle are also listed for the sake of completeness, naturally without mileage reimbursement.

Note: If the display of warnings is activated, you can switch directly to the working times of the corresponding employee with a click on the warning and correct any incorrect entries if necessary.

The monetary amounts are all converted into your company's base currency.

The basic data for travel expense accounting (flat rates for various locations, vehicles, etc.) is maintained by the administrator.

To make administration simple and clear, there are the following fields for handwritten entries and signatures: Department/Cost center, Signature, Approved/Checked, and Received/Transferred.

The meals report lists all meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) that have been booked by an employee in ZEP within a certain period. You can find the report for yourself under

Administrators, and if applicable, department heads and controllers, additionally have this report under

Set a period and, if necessary, select a department, employee category, or employee. In the output, one row per employee is displayed with the respective number of meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Additionally, there is a totals row below. No amounts are displayed (these are dependent on the amounts stored for the locations). Sorting is carried out by date or employee.

In the meal history report, all entries and changes to the meals are listed.

Every employee has a report on their "Travel" under reports > My reports. An administrator (and if applicable, department head) also has this report under reports > Employees > Travel or in the menu of a selected employee.

Select a reporting period, a location, or several or all locations. You can optionally set whether warnings for incomplete recording should be displayed.
If, for example, you want to evaluate all foreign locations and you have many foreign locations and few (usually only one) domestic location: click on the "all" link, all locations will then be displayed, and you can delete the unneeded locations with the "x".
For the set period, all journeys (for the selected location/s) are listed with the start and end date, the number of days, and the corresponding work location. The report can also be exported as Excel/CSV. If the display of warnings is activated, you can switch directly to your working times with a click on the warning and correct any incorrect entries if necessary. All days from a day with an "outbound journey" and a corresponding work location that is not the "-primary place of work-" are considered and counted as a journey.

Under reports > My reports, you will find your personal reports depending on the ZEP version and modules used.

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The meals report lists all meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) that have been booked by an employee in ZEP within a certain period. You can find the report for yourself under

In the output, one row is displayed per day with the respective number of meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Additionally, there is a totals row below. No amounts are displayed (these are dependent on the amounts stored for the locations). Sorting is carried out by date.

Every employee has a report on their "Travel" under reports > My reports. An administrator (and if applicable, department head) also has this report under reports > Employees > Travel or in the menu of a selected employee.

Select a reporting period, a location, or several or all locations. You can optionally set whether warnings for incomplete recording should be displayed.

If, for example, you want to evaluate all foreign locations and you have many foreign locations and few (usually only one) domestic location: click on the "all" link, all locations will then be displayed, and you can delete the unneeded locations with the "x".

For the set period, all journeys (for the selected location/s) are listed with the start and end date, the number of days, and the corresponding work location. The report can also be exported as Excel/CSV. If the display of warnings is activated, you can switch directly to your working times with a click on the warning and correct any incorrect entries if necessary. All days from a day with an "outbound journey" and a corresponding work location that is not the "-primary place of work-" are considered and counted as a journey.

With reports > My reports tab > Cost report, you create your (travel) cost report for any period; the default setting is the previous month before the 15th of a month, and the current month from the 15th onwards. Both unchecked and checked cost reports are displayed.
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Special features:

To make these rebookings easier for you, you can now also rebook time bookings to another work location under reports > Working time report.

Optionally, you can specify the following:

Result:
The result is a list of checked and unchecked cost reports in the reporting period:

Checked cost reports:

If there are cost reports saved as checked within the selected period, they are listed in the "Checked cost reports" table:

Unchecked cost reports:

Header:

In the overview, the total amount to be reimbursed is displayed as both gross and net. If applicable, payments already made (entries in the payment documentation) for the set period are additionally listed, along with the corresponding new amount to be paid out.

Table Additional meal expenses:

For each day worked outside the standard work location, an additional meal expense is calculated depending on the location and the duration of absence.

This is only displayed if the administrator has specified the appropriate country setting under the menu item Administration > Travel > Additional meal expenses under "Calculation method for additional meal expenses". In the German calculation method for additional meal expenses, the statutory flat rates for breakfast or lunch/dinner are deducted if meals are specified.

The percentage deduction always refers to the flat rate for 24 hours, even if you were absent for less than 24 hours. If the deduction for meals is higher than the flat rate to be paid for the additional meal expenses, this amount is displayed but only deducted in the amount of the incurred meal flat rate. (In this case, you receive 0.00 euros reimbursement for that day).

In the Austrian calculation method, the calculation of the daily allowance is the same, except for locations with the regulation according to collective agreement; here, the deduction for meals refers to the "aliquot daily allowance", i.e., the portion of the daily allowance calculated based on the duration of absence.

Table Receipts: All receipts recorded by you are listed. The amounts to be reimbursed to the employee based on privately paid invoices are calculated. If invoices were paid with the company credit card that contained a private portion, these receipts are also listed and the amounts are deducted. The sum of receipts per VAT rate is listed individually, as is the sum of receipts by receipt type.

Mileage allowance:
For trips with your own private vehicle, a reimbursement amount is calculated: a km flat rate is reimbursed for each km driven. All trips with a company vehicle are also listed for the sake of completeness, naturally without mileage reimbursement.

Note: If the display of warnings is activated, you can switch directly to your working times with a click on the warning and correct any incorrect entries if necessary.

The basic data for travel expense accounting (flat rates for various locations, vehicles, etc.) is maintained by the administrator under Administration > Travel > Vehicles or Locations.

To make administration simple and clear, there are the following fields for handwritten entries and signatures: Department/Cost center, Signature, Approved/Checked, and Received/Transferred.

The printed and signed cost report serves as proof for the tax office.

The payment documentation is taken into account in the cost report (reports > Employee cost report and Employee > [Employee name] > Travel & Costs > Cost report). If you have activated freelance employees in your ZEP, the credit notes are also taken into account.

Enter all amounts that you pay out to an employee for a period here.

Amounts that were generated as an advance payment in an employee's cost report are listed here.

Each individual amount is displayed in the employee's unchecked cost report with the date of the payment and the corresponding period.

If the cost report is saved as checked, the paid amount is listed in the "Advance payments" column. If this advance payment amount is lower than the amount to be reimbursed, ZEP shows the difference in the "Not yet paid out" column.

You can then simply pay out the "remaining amount" in the table of checked cost reports by clicking on . This generates an entry in the payment documentation in the amount of the "not yet paid out" sum.

Please note:
Payments that are saved as checked in a cost report can no longer be changed or deleted. (To do this, first delete the checked cost report). As an administrator, you can change the payment documentation at any time. You can, for example, add remarks, delete payments (exception see above), or add further payments (e.g., an advance).

Multiple payments can be entered for the same period. (e.g., for 01.01.2023 to 31.01.2023, 200.00 was paid out on 05.02.2023; and on 10.02.2023, a further 15.00 was also paid out for 01.01.2023 to 31.01.2023.)