What is Odoo and why you should use it for your business
It's been a while since I wrote my last article here. Today, I want to share a valuable resource for all budding entrepreneurs out there. The tool I'm referring to is called Odoo—an open-source enterprise resource planning software, commonly known as an ERP.
Full disclosure, I am in fact a functional consultant at Odoo, hence I may be biased. This is just me sharing my 2 cents on the tool as I delve deeper into it.
What is Odoo (and what is it not)
Odoo is an EPR sotfware, which stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. You’ve maybe heard of its main competitors, such as SAP, Oracle, or Microsoft Dynamics. An ERP is a comprehensive platform that is designed to integrate and streamline core business processes across an organisation. In short, it helps centralise all data from different departments (HR, Sales, Marketing, etc.) in one single place.
Because of the way all these data sources are interwoven, these systems are often highly complex and less focused on a specific set of features, in comparison to other tools available on the market (think Mail Chimp for email marketing or Shopify for e-commerce).
When should you consider Odoo as a business management software
Before you implement any business management software, you should always formulate high-level business requirements. Companies usually consider Odoo for the following reasons:
- Modular structure: Business features are organized per module (or apps) in Odoo (see image above). Not unlike the app store on an iPhone, users can install new apps on their Odoo instance. When such an action is performed, Odoo will load all the data models, views, and core logic in the background (Odoo follows the MVC pattern). The initial set up of all these modules can be a bit daunting at first, hence most firms will have a consultant do this for them. When this is done however, modules can communicate seamlessly with one another, which is where Odoo excels.
- Affordable pricing: Odoo has an open-source edition with most of the features available in the enterprise (or paying) edition. The paid version is based on a per user per month pricing, hence price does not increase with the number of modules you install. This is why it’s a good choice for small companies with limited financial resources, where many business tasks are distributed among few people.
- Intuitive UI: Odoo’s UI is consistent across modules. When looking at any single record (a quotation for example), you’ll find 3 main elements in the layout of the page. A form (to encode data), a chatter to communicate with other stakeholders and keep track of changes on this record, and smart buttons to jump to related records (a project linked to a quotation). This basic structure can be found across most modules in Odoo.
The 3-element layout used on almost any record page in Odoo.
How to extract the most value out of Odoo
As I said earlier, you should carefully map out your business requirements (the “What”) before jumping into Odoo. Translate these into functional requirements (the “How”). For example, this person on my sales team, should be able to: create a customer and edit his information, draft a first quotation, and share it with the customer via email.
An example of how to use internal notes in the chatter to collaborate with peers.
Therefore, roles and actions associated to these roles should be clearly defined in advance. Think in flows, not in individual and isolated actions. Odoo will lead you through these steps by suggesting the next logical action and keeping track of the context you are in.
How customizable is Odoo
At times, you’ll find that you are stuck in a flow. Either because a certain field you require doesn’t exist or because the flow in Odoo doesn’t fit the way you work. This is normal. Adjusting to a new system is never easy.
If anything, making the switch to Odoo is also a great opportunity to modify your internal processes. You have to be open to this eventuality and not want to create a tailor-made solution from the start. This is somewhat contrary to Odoo’s whole philosophy of staying flexible and avoiding customisations.
Luckily, there are still ways for you to add on to the standard solution.
- The first one involves installing studio, a no-code app in Odoo that enables users to tweak the standard solution. For example, add fields, edit the layout of PDFs to be generated, and create automated actions. Most of the time this extra layer and some basic knowledge of Odoo’s architecture are sufficient.
- The second is by editing the standard code itself. Do note, however, that this is only possible if your Odoo instance is hosted on premise (on your own servers) or on odoo.sh (Paas). These two platforms are better suited for you if you need to change the core logic in Odoo’s backend. Customizations on the Saas version, also called Odoo online, are generally limited to minor report edits, so more to do with how the information is displayed on the frontend.
How to get started with Odoo
Enough talk. Let’s get your first Odoo instance up and running.
If you’re just looking to do play around with Odoo’s features, you can enter the following url in your browser: demo.odoo.com. This will create a private odoo instance with some demo data in it. Note, however, that this kind of database should be used for testing purposes only, as the data will be erased automatically after a few hours.
To create a database that is more durable, go to the odoo.com landing page, there click the main call to action button “Let’s get started”. You will then be asked to select a few apps to install. To stay on the free plan, you are allowed to install one app only. Since certain apps are interdependent (ecommerce requires website, sales, and invoicing), you can get away with installing multiple apps at no extra cost to you.
After filling in your contact info, you will be able to start working in your database!
To help you get started, I have compiled a list of useful resources:
- E-learning videos (organized by module)
- Official Odoo documentation
In general it’s recommended to duplicate your main database. Especially if you’re going to create records which will have a high impact on your database, such as journal entries for instance, which will impact your financial reports. You should port your configurations over to the production environment when you have validated your workflows in the test instance.
In summary, Odoo is a great tool for small to medium sized companies with fast changing needs and limited resources. Its strengths are that it’s quite cheap, adaptable, and intuitive for most users. That said, make sure to carefully lay out all your business needs before diving head first without a plan. Don’t underestimate the learning curve of getting to grips with Odoo. Either seek help from a consultant or use some of the resources I have provided to get up to speed. You’ll find that it was well worth your time and effort.