Feature set and extensions
Projektron relies on modular extensions, ZEP on product lines with a fixed scope and add-ons such as Resource Planning and Ticketing System. Both systems can create invoices and proposals automatically, in ZEP from ZEP Operations upward.
Time tracking, project time tracking
In both systems, time tracking works by simply clocking in and out, and statutory break rules are taken into account. Both systems also analyze working and project hours automatically. ZEP Operations offers additional features such as managing surcharges for night work, which is not available in Projektron.
Project administration
Both solutions let you manage different projects with master data and related tasks. Both solutions offer a clear assignment of project managers and team members as well as the recording of work locations and activities.
Customer management
Both systems make customer management easier. Both Projektron and ZEP Operations let you create customer master data and define contacts and internal owners.
Employee management
Both systems offer features for managing employees. ZEP Operations also lets you customize the working time rules for each employee and set maximum hours.
Revenue & Costs
Both Projektron and ZEP Operations let you store hourly and daily rates and create earnings and revenue analyses automatically. Both systems also support foreign currencies and exchange rates, which makes them suitable for international projects as well.
Proposals
Both systems offer standardized creation and management of proposals. A key difference is that ZEP Operations creates the project automatically, including the project structure, when a proposal is accepted, which Projektron does not offer.
Invoicing
For invoicing, both solutions offer similar features, including payment reminders for open invoices and approval processes. ZEP Operations, however, offers more comprehensive support for billing freelancers, so they can be settled directly by credit note instead of via incoming invoices and a review process.
Resource Planning
Both systems enable detailed resource planning and utilization management through charts and tables, in ZEP Operations as an add-on. With an individually extendable task concept, however, ZEP Operations offers hierarchical management of complex project structures, which are harder to map in Projektron.
Travel Expense Management
Both solutions make travel expense management easy, taking different tax rates and country-specific rules into account. Both systems support a wide range of receipt types.
Absences & Overtime
ZEP Operations and Projektron both include a team calendar for managing absences and support vacation approval processes. ZEP Operations also lets you define monthly closings to review entire teams or individual employees and to trigger approvals, corrections and locks.
Freelancers
While ZEP Operations lets you bill freelancers explicitly with project-specific daily rates and hours and issue credit notes directly from ZEP as an integrated workflow, Projektron lacks this feature.
Locations & Departments
ZEP Operations maps complex company structures with branches and departments and enables precise analysis per location. Subsidiaries with internal cost allocation are added with ZEP Business.
Support
Both providers offer personal customer support by phone and email to solve individual issues quickly.
Summary
ZEP Operations and Projektron both offer project management solutions with features for project administration, time tracking, invoicing, project planning and much more. By comparison, Projektron offers a similar range of features but also provides solutions for applicant management and inventory management, which are not available in ZEP and can be covered via integrations.
ZEP Operations stands out for its flexibility in booking hours, its ability to manage complex project structures and its support for billing freelancers. Thanks to its extensive feature set and personal support, ZEP Operations is particularly suitable for companies that need a scalable solution for complex requirements.
