Under Administration > Export for Accounting > Settings, administrators configure the module before the first export. The settings are grouped into four tabs: General, Cost Centers & Cost Units, Creditors & Debtors and Accounts & tax codes.
General
In the General tab you choose the export format and control how bookings and files are aggregated and transferred.
Choosing the format
Use Format to select the export format that your accounting can import:
DATEV: Booking records according to the DATEV ASCII specification. Recommended for accounting departments that work with DATEV software. Optionally with EXTF header for DATEV Unternehmen online and for the direct connection via DATEV Online.
Lexware: Booking records in the Lexware standard format for the import into Lexware Buchhalter.
General: Universal CSV format with eleven columns for any accounting solution. The mapping of columns into the target system happens on the customer side.
The default is DATEV. The fields in the Accounts & tax codes tab and the available options adapt to the chosen format.
EXTF header and DATEV master data
With the DATEV format, the Datev XML interface with receipts checkbox appears. With it, ZEP creates a DATEV EXTF header record and shows the DATEV master data fields:
Consultant number and Client of your tax advisor or in-house accounting.
SKR (chart of accounts, default 03).
Business year start (default January).
Account number length (default 4).
Repository structure for invoice and receipt files in the DATEV cloud (three hierarchy levels each).
DATEV Online activates the direct upload of the booking batch into the DATEV cloud.
The full description of the DATEV master data, repository paths and DATEV Online connection is in the article DATEV Configuration.
Aggregating bookings
Use the two checkboxes Aggregate invoice export and Aggregate cost export to control how detailed ZEP outputs bookings:
No (default): Each invoice item or receipt is exported as its own line. Accounting sees the full breakdown, including all individual accounts and cost centers.
Yes (aggregated): Identical lines with the same account, contra account, tax code and booking text are merged into a single summary booking. Amounts are added. Accounting receives a compact stack booking instead of many individual lines.
Aggregation is useful when accounting only needs sums per account and does not have to post every single receipt. It significantly reduces the number of exported lines – but the per-receipt traceability is lost in accounting.
ZIP archives with files
With Invoice export as ZIP archive with invoice files and Cost export as ZIP archive with receipts, ZEP packs the CSV file together with the invoice PDFs or receipt files into a ZIP archive. Accounting then receives the booking batch and the original receipts in a single package. With DATEV and EXTF header active, these options are hidden because the EXTF package already contains files according to the DATEV specification.
Invoice export with performance date
With the Invoice export with performance date checkbox, you activate the maintenance of a performance date on each invoice. The performance date is relevant for VAT and may differ from the invoice date. With the option active:
In the invoice creation form, a performance date can be set manually per invoice.
For new invoices, the performance date is sensibly pre-filled – with the date of the invoice item with the largest amount, depending on where the performance period lies.
In the filter of Exporting Invoices, the choice appears whether the period filter applies to the invoice or the performance date.
With the DATEV format, two DATEV-specific sub-settings appear directly below:
with finalization (default Yes): The exported bookings go directly into DATEV finalization. Later changes in DATEV are no longer possible – this secures GoBD compliance. With setting No, ZEP outputs the DJ column with the value 0, the bookings remain editable in DATEV.
with receipt link (only without EXTF header): ZEP transfers the same receipt number in the DATEV Receipt link field as in the Receipt field 1. This allows DATEV to associate the booking with the corresponding receipt file, provided the files are stored separately in the DATEV repository.
Exchange rate direction
Use Exchange rate direction to define how foreign-currency amounts are converted:
Base direction: Multiplication with the exchange rate (e.g. 100 USD × 0.92 = 92 EUR).
Inverse direction: Division by the exchange rate (e.g. 92 EUR ÷ 1.09 = 84.40 USD).
Which direction is correct depends on how your accounting system records exchange rates. When in doubt, confirm with your accounting team.
Locking exported invoices
With Exported invoices can no longer be deleted or changed active, ZEP locks exported invoices against deletion and later editing. This protects the consistency between ZEP and accounting – once handed over, invoices stay unchanged.
Cost Centers & Cost Units
In the Cost Centers & Cost Units tab you define where KOST1 and KOST2 in the exported booking records come from. The KOST1 and KOST2 selectors are always visible; the additional Format and Length fields appear only as soon as at least one KOST entry is set to cost unit. The cost-center master data maintenance via Administration > Export for Accounting > Cost Centers only appears in the module menu as soon as KOST1 or KOST2 is set to a cost-center option.
