ZEIT.IO

What ZEIT.IO does

ZEIT.IO is a cloud-based multi-tenant SaaS platform operated by REIZ Solutions GmbH (Mannheim, Germany), delivering automated time tracking, project expense management, approval workflows, and EN16931-compliant e-invoicing (ZUGFeRD, XRechnung, Peppol) for German and EU customers. The platform is built on AWS Frankfurt infrastructure with additional IONOS revision-secure storage for 10-year invoice retention, and offers a distinctive multi-context user model in which a single identity simultaneously operates as employee, freelancer, approver, and bookkeeper across organizations. Core functional modules include timer/calendar-based time tracking with browser extensions and mobile apps, project-based expense capture in 33 currencies, configurable approval workflows, automated invoice generation from approved timesheets, a reverse credit-note procedure for freelancer billing, HR administration (contracts, overtime, vacations, sick leave, teams), and a controlling/CRM dashboard.

The platform monetizes via a freemium, product-led growth model: individuals (employees, freelancers, approvers) use the product free, while companies and organizations pay a subscription for managing employees, freelancers, customers, projects, and accounting, with a 30-day free trial and an optional enterprise demo path. Deep native integrations with DATEV (automated invoice delivery to DATEV Unternehmen Online), SAP Business ByDesign (bidirectional activity and approval sync), and major developer ticketing tools (JIRA, GitHub, GitLab, YouTrack, Zendesk, Trello) anchor workflow interoperability, with SSO via Google and Microsoft Entra supporting enterprise onboarding. Certifications and compliance posture include GDPR, ISO 27001 and C5 (via IONOS storage), AWS EU-US Data Privacy Framework alignment, and EN16931 e-invoice conformance, with the platform marketed as "Made in Germany" with data residency in EU member states.

Name

ZEIT.IO

Legal name

REIZ Solutions GmbH

Website

https://zeit.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Short description

ZEIT.IO is a German cloud SaaS that automates time tracking, project expense capture, approval workflows, and EN16931-compliant e-invoicing (ZUGFeRD, XRechnung) for agencies, consulting firms, and freelancers, with native DATEV and SAP ByD integrations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Time tracking and project billing SaaS

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Payroll Software & Payroll-as-a-Service (SaaS) (BPACAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Expense Management & Reimbursements Administration (BPACAIAH)

Keywords

• Time tracking software
• Project billing automation
• E-invoicing solutions
• Expense management
• Freelancer management

Headquarters

HQ city

Mannheim

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Subscription - Organization/Company Plan: Companies pay for organizational access to manage employees (permanent and freelancers), customers, projects, and accounting. Free for individuals (employees, freelancers, approvers). Companies receive 30-day free trial.
2. Platform Usage: The platform monetizes through organizational subscriptions while offering free access to individual users (employees, freelancers, approvers) as a land-and-expand strategy.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ZEIT.IO is a multi-context cloud-based SaaS platform that automates the billing of project times and expenses for companies managing freelancers and employees. It combines time tracking, expense management, flexible approval workflows, and EN16931-compliant e-invoicing (ZUGFeRD and XRechnung) with an integrated credit note procedure for freelancers. The platform automates invoice generation from approved timesheets and synchronizes documents directly with DATEV accounting software and SAP ByD.

