Odoo

What is Odoo?

Odoo is a comprehensive, open-source suite of business applications designed to handle a wide range of company needs: customer relationship management (CRM), eCommerce, accounting, inventory, point of sale, and project management.

It comes in two editions: the Community edition, which is free and open-source, and the Enterprise edition, which adds more apps, better infrastructure, and professional support.

A global community of over 100,000 developers contributes to the platform. One of its standout features is customizability, particularly through Odoo Studio, which lets you automate tasks, create custom screens, reports, and web hooks. Because it’s open-source, Odoo also has an app store with over 40,000 community-created apps — the largest business app store available.

Who created Odoo?

Fabien Pinckaers created Odoo in 2005. It started as TinyERP, became OpenERP, and was rebranded as Odoo in 2014. The company champions open-source collaboration and works closely with its worldwide community of over 100,000 developers.

Who is Odoo for?

Odoo suits a wide range of professionals and businesses, including:

• Business Analysts
• Project Managers
• Sales Representatives
• Accountants
• Inventory Managers
• Customer Support Specialists
• E-commerce Managers
• Marketing Specialists
• IT Specialists
• Human Resources Managers
• Small Business Owners
• Logistics Coordinators
• Web Developers
• Consultants
• Data Analysts

If your work involves managing business processes, Odoo likely has something to offer.

Key features and how to use Odoo

1. Pick your edition: Choose between the free, open-source Community edition and the Enterprise edition, which includes extra apps and services.
2. Customize with Odoo Studio: Set up custom actions, design your own screens, create reports, and build web hooks.
3. Explore the app store: Take advantage of 40,000+ community apps covering nearly any business requirement.
4. Own your data: Whether you use Odoo Online or the Enterprise version, you can download a backup of your entire database at any time.
5. Stay updated: Cloud infrastructure users receive regular upgrades, and on-premise users can access the latest stable version.
6. Integrate with other software: The External API lets other software pull or update data using JSON-RPC or XML-RPC.
7. Review the plans: Odoo offers various subscription plans, including a free plan for managing basic needs.