The Project Planning module allows you to store planned hours at project, task, and ticket level and compares them with the hours actually recorded. In addition, time recording can be configured so that bookings beyond the planned hours trigger a warning or are prevented entirely.
Product line availability
Note: Project Planning is available in ZEP Compact and ZEP Professional.
In ZEP Compact, it is added as an optional module via the ZEP Self-Service Tool under Administration > Account. In ZEP Professional, it is included automatically. ZEP Clock does not support project planning.
Permissions
Work with the module is structured by role:
Administrators: Activate the module and configure global plan settings (plan-hours display, defaults, planned/actual comparison).
Project managers with budget responsibility: Store planned hours per project, task and employee, check planned vs. actual and adjust the planning during the project.
Controllers: See planned/actual reports across all projects, in ZEP Professional including cost and revenue context.
Employees: See their planned hours per project directly in the time recording and in the personal dashboard. As project members they can additionally — if enabled in the basic settings — view the entire project plan including plan hours and plan amounts.
Additional menu items
The module makes the following additional fields, tabs, and reports available:
Project > Data
In the project, the Plan block appears in the Data tab with the field Planned hours for the entire project and the display of the actual hours recorded so far. Overbooking prevention and a daily hour limit can optionally be enabled.
Project > Task
Separate planned hours can be stored per task within a project. The sum of task-level planned hours can be cross-checked against the project planned hours but is configured independently.
Tickets and subtasks
When the ticket module is active, planned hours can also be entered per ticket and subtask. Ticket planned hours serve as a fine-grained extension of task or project planning.
Administration > Projects > Settings
Under Administration > Projects > Settings, additional fields appear with the module active: three percentage warning thresholds for the escalation email to project managers, the display of planned and actual hours during time recording, and the visibility of planned hours for project employees.
Additional reports
Under Reports > Projects > Project State, the module adds two reports:
Project State Plan: planned/actual comparison per project, grouped by department, employees, activity, or task
Overall State Plan: aggregate planned/actual comparison across multiple projects
Both reports are reserved for administrators, controllers, and project managers with budget responsibility. Project State Plan is also directly accessible from the project detail page; Overall State Plan is also available on the customer detail page, but only in ZEP Professional there.
Distinction from other modules
Note: With the Resource Planning module, the actual personnel deployment per employee and time period can be planned via work packages and deployment plans — as an extension of the plan hours at project and task level. With the Invoicing module, the plan warning can be limited to billable shares via the setting Only billable bookings. With the Proposals module, plan hours can be transferred directly from an accepted proposal into the project.