ZEP Alternative – when your employees work outdoors instead of at a desk
ZEP is an excellent solution for project time tracking at the desk – for agencies, consultancies and IT companies that book hours to projects and manage budgets. But when your employees are on construction sites, servicing cleaning facilities or out in the field with customers, you need a solution built specifically for that working reality. Jobilino is the time-tracking solution for teams that work outdoors – with NFC location verification, crew-based time capture, offline functionality and an app available in 13 languages.
- Specialised for Mobile Teams
- NFC Location Verification Included
- Ready to Go in Minutes
NFC location verification instead of GPS tracking
Employees hold their smartphone up to an NFC tag at the worksite and are clocked in. This proves physical presence at an exact location – more privacy-friendly than GPS, more precise than manual entries, and ideal for cleaning sites, construction sites and customer locations.
Crew recording for entire teams
The site foreman or supervisor records the working hours of his entire crew using a single device. Not every construction worker needs their own smartphone – a feature that ZEP does not offer and that is crucial for construction companies.
Full offline functionality
On construction sites, in basements and in shell constructions there is no stable internet connection. Jobilino saves all bookings locally on the device and synchronises automatically as soon as a connection is re-established. Not a single entry is lost.
The problem
When ZEP Is the Right Choice – and When It Isn't
ZEP stands for time tracking for projects and has been on the market for over 20 years. ZEP's strength lies in project controlling: budget monitoring, target-vs-actual comparisons, travel expense management, contribution margin analyses and a DATEV interface. For companies whose employees work at a screen and book hours to client projects, ZEP is a solid choice. Yet this very strength becomes a weakness when your employees are not sitting at a screen. On a construction site, in a cleaning property or at a client deployment, employees don't need budget forecasts or contribution margin analyses – they need a button to clock in that works even without an internet connection.
- ZEP is built for project controlling on a screen – not for quick time tracking on a construction site or in a cleaning facility
- The interface offers many features that are too complex for tradespeople, cleaning staff and technicians
- ZEP does not offer NFC location verification – for cleaning sites and fixed workplaces, physical proof of presence is missing
- Crew recording by the site manager or foreman is not supported in ZEP
- ZEP is available in 3 languages (German, English, French) – for construction and cleaning teams with Serbian, Croatian, Albanian or Turkish employees, key languages are missing
- Implementing ZEP requires training and configuration – for businesses that want to get started tomorrow, the effort is often too great
The solution
What Makes Jobilino Different as a ZEP Alternative
Jobilino is not a stripped-down version of ZEP – it is a fundamentally different solution for a different target audience. While ZEP specialises in project controlling and budget management at the screen, Jobilino focuses on time tracking where the work actually happens: on construction sites, in cleaning properties, at client locations and in field service. The interface is so simple that no employee needs training. The app works offline. And the NFC location verification proves that the employee was physically present at the site – without GPS and without data privacy concerns.
13 languages instead of 3
Jobilino is available in Albanian, Bulgarian, German, English, Italian, Croatian, Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, Czech, Turkish and Hungarian. For construction and cleaning teams with international employees, this is not an option – it is a necessity.
Easy to use without any training
One tap on Start, one tap on Stop, select a project – done. Jobilino is built so that employees with no IT experience can get started straight away. No onboarding phase, no webinars, no certifications.
Ready to go in minutes – not weeks
ZEP recommends migration packages, mapping workshops and parallel operation over several weeks. Jobilino is set up in just a few minutes: register, create locations, distribute the app, get started.
How it works
ZEP vs. Jobilino – A Direct Comparison
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Target audience
ZEP: agencies, consultancies, IT companies, project teams at a screen. Jobilino: construction, cleaning, trades, field service, facility management, security services – teams that work on the go.
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Core Strengths
ZEP: Project controlling with budget monitoring, target/actual comparison, contribution margin analysis and travel expense management. Jobilino: Mobile time tracking with NFC location verification, crew-based recording, offline functionality and photo documentation.
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Languages
ZEP: German, English, French. Jobilino: German, English, Serbian, Croatian, Albanian, Hungarian, Slovak, Turkish.
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Recording Methods
ZEP: Web browser and mobile app with timer. Jobilino: App, NFC tag at the point of deployment, terminal and browser – the right method for every working environment.
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Implementation effort
ZEP: configuration, training, optional migration packages and parallel operation. Jobilino: register, create employees, distribute the app – productive from the very next day.
Your benefits
- NFC location verification at sites and construction projects – physical proof of attendance without GPS
- Crew time capture by site foremen – one device for the entire team
- Full offline functionality – built for deployment locations without a stable network
- 13 languages for international construction, cleaning and service teams
- So easy to use that no training is required
- Photo documentation as proof of performance and quality
- Up and running in minutes – no IT project, no implementation phase
- GDPR-compliant with data storage on European servers
For whom
When Is Jobilino the Better Choice – and When Should You Stick with ZEP?
Jobilino is the better choice when your employees work on construction sites, in cleaning properties, in field service or at changing deployment locations. If you need NFC location verification, crew-based time capture or a multilingual app for international teams, Jobilino is the right solution. If, on the other hand, your employees work at a screen, book hours to client projects and you require detailed project controlling with budget forecasts and contribution margin analyses, ZEP is the stronger choice – and that is perfectly fine. The right decision depends on where your employees work and what you do with the recorded times.
Try Jobilino as a ZEP Alternative – Free and Non-Binding
Test Jobilino with your real employees at your real deployment locations. No contractual commitment, no credit card, no implementation project. Ready to go in minutes.
- No setup fee
- cancel monthly
- GDPR-compliant