As a rule, you only have the Administration menu item in your ZEP if you have Administrator authorization.

In this Administration area, you can configure ZEP according to your requirements. You can individually adjust ZEP's behavior, appearance, and the stored data related to your company.

Which menu items are displayed under Administration in ZEP primarily depends on the add-on modules you use. In the following, we will go through the most important points. If you have menu items that are not covered in this article, please refer to the article for the corresponding add-on module.

Company Logo
You can display your company logo on the ZEP login page and in ZEP at the bottom left: Select the corresponding file (maximum size: 1MB) and upload it.

ZEP Color
Either enter the desired hexadecimal color code in the input window or select the desired color by clicking the color symbol. If you want to reset ZEP to the original color, completely delete the entry and click Save.

Access via secure SSL connection
You can specify whether you fundamentally want to enforce an SSL-encrypted connection, offer it as an option, or if it should not be possible. We recommend always accessing ZEP with SSL encryption.

When changing the setting from "automatically redirect" to something else, users must manually delete their ZEP session cookie in the browser. Logging in is otherwise not possible.

Allow saving username and password in the browser
If you want to allow the browser to save the username and password, you can specify this here.

ZEP Language
Here you set the standard language for ZEP. The language setting also includes the language-specific formatting of dates, times, and decimal numbers.

The Employees created in ZEP generally have the language set to "-Standard-." This refers exactly to the language you set here. If a language other than the standard language should permanently apply to an employee, set it for the respective employee. The login page will still be displayed in the standard language, and after logging in, the user will see ZEP in their chosen language.

The same applies to Projects: Every project has its billing language defined under Billing Settings > Format; this is also generally "-Standard-." If the invoices for a project should be created permanently in a language other than the standard language, then change the project's language under Billing Settings > Format.

If you use the ticketing system, every Customer Contact also has a language setting for their ticket access. Here, too, the language is generally "-Standard-" and can be changed if necessary.

Setting Number of Entries per Page

In ZEP, search results are often presented to you in a scrollable table, e.g., Project Management, Employee Administration, etc. By default, 15 entries per page are displayed. Here you can change this number.

The number of entries per page affects usability and speed:

This setting has no effect on fully displayed, non-scrollable tables in Reports and no effect on tables in popup windows.

There is also a fixed minimum number of entries: A page break only occurs if the following page will contain at least 4 entries. This means the last page of a table can contain up to three entries more than the set number.

Display company name in Reports (header)
If you do not want your company name to appear in the header of printed Reports, do not check the box.
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Retain line breaks in CSV export
If you have longer formatted texts with line breaks in the remarks field of projects/tasks and want to export them formatted that way as CSV, specify Yes here.

If you click on an email address, the local mail client (e.g., MS Outlook, Lotus Notes) is called up by default. If you do not want this, you can alternatively use the integrated ZEP Mail Client by activating this option.

Separator for email addresses

Set here globally whether a comma or semicolon is used as the separator between email addresses.

Sender Name for automatically sent emails and for ZEP Mail Client

This sender name is used by ZEP in automatically sent emails:

The recipient sees the following information in their mail program:

Sender Address

This email address is used by ZEP as the email sender when ZEP sends automatic emails, e.g., for planned hour overruns, overtime notifications, or in connection with the ticket module.

If you have not configured anything specific, the default setting [email protected] applies.

If you want to use your own email addresses, you should also use your own mail server that belongs to these addresses (see "Use special outgoing server for mail delivery").

Use ZEP Mailserver

However, if you use the ZEP Mailserver and your email address contains your own domain, you must update your SPF record in the DNS settings to prevent your emails from being marked as spam. This means that you must supplement your SPF record with "a:mail.zep.de". You must insert the entry "a:mail.zep.de" into the SPF record at an appropriate place, with spaces before and after it. Please contact your IT system administrator for this (not the ZEP Support Team); they should know the appropriate location.

An example of the updated entry would be "v=spf1 +a +mx a:mail.zep.de -all" or "v=spf1 +a +mx a:mail.zep.de"

Explanation of SPF Record

The SPF record (Sender Policy Framework Record) is a type of security measure that helps protect email delivery and reduce email fraud. In simple terms, it is a rule set in a domain's DNS settings to confirm which email servers are authorized to send emails on behalf of that domain.

