Odoo

Odoo is a business management software suite developed in Belgium. It includes modules for customer relationship management, e-commerce, billing, accounting, manufacturing, warehouse operations, project management, and inventory management.[1][2]

In October 2022, Odoo S.A. announced new pricing plans under which users could access all Odoo apps under a single per-user pricing model.[3] [4]

Odoo is distributed in two editions: a Community edition, licensed under the GNU LGPLv3, and an Enterprise edition, which includes additional proprietary features and services. Odoo can be deployed on-premises or accessed through a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model.[2][5][6]

Overview

From inception, Odoo S.A (formerly OpenERP S.A) has released the core software as open source.[7] Since the V9.0 release, the company has transitioned to an open core model, which provides subscription-based proprietary enterprise software and cloud-hosted software as a service, in addition to the open source version. In 2013, the not-for-profit Odoo Community Association was formed to promote the widespread use of Odoo and to support the collaborative development of Odoo features.[8]

Odoo's extensible architecture allows a large number of freelancers and organizations to develop Odoo Apps or Modules and place them in the marketplace for sale or to be downloaded for free. The main Odoo components are the framework, about 30 core applications (also called official modules), and thousands of community modules.[9][10]

Odoo has been used as a component of university courses.[11] A study on experimental learning suggested that Odoo (then known as OpenERP[12]) provides a suitable alternative to proprietary systems to supplement teaching.

Several books have been written about Odoo, some covering specific areas such as accounting or development.[13][14][15]

History

In 2005, Fabien Pinckaers, the founder and current CEO of Odoo, started developing his first software product, TinyERP. Three years later, the name was changed to OpenERP. The company started to grow quickly and in 2010, OpenERP had become a 100+ employee company.[17][18]

In 2013, Odoo received a Deloitte award for rapid growth in Belgium.[19]

In 2014, the company was renamed Odoo, to differentiate itself from the term "ERP".[20] The name 'Odoo' was chosen by then OpenERP after they saw a correlation between company valuation and the number of "O"s in the names of the top 10 internet companies in 2014.[21] In 2015, Inc. Magazine placed Odoo in the top 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in Europe.[22]

In 2019, the company raised a $90 million investment.[23]

In 2021, Odoo products were used by more than 5 million customers.[24] Odoo expected to hire 1,000 new employees, according to CEO Pinckaers.[25][26]

In 2023, Odoo reported a 33% year-over-year revenue increase, reaching €282 million, and grew its workforce to over 2,200 employees. Despite its expansion, the company remains profitable. Pinckaers noted ongoing efforts to improve user onboarding and operational efficiency.[27]

Features

Odoo is built around a modular architecture. Its core components include[28][29]:

• Website Development
• eCommerce
• Customer Relations Management (CRM)
• Sales
• Point Of Sale (POS)
• Accounting
• Invoicing
• Expenses
• Document management
• Spreadsheets
• Digital Signature
• Inventory Management
• Manufacturing Orders & BOM
• Purchase Orders & Tenders
• Human Resources
• Marketing
• Project Management
• Project Planning

Reception

Odoo is known in the industry as a versatile Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.[30] Before its name change, it received several awards as OpenERP including the Trends Gazelle, the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Award[31] and the InfoWorld's BOSSIE Award 2013[32] later in 2014,[33] 2015,[34] and 2016 after the name change to Odoo.[35]

See also

• Comparison of accounting software
• List of free and open source ERP packages
• List of free and open source software packages
• List of free and open source software packages concerning finance

Further reading

External links