SAP alternative in project business - 5 tools in comparison

SAP is the safe choice for many large corporations when it comes to professional business solutions. And what about SMEs? They are increasingly looking for leaner and more cost-effective solutions. 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 them 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 Walldorf-based giant.

5 SAP alternatives for your project business

Project time tracking is a crucial aspect in the world of project management. Project-orientated businesses need accurate and efficient tools to record and bill project times and gain daily insights. Traditional ERP systems like SAP often reach their limits when it comes to flexibility. They are too generic and require a great deal of time for customisation, sometimes resulting in considerable costs.

Below we present 5 proven alternatives to SAP. We will highlight which functions qualify the product as an SAP alternative and take a look at the (monthly) costs.

1st ZEP Professional

ZEP Professional is the tool of choice when it comes to your own project time recording and project management. It fulfils the ERP character, functions as a central PSA software and offers functions such as invoicing, quotation management and resource planning. In addition to specific add-on modules, you have the option of using the ZEP app for iOS and Androidenter your receipts directly for a specific project.

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

• Time recordingZEP offers with the Module Presence a variety of functions, including the display of recorded attendances, linking of smartphones and tablets via app as mobile time clockindividual activation of attendance recording for each employee and automatic creation of project times. Time recording can be carried out via the web front end, App for iOS or Android and via the specially produced ZEP Terminal take place. The Overtime, Absence & Leave Module enables the digital management of all absences without manual processes. An automatically created overtime account for each employee provides further convenience.
• Resource planningOne efficient resource planning is the key to avoiding bottlenecks and optimising your productivity. The Resource planning module enables forward-looking project planning and shows employee utilisation and upcoming tasks for successful project progress. With the Module Planned Hours organise your projects flexibly as required, whether with fixed or dynamic target figures. A proven addition here is the Module Tickets, Tasks & To-dos established. This allows you to divide your projects into individual tasks for a clear and transparent distribution of tasks. Incoming enquiries from your customers can be stored as tickets directly in the project and linked to predefined planned hours.
• Quotation management & invoicingThe Module offers optimises your quotation preparation with practical templates. You save time and avoid manual processes. Once the quotation has been accepted, ZEP automatically creates a project with all relevant components. The Invoicing module facilitates automated invoicing after the end of the project by converting all the expenses recorded for the project into invoices that can be sent directly by e-mail.
• SInterface to SAPAbout open SOAP/REST interfaces ZEP can be easily integrated into a wide range of SAP areas.

Would you like to experience the benefits of ZEP for yourself? You can use the tool Test 30 days free of charge and without obligation. A licence for ZEP Professional is available after the trial period from 20 Euro per month & user.

2nd Haufe X360 E-Commerce

Haufe X360 was developed for small and medium-sized companies. This flexible and industry-neutral solution can be adapted to different business models and fulfils 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
• Merchandise management
• CRM
• Shopify interface

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 postings. The following functions characterise the software as an SAP alternative:

• Interfaces to financial accounting
• Address management, acquisition function & project management similar to SAP, but in a more cost-efficient framework
• Simple integration to cater for different project-related business areas.

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

4th PACS project controlling software

The PACS software was specially developed to meet the needs of management consultancies, auditors and service companies with a project focus. As an SAP alternative, customers benefit from the following functions, among others:

• Recording times and travel expenses for projects
• Project management from planning to invoicing
• Detailed project analyses incl. reporting function

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

5 Projektron BCS

Projektron BCS is more than just a conventional project management tool. As business coordination software (BCS), it provides comprehensive support for all business processes and work organisation in project-related companies. With the following functions, Projektron BCS can certainly be described as an SAP alternative:

• Infinite scalability for smart management from small agile project teams to corporate groups
• Digital time recording for various areas of application, e.g. project time recording
• Offer management also internationally
• Creation of expense and fixed price invoices from projects, including the option of storing different currencies.

After a free trial period, Projektron offers the licence options on-premise from 250 euros per user or a SaaS cloud variant, which is 5 % of the on-premise purchase price per month & user. The exact price per user depends on the desired range of functions.

Agile SAP alternatives increasingly popular

The increasing demand from project-orientated companies for cloud-based SAP alternatives, such as ZEP, shows a clear trend. These alternatives are not only characterised by their typically more cost-efficient nature compared to conventional SAP implementations, but also offer faster and less complicated implementation.

In contrast to traditional SAP implementations, where a significant amount of resources are spent on developing special programming, customisations and bespoke additional integrations, cloud-based solutions such as ZEP focus primarily on the technical work in the background. This proves to be extremely advantageous for project managers in particular.

Not convinced yet?