When an email server receives an email, it checks the sender's domain's SPF record to ensure that the email originates from an authorized server. If this is the case, the email is accepted. If not, the email may be classified as spam or forged and rejected or treated accordingly.

Reply Name for automatically sent emails and for ZEP Mail Client

Here you enter the reply name that the recipient of an email automatically sent from ZEP sees.

The recipient sees the following information in their mail program:

Reply Address for automatically sent emails and for ZEP Mail Client

Here you enter the reply address that the recipient of an email automatically sent from ZEP sees.

The recipient sees the following information in their mail program:

Email Header and Email Footer

Here you can design the header and footer area of the emails sent by ZEP using a simple HTML editor.

If you want to use your own email addresses as the sender, you can use your own mail server that belongs to these addresses (same domain).

We recommend using the ZEP Mailserver, as this helps you avoid unnecessary waiting times when using ZEP. The ZEP Mailserver accepts the emails immediately and adds them to a queue—this is then processed in the background. (You only have to supplement the SPF record on all your domains with a:mail.provantis.de so that the emails are not considered spam.) Example: v=spf1 +a +mx a:mail.zep.de -all

If sending via your mail server, ZEP must transmit all emails directly to your server, and you must wait during ZEP usage—depending on the mail provider used, this can take a few seconds. Depending on ZEP's settings, this can also affect employee time recording, as emails are sent immediately upon saving time when overtime is exceeded, the project's planned figure is reached, etc.

Enter your outgoing mail server here if you do not want to use the ZEP mail server. To do this, you define your mail server as a "Special Outgoing Server" with corresponding access data and set:

For ZEP to be able to send emails via Microsoft Azure, access must be configured via OAuth as follows:

Azure Settings:

Call up Azure: https://portal.azure.com

Then navigate via Azure Active Directory > App registrations > "+ New registration" to App registration:

When the app is registered, copy the "Application (client) ID" and temporarily save it in a file (e.g., azure.txt).

Now select "Add a certificate or secret" and click "+ New client secret". Here:

Now copy the code displayed as Value (Caution: not the Secret ID) and add it as a new line in azure.txt. Important: This code will not be displayed again later.

Afterwards:

Microsoft 365 Admin Center:

Users > Active users > select the user > Mail > Manage email apps > "Authenticated SMTP".

ZEP Settings:

Administration > My Company > Settings > E-Mail > Change settings => Select Use special outgoing mail server for mail delivery

Fields relevant for Azure:

Save Then click the External Link icon. This leads to the Office 365 login page. Please complete the login. After successful login, you will be redirected back to the mailbox page. => Done!

Google Settings: A guide on how to create an app in Google can be found here:

https://support.google.com/cloud/answer/6158849?hl=de#zippy=

You must register mail delivery from ZEP as an app (https://cloud.google.com/console). There you will receive the OAuth ID and the OAuth Secret which you must enter in ZEP.

You can find the Redirect URL in the ZEP email settings when you switch to Google OAuth. Normally, it is the following URL; here you must replace your ZEP name:

https://www.zep-online.de/zepXXXXXXXXXX/view/oauth2smtp.php

Administration > My Company > Settings > E-Mail > Change settings

Afterwards, an arrow symbol in a box will appear. There you must log in and grant the necessary permissions via a pop-up, if you have not already done so.

After logging in, you can send a test email using the envelope symbol.

Please enter your company data at this point. This data is required as the Invoice Sender for creating ZUGFeRD invoices, XRechnungen, and for the Swiss QR Code. This data is also used as a placeholder variable for the Letterhead. This means that if your company data changes (e.g., change of legal form, change of address, etc.), you can make the change here, and the updated information will automatically be adopted into all your letterhead templates where you have inserted a placeholder for this data.

You must at least fully specify the Name and the Bank details (see next point "Bank details"), otherwise ZEP cannot generate pdf/a-ZUGFeRD invoices. Additionally, the "ZUGFeRD" checkbox must be activated for the customer under Addresses, and the ZUGFeRD country code must be entered.

