These first steps are intended for all employees with access to a ZEP account. The article can also be used by administrators who work with ZEP themselves on a daily basis. The areas you can see and the functions available to you depend on your permissions, the product line in use, and your company's settings.
Logging in to ZEP
To use ZEP, log in to your company account via your browser. You will typically receive the link to your ZEP instance by email or directly from your employer or administrator.
Note: The ZEP URL always follows the same structure: https://www.zep-online.de/zepmusterfirma, where "musterfirma" represents your individual company identifier. More on this in the article My Company – Administration.
To log in, you will need your username and password. For your first login, there are two typical scenarios:
You receive an email allowing you to set your own password, or
You receive an initial password from your administrator, which you are prompted to change upon first login.
Depending on your company's settings, you may also be able to log in via Single Sign-On (SSO), for example through common providers such as Microsoft or Google. In this case, simply use the corresponding login button on the sign-in page.
Dashboard
The Dashboard menu item provides an overview of work-relevant information. Depending on the modules in use and your settings, you will find details such as your actual/target hours, overtime, vacation days, and the distribution of your project times. This allows you to quickly get your bearings before you start entering your data.
Tip: You can find detailed information in the article Dashboard.
Logging Project Times
In the Project Times menu item, you record your time against projects. Several views are available, such as work week, week, day, agenda, and form. Use the following methods to log your time:
Manual entry via drag and drop, "+" on the keyboard, or the "Log Project Time" button
Activate the calendar integration for Outlook or Google and book directly against appointments
Create project templates and drag them into the calendar
Use the three-dot menu for a specific day to copy times to another day or an entire time period
Depending on your ZEP configuration, you may also need to provide additional details such as project, task, activity, billability, work location, or notes. Travel time is also recorded in this section using the "Travel" activity type.
Tip: You can find detailed information in the article Project times and working times.
Logging Receipts
In the Receipts menu item, you can record project-related expenses for your company, such as hotel invoices, travel tickets, or other purchases. It is important to select the appropriate receipt type as well as the relevant project and task. The remaining details, such as VAT, amount, etc., only need to be filled in manually if the AI analysis was unable to complete them automatically.
Note: Recording receipts requires the Revenue & Costs or Travel Expense Management add-on module. More on this in the article Receipts.
Requesting Absences
In the Absences & Appointments section, you can view your absences in the calendar and request or plan additional ones. The current month is displayed by default. You can switch between month, week, and day views, or display entries as a list.
Additional absences can be requested by clicking on the relevant calendar day or using the "+ Absence" button. In addition to selecting the time period and the appropriate absence reason, you can also adjust the duration if it is not a full-day absence, before submitting the request for approval.
Alternatively, you can save without submitting. This keeps the request as a draft without sending it, while still displaying it in the vacation planner.
To the left of the calendar, you can see your overtime balance as well as your vacation balance, including a breakdown of remaining vacation days, requested days, approved days, and planned days.
Note: Creating and requesting absences requires the Absences & Overtime add-on module. More on this in the article Absences and appointments.
Reviewing Your Own Reports
Under Reports › My Reports, you will find your personal reports. Depending on the ZEP version and modules in use, these may include project time reports, receipt reports, cost statements, month-end reports, project time histories, and time records. These allow you to review your own data or send it to clients and supervisors for approval.
Tip: You can find detailed information in the article Personal reports.
Working on the Go with the ZEP App
With the ZEP app, you can log project times, absences, and travel expenses wherever you are. In the app, you can book project times manually or use the stamp button to start and stop time tracking. You can also integrate your calendar in the app and book time directly against meetings.
Receipts for travel expenses or other purchases can easily be captured from your gallery, documents, or via photo scan, and saved quickly with pre-filled details powered by AI analysis.
The management of projects, employees, and clients, as well as standardized reports, continue to be handled via the ZEP web frontend.
Download the ZEP app here:
Tip: You can find detailed information in the article ZEP App.