CRM, CSM, HRIS, accounting software, marketing automation, project management... Companies utilize dozens of business software and applications. The problem is that often you have to navigate between all these tools daily. Odoo has unified them all through its customizable, open-source ERP solution. Discover this modular and flexible all-in-one suite of applications.
What is Odoo?
Founded in 2004, Odoo is an open-source resource planning system. Fully integrated and customizable, it meets all the needs of businesses. With more than 40,000 applications, it manages customer relationships (CRM), sales, project management, inventory management, accounting, human resources, marketing, and more. And all this through a single software solution. To utilize it, you simply need to activate the applications as per your needs.
This plurality of functionalities has already convinced more than 12 million users all over the world. Among its clients, the company Odoo counts both startups, SMEs, and large international groups. And this, across all sectors of activity.
What are Odoo's features?
With more than 40,000 applications, Odoo covers all departments of organizations. Here are some of its main features:
Website
Whether it is a simple showcase site, a blog, or an e-commerce site, Odoo allows you to create and manage it via a wide range of applications, such as:
- The website editor: to design your website without writing a single line of code;
- The forum: to encourage internet users to participate on your site;
- The chat: to answer all the questions of internet users;
- The forms: to collect data from your customers and prospects.
Among all these features, Odoo can be conceived as a real CMS. Companies can create a website that reflects their image, regardless of their technical skills.
Sales
Sales are at the heart of organizations’ growth, and Odoo provides numerous features:
- The CRM: this is undoubtedly the most important application for centralizing customer relationship management;
- Instant quote creation: automating quotes saves a considerable amount of time for sales teams who no longer need to enter customer data;
- Points of sale: with specific options for shops and restaurants;
- Subscriptions: Odoo simplifies both recurring billing and subscription management.
All aspects of sales are integrated into Odoo to support revenue growth.
Finance
Accounting, billing, and expenses, the classic Odoo applications contribute to maintaining the financial stability of organizations. Here are some useful features:
- Expense reports: employees can enter their expense reports effortlessly. On the other hand, accounting teams no longer have to input all the data manually; they are automatically integrated.
- Signatures: no more scanning and printing of documents to be signed. With secure online signing, you can send and validate all your contracts;
- Spreadsheets: these business intelligence tools simplify data analysis, enabling better-informed decisions;
- Invoicing: create customized invoices in just a few clicks.
With all these applications, finance teams save time, reduce the risk of errors, and perform better analyses.
There are still many other Odoo applications for marketing automation, human resource management, supply chain management, project management, and more.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Odoo?
Advantages
If Odoo has already attracted so many users, it’s thanks to these advantages:
- Open-source software: with more than 100,000 developers, the app evolves very quickly. If a module is missing, members of the Odoo community will develop it;
- Customization: each company selects the applications they need based on their business constraints;
- Integrations: no more forced integrations to use your entire technology stack in one place. With Odoo, all apps are directly integrated on the platform;
- Time savings: thanks to business process automation, teams save hours of work (or even entire days);
- Competitive pricing: it is possible to use all the apps in the Odoo online version for only €11.90 per month.
Disadvantages
Even if Odoo is very practical, it is not without flaws. Here are some negative customer feedback:
- Several reported technical issues;
- The French translation is of poor quality, which can cause misunderstandings;
- The user experience is neither intuitive nor ergonomic.
But these are just a few negative reviews about Odoo. To really know what this suite of applications is worth, the simplest way is to test it. The good news is you get 15 days of free trial.
And to fully benefit from the tool, it’s better to have data management skills. With DataScientest, you will learn how to process all types of data for all services.