Setting KOST1 and KOST2
Use the KOST1 and KOST2 dropdowns to choose the data source:
not used: The field stays empty in the export.
Project/Task cost center: The cost center stored on the project or task.
Project/Task cost unit: The cost unit stored on the project or task.
Project short form: The short form of the project.
Employee cost center: The cost center stored on the employee.
Employee cost unit: The cost unit stored on the employee.
Employee personnel number: The personnel number of the employee.
KOST1 and KOST2 must be assigned different sources – otherwise ZEP rejects the save. With the Lexware format, the labels are fixed (KOST1 = cost center, KOST2 = cost unit) and the selection is restricted accordingly.
Force and fallback account
The force checkbox requires that the assigned source (e.g. employee cost center) is actually maintained. If the value is missing, the export stops for the affected booking.
The fallback account field stores a fallback account for cases where the source cannot be determined (e.g. internal allocation between departments without project context). The fallback account is used instead of blocking the booking.
Cost unit format and length
As soon as a KOST entry is set to cost unit, ZEP shows two more fields:
Format: numeric or alphanumeric.
Length: default 9, which corresponds to the SAP standard.
ZEP normalizes the cost-unit values according to these settings before the export.
Creditors & Debtors
In the Creditors & Debtors tab you set which field is exported as the creditor number for employees and as the debtor number for customers.
Employee creditor number
Use the Employee creditor number radio:
Personnel number: The personnel number of the employee is also used as the creditor number in the export.
Force creditor number: The creditor number is a separate field on the employee and must be maintained there.
Customer debtor number
Use the Customer debtor number radio analogously:
Customer number: The ZEP customer number is used as the debtor number.
Force debtor number: The debtor number is a separate required field on the customer.
This choice decides whether accounting uses the ZEP numbers directly or whether you maintain dedicated accounting numbers per employee and customer.
Accounts & tax codes
In the Accounts & tax codes tab you store the expense accounts and the corresponding booking keys (tax codes) used to book travel expenses and receipts. Expense accounts control which ledger account the amounts go to in accounting; tax codes represent tax-relevant facts such as input tax, output tax or tax exemptions. Both values are required – if one is missing, ZEP refuses the export with a corresponding error message.
Expense accounts and tax codes for daily allowance and mileage
Daily allowance (VMA) and mileage (km) are each managed with two accounts and two tax codes:
Daily allowance tax-free with associated tax code – expenses up to the legal lump sum without tax burden.
Daily allowance taxable with associated tax code – expenses above the lump sum that are to be taxed as a monetary benefit.
Mileage tax-free with associated tax code – expenses up to the mileage lump sum without tax burden.
Mileage taxable with associated tax code – expenses above the lump sum that have to be taxed.
ZEP automatically decides per booking, based on the ZEP configuration and the tax rules at the booking date, which of the four account / tax-code pairs is used. The split into tax-free and taxable allows accounting to keep both parts on different accounts cleanly.
Account for rounding differences
With the DATEV or Lexware format, the additional Account for rounding differences field appears. Here you store an account to which ZEP posts rounding differences from split bookings so that the booking total matches the receipt or invoice total.
Accounts for freelancers
Note: This section appears only when the standard function Activate freelancers and credits is switched on. You find the switch under Administration > Employees > Settings. With the function active, you can manage freelancers and issue credits to them – these bookings are kept separate from the expenses of regular employees in the accounting export.
With the function active, ZEP shows additional fields:
Account and tax code for input tax – for the input tax from credits to freelancers.
Account and tax code for remuneration – for the fees of the freelancers.
Account and tax code for receipts – for the receipts of the freelancers.
Dedicated expense accounts and tax codes for daily allowance and mileage – tax-free and taxable, analogously to the accounts for regular employees.
During the export, ZEP automatically uses the appropriate set depending on whether the booking belongs to a regular employee or a freelancer.
DATEV payroll formats
Note: The export of payroll data in the DATEV format LODAS or Lohn & Gehalt is controlled via a separate interface and appears only when the DATEV payroll interface is active. The full description is in the article DATEV LODAS and Lohn und Gehalt.