What ZMI does

ZMI GmbH is a privately held German software company founded in 1996 and headquartered in Elfershausen, with four additional regional offices in Berlin, Fraureuth, Hattingen, and Krailling. The company develops and sells a modular suite for time tracking, access control, project time recording, personnel scheduling, and HR process digitization, marketed under sub-brands ZMI – Time (desktop/on-premise), ZMI – People (cloud), ZMI – WebClient (employee self-service), ZMI – App (iOS/Android), ZMI – Planner (staff scheduling), and ZMI – Zutritt (access control), supplemented by add-ons for project time recording, electronic sick notes (eAU), digital personnel file, and driver's license checks. The platform is GDPR-compliant, aligned with ECJ/BAG working-time recording requirements, ISO/IEC 27001 certified, and integrates with 40+ third-party systems covering payroll (DATEV, Hamburger Software, Vocus, Lexware, Sage, Paisy, KIDICAP, ADDISON, GDI, Fidelis, etc.), ERP (SAP, ABAS, canias), HRM (Personio, perview, softgarden), BI (Power BI, QlikView), and hardware terminals (PCS INTUS, Datafox, dormakaba, Uhlmann & Zacher, Forsis, Vectron), supported by REST/CSV interfaces and documented partner APIs.

The company serves more than 1,700 customers across the DACH region, spanning SMEs through enterprises with 3 to 13,000+ employees, and across verticals including production, construction, healthcare, logistics, public service, trade, services, breweries, and swimming pools. The business model is primarily subscription-based for both cloud (ZMI – People) and on-premise (ZMI – Time) deployments, with quote-based pricing and free-trial onboarding for the cloud tier. Distribution is hybrid: direct field sales through the five German offices, a regional reseller/channel partner network, OEM-style partnerships with hardware vendors, and self-serve cloud onboarding.

Strategic positioning emphasizes "Software Made in Germany," deep regulatory compliance (DSGVO, EuGH/BAG, TVöD), and category specialization in time and access — evidenced by BITMi Qualitätssiegel (consecutively held through 2025), OMR Reviews Leader (HR Service Delivery Q1/26, Calendar Q2/26), kununu Top Company 2024, a 5-star DATEV marketplace rating, and PCS Excellence Partner status. Recent moves include ISO 27001 certification and a full corporate rebranding in 2025, a strategic cooperation with perview (October 2022) for holistic HR digitization, the opening of the Berlin capital-city office in February 2022, and continued integration expansion (Deel, Circula, loopline, pliant, windream, ivanti One) targeting adjacent HR, finance, and IT workflows.

Name

ZMI

Legal name

ZMI GmbH

Website

https://zmi.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

ZMI GmbH is a German software company founded in 1996 that provides modular time tracking, access control, and HR process software — cloud, on-premise, and mobile — to over 1,700 SMEs and enterprises across the DACH region via direct sales, regional offices, and a hardware/integration partner ecosystem.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workforce Management / HR Software

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Experience Monitoring & Management (DEX/DEM, AIOps for EUC) (BPAEAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) & Document Generation/Templating (HDAEAGAL)

Keywords

• Time tracking software
• Workforce management
• Access control systems
• HR software solutions
• Employee self-service portal

Headquarters

HQ city

Elfershausen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Subscriptions: ZMI offers both cloud-based (SaaS) and on-premises time recording solutions. The company provides modular software with different product tiers (Time, People, WebClient, App, Planner, Zutritt) that can be purchased as subscriptions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ZMI develops and sells modular HR, time tracking and access control software made in Germany. The portfolio includes desktop/on-premise time tracking (ZMI – Time), a cloud variant (ZMI – People), an employee self-service portal (ZMI – WebClient), mobile apps (ZMI – App), staff scheduling (ZMI – Planner), and online/offline access control (ZMI – Zutritt), plus add-ons such as project time tracking, electronic sick notes, digital personnel files and driver's license checks. Solutions are sold to organizations of all sizes across the DACH region with 40+ standard payroll, ERP, HRM and BI integrations.

Product overview

ZMI offers a modular HR and security software suite made in Germany for time tracking, access control, and HR processes. The portfolio consists of core products ZMI – Time (desktop/on-premise) and ZMI – People (cloud), supplemented by add-on modules including ZMI – WebClient (employee self-service portal), ZMI – App (iOS/Android mobile app), ZMI – Planner (staff scheduling), ZMI – Zutritt (access control), Project Time Recording, Digital Personnel File, Electronic Sick Note (eAU), and Driver's License Check. The modular architecture allows companies to adapt the system to their requirements, with over 40 interfaces for seamless integration with payroll systems (DATEV, HS, Vocus), ERP systems, HRM systems, and BI tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ZMI - Time: Desktop/On-Demand time recording solution with GDPR and ECJ-compliant functions for working time recording
• ZMI - People
• ZMI - WebClient
• ZMI - App
• ZMI - Planner
• ZMI - Zutritt

