Odoo as an example

Odoo is a business software suite made of apps that work together, which makes it a good example of an ERP. This page describes it in general terms.

How it is organised

Odoo is modular. An organisation turns on the apps it needs, and they share the same customer, product and accounting data. Odoo has a free community edition and a paid enterprise edition.

Example app areas

• Sales and CRM

  managing leads, quotations and customer orders.

• Accounting and Invoicing

  customer invoices, vendor bills and payments.

• Inventory

  stock levels and deliveries.

• Purchase

  ordering from suppliers.

• Manufacturing

  producing goods from components.

• Point of Sale

  selling in a shop.

• Website and eCommerce

  an online presence and online selling.

• Project

  planning and tracking tasks.

• Employees and Time Off

  basic HR records and leave.

Example workflow: order to cash

This is a general description of how an order moves through connected apps, from first quote to payment.

1. Quotation: sales prepares a quotation for the customer.
2. Sales order: when the customer accepts, the quotation is confirmed as a sales order.
3. Delivery: inventory prepares and ships the goods, and stock is updated.
4. Invoice: accounting creates the customer invoice from the order.
5. Payment: the customer pays and the payment is matched to the invoice.

Because the apps share data, each step starts from the previous one instead of being re-entered.

Notes

Exact features differ between editions and versions, so check the official Odoo documentation for details. Odoo is a trademark of its owner; this site is independent and not affiliated with Odoo.

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