SAP Alternative in Project Business — 5 Tools Compared

SAP is the safe choice for many large corporations when it comes to professional business solutions. And what about SMEs? This is increasingly looking for leaner and more cost-effective SAP alternatives. In the cloud in particular, there are already numerous alternative ERP tools that can easily compete with the market leader's solutions — or even surpass it in specific areas.

In this blog article, you will learn about 5 modern SAP alternatives, because: Cloud services are not only easier to implement, but are also often more intuitive and user-friendly to use compared to the complex product portfolio of the giant from Walldorf.

5 SAP alternatives for your project business

Project time recording is a crucial aspect in the world of project management. Project-oriented businesses need precise and efficient tools to record and bill project times and gain up-to-date insights. Traditional ERP systems like SAP, flexibility often reaches its limits. They are too generic and require a great deal of time when making individual adjustments and sometimes cause considerable costs.

In the following, we present 5 proven alternatives to SAP. In doing so, we look at which functions qualify the product as an SAP alternative and take a look at the (monthly) costs.

1. ZEP Professional

ZEP Professional is the tool of choice when it comes to your own project time recording and project management. It fulfills the ERP character, acts as a central PSA software and offers features such as invoicing, quote management, and resource planning. In addition to specific additional modules, you have the option of using the ZEP app, enter your documents directly on a specific project.

For these reasons, ZEP is an SAP alternative in project business:

‍Time Tracking: ZEP offers a variety of features, including the display of recorded attendances, linking smartphones and tablets via an app as a mobile time clock, individual activation of attendance tracking for each employee, and automatic creation of project hours. Time tracking can be done via the web frontend, an app for iOS or Android, or through the custom ZEP terminal. The Absences & Overtime module enables digital management of all absences without manual processes. An automatically created overtime account per employee ensures additional convenience.

Resource Planning: Efficient resource planning is key to avoiding bottlenecks and optimizing your productivity. The Resource Planning module enables forward-looking project planning and shows employee workload and upcoming tasks for successful project progression. With the Project Planning module, you can design your projects flexibly as needed, whether with fixed or dynamic planning figures. A proven complement here is the ZEP ticket system. With this, you can break down your projects into individual tasks for a clear and transparent task distribution. Incoming customer inquiries can be added as tickets directly in the project and linked with predefined planned hours.

Proposal Management & Invoicing: Optimize your proposal creation with practical templates. Save time and avoid manual processes. Once the proposal is accepted, ZEP automatically creates a project with all relevant components. The Invoicing module makes post-project invoicing easier by converting all recorded project expenses into invoices that can be sent directly via email.

Interface to SAP: ZEP can be easily integrated into various SAP areas via open SOAP/REST interfaces.

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2. Haufe X360 e-commerce

Haufe X360 was developed for small and medium-sized businesses. This flexible and industry-neutral solution can be adapted to various business models and meets individual requirements. The cloud ERP solution enables seamless networking of all business processes and supports company growth. With these functions, the tool is suitable as an SAP alternative:

• Accounting
• Financial Accounting
• Inventory Management
• CRM
• Shopify Integration

For small and medium-sized companies, the tool is available for 103 euros per month & user — the minimum booking amount is 449 euros.

3. VEMAS.NET

This tool enables flexible invoicing of projects, contracts and seminars using intelligent workflows. The software automates the calculation of time and material cost bookings. The following functions characterize the software as an SAP alternative:

• Interfaces to Financial Accounting
• Address Management, Acquisition Function & Project Management similar to SAP, but within a more cost-efficient framework.
• Simple Integration to meet the needs of various project-related business areas.

In the basic version (small business), the software offers an SAP alternative, especially for service, consulting and software companies, starting at 213 euros per month, plus maintenance costs. This price already includes 3 full users.

4. PACS project controlling software

The PACS software was developed specifically for the needs of business consultancies, auditors and service companies with a project focus. As an SAP alternative, customers benefit from the following features, among others:

• Time and Travel Expense Tracking for Projects
• Project Management from planning to billing.
• Detailed Project Analyses including reporting functions.

The PACS project controlling software offers a free trial period. The price is individually designed and depends on the number of users and the selected modules.

5th Projektron BCS

Projektron BCS is more than just a conventional project management tool. As a business coordination software (BCS), it comprehensively supports all business processes and work organization in project-related companies. With the following functions, Projektron BCS can certainly describe itself as an SAP alternative:

• Infinitely Scalable for smart management of small agile project teams to large enterprises.
• Digital Time Tracking for various applications, such as project time tracking.
• International Quote Management.
• Creation of Effort and Fixed-Price Invoices from projects, including the option to manage multiple currencies.

After a free trial period, Projektron offers on-premise licensing options starting at 250 euros per user or a SaaS cloud variant that amounts to 5% of the on-premise purchase price per month & user. The exact price per user depends on the desired range of functions.

Conclusion

For project-oriented companies, a specialized solution like ZEP Professional can be a valuable alternative to SAP. The software offers flexible time tracking, precise resource planning, and automated billing processes tailored specifically to the needs of service and project-based businesses. With its modular expandability, ZEP can be customized to meet individual requirements, while the integration with SAP ensures seamless connectivity. As a result, companies receive a streamlined, practical solution that efficiently supports their project workflows.