Travel times and travel expenses are recorded together in ZEP – usually in the same workflow as a regular working-time entry, but with additional travel fields (direction, start and destination location, kilometers). From the recorded travel times, ZEP automatically calculates subsistence costs based on per-location flat rates and any recorded meals.
Recording travel
Note: Assigning a trip to a project, operation, and customer and selecting project- or customer-specific travel settings are only available in ZEP Operations and ZEP Business. In ZEP Clock, trips are recorded as general trips with company-wide flat rates.
The detailed rules for trips over midnight and over the weekend are described in the article Project times and working times. You set the daily allowances and the calculation procedure under Basic Settings – Travel Expense Management.
Trips are created via the regular time recording – with the difference that you select an activity configured as a travel activity. Once ZEP recognizes a trip, the travel-specific fields appear automatically.
Step by step
Open Project times in the main menu or the time recording in the ZEP App and click New entry.
Select the project and – if available – the process.
Select the travel activity as Activity (e.g., Travel). The administration defines which activity is the travel activity under Activities using Change Travel Activity.
Under Travel activity, select "Outward", "Continue" or "Return". ZEP suggests the value: "Outward" begins the trip, "Continue" is a leg in between, "Return" ends it. ZEP needs this to reconstruct the travel history for multi-day trips. If the value is wrong, the trips report shows an incomplete entry (see Managing travel and travel expenses).
Enter date, from time, and to time.
Select the Work location of the trip from the location list. For a travel activity, this is a location other than "Standard" or the home office.
Enter Start and Destination. Example: outbound trip from Hamburg to Munich.
Select the Vehicle and enter the km and, if applicable, the Passengers. For a private vehicle, also activate Private.
Save the entry.
Automatic calculations
Subsistence costs (also per diem) – based on the destination country's daily flat rates (A/C rate Germany or daily allowance Austria) and your travel duration, ZEP automatically picks the correct flat amount
Mileage – with private travel, kilometers × mileage rate from master data is calculated
Overnight recognition – if Detect overnight stay is active in the basic settings, ZEP treats the time between two overnight travel entries as an overnight stay. This determines whether arrival and departure days receive a flat rate
Tax-free / taxable split – ZEP automatically splits flat rates by tax-free and taxable share (see master data for vehicles and locations)
Recording meals
Meals are independent of the travel time range and are recorded per working day. They control whether breakfast, lunch, or dinner was provided by the client on that day and accordingly reduce the subsistence costs.
Open the Meals entry in the day calendar and activate the applicable checkboxes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner per day. If the administration has set Preloaded meals, the usually provided meals are already preselected.
Tip: How you access the meal form depends on the time tracking view you’ve selected:
Calendar week, work week, daily view, or agenda: via the three-dot menu on the respective day
Form view: via the cutlery icon on travel days
Example: For a Mon–Fri training event with a lunch buffet, activate lunch for all five days. ZEP then automatically deducts the percentage allowance deduction for lunch (typically 40 % in Germany) per day.
Recording receipts
Receipts (hotel bills, train tickets, fuel receipts, hospitality receipts) are recorded via Receipts in the main menu or directly in the ZEP App or the ZEP Clock App via camera capture. Per receipt, you specify:
Date – receipt date
Project – assignment to the travel project
Type of receipt – e.g., Accommodation, Train/Flight, Rental car, Hospitality
Method of payment – how the receipt was paid
Amount and currency – gross including disclosed VAT
Receipt file – PDF, photo, or scan, optionally uploaded as an attachment
Tip: With AI analysis active, ZEP automatically detects date, amount, tax rate, receipt type and, where applicable, the receipt description from the photographed or uploaded receipt. You verify the preselection and only need to add the project assignment.
Recording travel on the go
For mobile recording, two apps are available:
ZEP App – for ZEP Operations and ZEP Business: record travel times, meals, and receipts directly on the go, photo receipt capture via camera
ZEP Clock App – for ZEP Clock: simplified travel time recording and receipt upload
All data recorded mobile appears immediately in the web application and can be processed there.
Typical travel scenarios
The following examples illustrate the interplay of recording:
Day travel to a customer
A consultant drives to the customer in the morning, is on-site all day, and returns in the evening. Recording includes:
Outbound trip: 7:00–9:00 (activity "Travel", direction outbound, 130 km Private)
Meeting/working time: 9:00–17:00 (regular project time at the customer)
Return trip: 17:00–19:00 (activity "Travel", direction return, 130 km)
Meals: lunch provided → lunch checkbox active
ZEP automatically calculates: the A rate for 12 hours of absence, minus 40 % for provided lunch, plus 260 km × mileage rate.
Multi-day foreign travel
A trainer travels to Vienna early Monday, works on-site Mon–Wed, and returns Wednesday evening. Recording:
Mon: outbound trip 6:00–9:00 from Munich to Vienna + working time 10:00–18:00
Tue: working time 9:00–18:00
Wed: working time 9:00–16:00 + return trip 16:00–19:00 from Vienna to Munich
Meals: breakfast included at the hotel Mon+Tue+Wed → breakfast checkbox active each time
ZEP automatically picks the foreign allowance for Vienna. Per day, the A or C rate is applied (24-hour overnight Mon and Tue), meal deduction is automatic.
Commuter travel with arrival allowance
A consultant drives to a customer every Monday, with whom an arrival allowance "per team member and day" was agreed. The allowance is stored in the project travel settings and is billed to the customer per arrival day. The consultant's reimbursement continues to follow the subsistence costs and mileage.