Products and services

• ZMI – Time Desktop/on-premise time tracking software with GDPR- and ECJ-compliant functions for mandatory working time recording, featuring interfaces to DATEV and other business software, intelligent personnel data management, multi-client capability, correction assistant and approval workflows. Targeted at organizations needing robust on-premise time recording.
• ZMI – People Cloud-based time tracking SaaS for small to medium-sized companies, offering payroll export, an intuitive interface and simple employee management. Available via free trial for SMB customers.
• ZMI – WebClient Self-hosted employee self-service web portal providing workflows for vacation requests, business trips, attendance overview, digital personnel file and a customizable dashboard with statistics. Complements ZMI – Time / ZMI – People deployments.
• ZMI – App Native iOS and Android mobile app for time tracking, vacation planning and access control, with push notifications, serving as the mobile extension of the ZMI time recording and access control suite.
• ZMI – Planner Cloud-based staff scheduling and resource planning solution (Personaleinsatzplanung) with shift planning, granular resource planning and integration to ZMI – Time for workforce deployment.
• ZMI – Zutritt (Access Control) Online and offline building access control software with individual access times and logging of access attempts, integrated with hardware readers from Uhlmann & Zacher, dormakaba, Datafox and PCS for physical security management.
• Project Time Recording (Projektzeiterfassung) Order and project time tracking add-on for transparent project cost calculation and customer billing, capturing project hours mobile, station-side or at the workstation.
• Electronic Sick Note (eAU) Module that digitally retrieves electronic certificates of incapacity for work (eAU) directly from German health insurance funds, replacing manual sick note handling in HR workflows.
• Digital Personnel File (Digitale Personalakte) Digital personnel file module for fully digitized employee document management within the ZMI HR suite.
• Driver's License Check (Führerscheinkontrolle) Digital module for controlling and verifying employee driver's licenses, supporting fleet management compliance for organizations with company vehicles.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 70% reduction in manual administrative effort
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration61 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.

• DATEVcoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partnership for seamless data exchange between ZMI time recording and DATEV payroll systems. Enables automatic transfer of working hours, overtime, and absences to DATEV LODAS and Lohn & Gehalt solutions. ZMI holds 5-star rating in DATEV marketplace.
• Hamburger Software (HS)coreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partnership enabling automatic payroll data transfer between ZMI and HS Lohnabrechnung systems.
• PersoniocoreTechnology or IntegrationHRM system integration for automatic employee data synchronization. Changes such as new hires, department changes, or departures are automatically synced between ZMI and Personio.
• perviewstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic cooperation for holistic HR digitalization. Partnership announced October 2022 to provide comprehensive HR solutions.
• PCS SystemtechnikcoreTechnology or IntegrationHardware partnership for time recording terminals and access control readers. ZMI achieved Excellence Partner status. INTUS terminals (5205, 600 series) integrated with ZMI software.
• DatafoxcoreTechnology or IntegrationHardware integration for time recording terminals and access control systems.
• dormakabacoreTechnology or IntegrationHardware partnership for access control systems and door locking solutions integrated with ZMI software.
• Uhlmann & ZachercoreTechnology or IntegrationHardware partnership for access control components and access readers.
• VocuscoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration for payroll system connectivity with Vocus Lohn und Gehalt.
• LayerminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSales partner for ZMI solutions in specific regions.
• KununuminorOthersEmployee review platform where ZMI received Top Company 2024 recognition based on employee reviews.
• OMR ReviewsminorOthersReview platform recognition for ZMI as HR Service Delivery Leader.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• TimeTac: Austrian/German cloud-native time tracking and project time recording software for SMEs. Direct competitor focused on the cloud segment where ZMI - People also plays.
• rexx systems GmbH: Hamburg-based German HR software vendor covering recruiting, talent management, and HR administration. Adjacent competitor in DACH HR tech with growing overlap into time and workforce management.
• primion Technology GmbH: European provider of access control, time recording, and security management solutions. Competes directly with ZMI's Zutritt and Time offerings, particularly in physical security-driven deals.
• ISGUS GmbH: German vendor of time recording, access control, and workforce management software for SMEs and mid-market. Direct competitor with similar product suite and customer base in German-speaking regions.
• ATOSS Software AG: Frankfurt-listed German workforce management software company offering time tracking, shift planning, and HR scheduling. Most directly comparable competitor in the DACH mid-market with overlapping product functionality and customer profile.
• Personio: Munich-based European HCM platform covering HR management, recruiting, and time tracking. Currently a ZMI integration partner but increasingly competing in time tracking, representing both a channel asset and a competitive threat.

Broad incumbents

• SD Worx: European HR and payroll services provider with workforce management capabilities across multiple countries. Broader incumbent competing in mid-market and enterprise HR suites.
• UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group): Global workforce management and HCM provider with deep time tracking and scheduling capabilities. Competes with ZMI primarily in larger enterprise deals in DACH and offers broader HR functionality.
• Sage HR: Global HR and payroll software vendor with time tracking capabilities. Competes with ZMI in SME and mid-market segments across Europe, including DACH.
• Workday: Global cloud HCM platform with time tracking and workforce management modules. Competes in enterprise and upper mid-market deals; represents the long-term suite-consolidation threat to point solutions like ZMI.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@zmizeiterfassung
• Facebookfacebook.com/ZMIGmbH
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zmi-gmbh
• Instagraminstagram.com/zmi_gmbh
• TikToktiktok.com/@zmigmbh
• Xx.com/zmigmbh

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ZMI