ZEP as a web-based solution for mobile time recording
The electrical installations from Seedig experts are in demand both in companies and in private households. The range of their tasks is correspondingly wide and ranges from minor maintenance work to two-month industrial projects with teams of ten people. The fitters of the owner-managed company spend the majority of their working time with customers on site; iPhones and Android smartphones are part of their standard equipment.
The Grevenbroich-based electrical specialists use ZEP as a cloud solution. The 22 employees' access to the time recording software is not limited to the PC in the office: ZEP is web-based, making it easy to record times, expenses and travel expenses even while on the move. Both sales representatives and trainees use this option, the latter for example when they log their time at vocational school.
Expenses at a glance
That was not always the case: Before the introduction of ZEP (mid-2011), Robert Seedig recorded the time by handwritten entries in tables. The time-consuming and error-prone nature of this procedure should therefore be prevented. On the one hand, the decision in favour of ZEP should help save time when recording resources. On the other hand, it should be ensured that projects can be evaluated and recalculated. In order to be able to use the new software, the data from the various projects was transferred to ZEP.
The main tasks that Seedig's craftsmen carry out today with ZEP are time recording and project control as well as recording vacations and overtime. All information is now available at a glance. The manual was initially consulted for familiarization with the software, but the Internet FAQ and program help have never had to be used before. If any questions arise, employees contact the support team at provantis in Ditzingen.
Stable solution on the PC and via the iPhone app
The Grevenbroichers are satisfied with ZEP's speed, stability and range of functions: The software has never crashed on the PC and there hasn't been a single loss of data. Access via the iPhone app “runs extremely fast” and this also shows the high reliability of the program. In return, electrical specialists would like to see an improvement in the system when used via an Android smartphone: Speed and stability are not yet optimal. So far, no options for exchanging data with ZEP have been used. An interface is planned to transfer invoices from ZEP to Lexware, so that not only can complete expenditure recording and project-oriented order processing take place, but also billing via ZEP.
“Human factor”
Why is it that not all “hurdles” for always up-to-date and reliable data storage have been overcome in everyday life? The user interface is still a novelty for one or the other employee. The “human factor” certainly plays a significant role here, says CEO Robert Seedig. Individual employees simply forget to enter their times during the day and are then not impressed if they have to turn on the PC again just before work to record their times. All the more, the entrepreneur encourages his team to use the opportunity to record times while on the go — via iPhone or Android smartphone.