Product overview

ZEIT.IO is a multi-context platform for automated billing of project times and expenses. The platform serves as a company portal for businesses managing employees (permanent & freelancers), customers, projects, and accounting. It offers distinct interfaces for different user contexts: employees, freelancers, approvers, and bookkeepers. The core product suite includes Time Tracking (timer, calendar, app, or browser extension), Expenses (33 currencies), Approval workflows, Accounting & Credit Notes (ZUGFeRD, XRechnung), HR Administration (contracts, overtime, vacations, sick leave), and Controlling & CRM. Key capabilities include Auto-Invoicing for automatic invoice generation from approved times, Credit Note Procedure for freelancer billing, Vacation Management with approval workflows, Teams organization, and Browser Extensions for Chrome/Firefox/Edge with ticket system integrations (JIRA, GitHub, GitLab, YouTrack, Zendesk, Trello). The platform integrates with DATEV for accounting export, SAP ByD for ERP sync, and supports mobile apps for iOS and Android. A public API enables third-party integrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ZEIT.IO Platform Cloud-based multi-tenant SaaS platform for automated billing of project times and expenses. Provides time tracking, expense management in 33 currencies, configurable approval workflows, EN16931-compliant e-invoicing (ZUGFeRD and XRechnung), credit note procedures for freelancers, HR administration, controlling and CRM, and integrations with DATEV, SAP ByD, JIRA, GitHub, GitLab, Zendesk, Trello, and YouTrack. Customers are companies and organizations; individual users (employees, freelancers, approvers) access the platform for free while companies pay for organizational subscriptions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 70% savings on accounting costs
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration20 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DATEVcoreTechnology or IntegrationDATEV eG is a software house and IT service provider for tax consultants, auditors, and lawyers in Germany. ZEIT.IO integrates via email-based upload, automatically sending every finalized invoice and credit note to DATEV Unternehmen Online. This eliminates manual PDF uploads and ensures seamless accounting workflow automation for German businesses.
• JIRAcoreTechnology or IntegrationJIRA integration via browser extensions allows users to start/stop timers directly from tickets, with ticket ID and title automatically populating the time entry comment field.
• GitHubcoreTechnology or IntegrationGitHub integration via browser extensions allows developers to track time directly from issues and pull requests with automatic comment field population.
• GitLabcoreTechnology or IntegrationGitLab integration via browser extensions allows users to track time from issues and merge requests with automatic comment field population.
• SAP ByD (Business by Design)coreTechnology or IntegrationSAP ByD integration allows activities for time tracking to come directly from the customer's SAP system. After approval on ZEIT.IO, booked times are transferred back to SAP and marked as approved, eliminating double postings and providing full integration with customer's SAP system.
• ZUGFeRDcoreTechnology or IntegrationZUGFeRD is the German standard for e-invoices (Factur-X in France). ZEIT.IO generates EN16931-compliant e-invoices in ZUGFeRD format with embedded XML in PDF.
• XRechnungcoreTechnology or IntegrationXRechnung is the XML-based e-invoice standard mandated in Germany. ZEIT.IO supports XRechnung format for B2G and B2B e-invoicing compliance.
• dacuro GmbHminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partnerdacuro GmbH is a data protection consultancy that helped develop ZEIT.IO's privacy policy and AVV (data processing agreement).
• AWS FrankfurtcoreTechnology or IntegrationAmazon Web Services (AWS) Frankfurt region provides cloud infrastructure for ZEIT.IO. All services are exclusively managed services from AWS Frankfurt.
• Exali AGminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExali AG is a professional liability insurance provider for self-employed and freelancers. They offer a 10% discount on the first annual premium using promo code 'zeit.io'.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SevDesk: SevDesk is a German cloud-based accounting and invoicing SaaS for SMBs, freelancers, and small businesses. It is a direct competitor to ZEIT.IO's auto-invoicing, expense, and DATEV-style accounting workflows in the same German SMB segment.
• Lexoffice (Haufe Group): Lexoffice is a leading German cloud accounting SaaS for SMBs and freelancers, offering invoicing, expense management, and DATEV integration. It competes directly with ZEIT.IO on automated billing and accounting workflows for German small businesses.
• Billomat: Billomat is a German invoicing and accounting SaaS targeting freelancers, SMBs, and small agencies. It overlaps with ZEIT.IO on automated invoicing, time tracking, and DATEV-compatible workflows in the German market.
• FastBill: FastBill is a German cloud-based invoicing and accounting platform for freelancers and SMBs, with features for time-based billing, expense tracking, and tax-compliant e-invoicing. It directly competes with ZEIT.IO's core automated billing proposition.
• Clockify: Clockify is a widely used global time-tracking SaaS with project billing capabilities and a free tier. It competes with ZEIT.IO on the time tracking and project-based reporting use case, though it lacks the German e-invoicing/DATEV compliance depth.
• Toggl Track: Toggl Track is a global time-tracking and productivity SaaS with project billing, reporting, and integrations. It overlaps with ZEIT.IO on time capture and project-based invoicing, particularly among agencies and consultancies.
• Harvest: Harvest is a time tracking and online invoicing SaaS widely used by agencies, consultancies, and SMBs. It is highly comparable to ZEIT.IO on project-based time capture and billing, though without German-specific compliance focus.

Broad incumbents

• Personio: Personio is a large European HR and people operations SaaS for SMBs and mid-market, headquartered in Germany. While broader in HR scope, it competes for the same German customer wallet and increasingly overlaps on time tracking and workforce administration workflows.
• DATEV: DATEV is the dominant German cooperative providing accounting, payroll, and tax-advisor software. As both an integration partner and a broad incumbent in German SMB back-office, it represents both a channel opportunity and a competitive threat to ZEIT.IO.

Emerging players

• Kimai: Kimai is an open-source time tracking tool originated in Germany, popular among freelancers, agencies, and small teams. It overlaps with ZEIT.IO on time tracking and project reporting and represents a potential open-source alternative for cost-sensitive German users.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/zeit_io
• GitHubgithub.com/zeit-io
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCStqDRc35lVJ_7Y2RLdBR3g/videos

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 ZEIT.IO