Invoices with GiroCode/Payment Code (only with Invoicing module) Simplify invoice payment for your customers with a QR code on the invoice. This code contains the recipient, account number/IBAN, amount, currency, payment purpose, or reference, and can be read by numerous banking apps, simplifying the transfer of the data mentioned above into the transfer form.

You can specify this data under Administration > My Company > Company Data. The QR code can be output using the placeholder Payment QR Code (%R_BEZAHLCODE%) in the upper or lower invoice text (project or customer additional fields). To ensure it is output right-aligned, it can be written into a table with right-aligned column alignment.

If you use the Departments module, you can also enter this Company Data separately for various departments that act as independent companies.

Please enter your bank details here. This data is required for the creation of pdf/a-ZUGFeRD invoices. This data is also used as a placeholder variable for the Letterhead. This means that if your bank details change, you can make the change here under New Bank Details, and the updated information will automatically be adopted into all your letterhead templates where you have inserted a placeholder for this data. The fields Bank Name, IBAN, and BIC are also available as document variables for the letterhead.

Every bank detail record has the following fields:

For ZUGFeRD and as a placeholder for the Letterhead:

Only for the Letterhead:

Additionally, the ZUGFeRD checkbox must be activated for the customer under Addresses, and the ZUGFeRD country code must be entered.

Here you can upload your own letter paper with logo and company data. All Reports in pdf, doc, docx, or odt format are displayed on this letterhead.

The letterhead is used in the following Reports:

Letterhead Creation

Please note our Instructions for creating the letterhead, which are available for download at this point.

If you do not store your own custom letterhead, the Standard Letterhead is always used. You can see this by the display: Standard Letterhead (Language) Portrait/Landscape format is used. This letterhead merely contains a footerwith your Company Name and the Page Number.

If you want ZEP to create your Reports ( in PDF, Word, or LibreOffice) completely including the letterhead, for example, with your Logo and further information in the header and footer, then you must create your own letterhead and upload it to ZEP.

You can upload different letterheads for these various areas:

Optionally, you can specify whether ZEP may only be accessed from certain IP addresses: Activate the checkbox Use IP Address Authentication and enter the corresponding IP addresses separated by spaces and save.

Optionally, ZEP provides you with the possibility of Login via OAuth: Under Administration > My Company > Settings > Login, specify whether you want to "Enable Login via OAuth." Select whether you want to enable this via Google or Microsoft (Azure), Keycloak, or General. Select the method first, and then the links will become visible. For secure communication of ZEP via OAuth, "CLIENT ID" and "CLIENT SECRET" must be stored in the ZEP settings.

Optionally, you can specify whether the normal ZEP Login should be locked and who is authorized to unlock the ZEP login via email if necessary.

For this, your ZEP must be registered as an app via the "Google Cloud Console" https://cloud.google.com/console. "CLIENT ID" (Google: "Client ID") and "CLIENT SECRET" (Google: "Client Secret") are generated by Google upon registration.

When registering, ensure that the address to "glogin.php" below the view directory of ZEP is stored with Google as the "REDIRECT URI" (Google: "Authorized redirect URIs").

After configuration, any employee with a valid Google account can log in with their Google access data if the email addresses of the Google account and ZEP match. The employee has another field in their data (next to the email field): Google ID: the email address of the Google account must be stored here.

The login via Google can be initiated by calling the page "glogin.php" below the view directory of ZEP. Google login can also be accessed via the link "Sign in with Google" on the ZEP login page, provided the normal ZEP login is not locked by the Administrator.

For Microsoft OAuth, your ZEP must be registered as an app via the App Registration portal: https://aka.ms/appregistrations.

If you have the setting "Supported account types: My organization only" in Azure, you must copy the Tenant ID (also known as Tenant or Directory ID) from Azure and enter it in ZEP under Administration > My Company > Settings > Login > OAuth > Tenant ID.

Further information is available under the link https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/develop/active-directory-v2-registration-portal

Here you can set quality criteria for the passwords used in ZEP.

What happens if you have forgotten your password or exceeded the allowed number of input attempts?
ZEP then offers you: "Use this form if you have forgotten your password for ZEP. Enter your username or your email address. ZEP will send you an email with information on how to define a new password."