Byte by Byte: First Line Software Builds a Unified Future with Odoo

Location/Region: Cambridge, MA (Headquarters) and Overseas
Industry: IT Services
Apps implemented: Sales, Purchase, Time Off, Planning, Knowledge, Project, Accounting, Employees, Documents, Sign, Timesheets, Dashboards, Consolidation
Software Replaced: Hubspot, spreadsheets, Docuware, Quickbooks, and in-house software
Number of users: 400
Company size: 500
Hosting type: Odoo.sh

Any modernized business in the 21st century strives to utilize technology to make its daily operations more efficient and effective. However, many of these companies have complex needs that go beyond the scope of an out-of-the-box IT solution. This is where companies such as First Line Software come in.

First Line Software is a professional IT services company that specializes primarily in custom software programming for various industries, including eCommerce, healthcare, real estate, and even AI. A typical customer will first approach First Line Software with specific needs; then, the company analyzes the business’ requirements, designs the project plan, implements the software, and tests its quality. From start to finish, First Line Software addresses everything its customer needs to digitalize and improve its business processes.

Founded in 2010, First Line Software has reached impressive levels of success and growth in its 14 years of business. As the company’s operations expanded, it needed more comprehensive business software to manage its day-to-day needs. Odoo, it turns out, was the best solution.

Prior to using Odoo, First Line Software used a piecemeal approach to its business management software. Dmitri Krasnov, CFO, explains that they used a “best-in-brand” method, finding the most suitable software for each separate part of the company’s workflow. At different times, First Line Software utilized Hubspot, Zoho, Docuware, and Quickbooks, among other platforms, as well as developed an in-house solution for a variety of other needs such as project and employee management. Dmitri explains that this aggregate system had its predictable pain points, most notably the lack of communication between the different software pieces. The company particularly faced challenges when running processes that went across different departments. 

Another issue First Line Software faced was a lack of data integrity due to information being stored in multiple platforms, sometimes with no master source. This led to errors and inconsistencies in the company’s old system, wasting valuable time and effort fixing mistakes.

[With our old approach], we had to invest effort into making sure data is consistent across the platforms.

In addition to these overarching challenges, management of access rights, lack of a seamless workflow, and user experience were issues that First Line Software was facing on a daily basis. These recurring painpoints had the company considering making a switch to a more comprehensive ERP, with the primary goal being to decrease the number of platforms that it used. However, the major breaking point happened around 2022 when the business began rapidly expanding into more subsidiaries. The old, piecemeal approach made it difficult to manage the company as a whole and make changes as it grew.

First Line Software began researching ERPs available on the market, narrowing it down to a select few, and having sales meetings with these options. Dmitri explains that they analyzed both the functionality of these platforms and their price points. After much consideration, the company finally decided that Odoo was the best fit for its needs.

First Line Software’s implementation process was smooth, particularly because the company planned it in phases. So far, it has completed two major phases and plans to continue adding more modules this way. One of the first functionalities that the company put in place was comprehensive employee management, as Odoo offered much greater capabilities compared to its previous system. As a service company, First Line Software has a lot of data and processes built around its employees and consultants. 

Now [with Odoo], we’ve got all parts of that process in one place, integrated with great transparency, with workflows and processes built around the data. That really helps.

Odoo’s overall integration has been a huge benefit for the company on a daily basis, allowing it to easily complete workflows that extend through different departments. Liudmila Kosheleva, Operational Director at First Line Software, says that before, trying to accomplish this would require more data storage and entail employees working in different departments sharing volumes of information over email or using shared folders. Now, everyone is on the same system. Having a defined and seamless workflow with consistent data and history is extremely important.

When reflecting on the most useful Odoo applications for First Line Software, Dmitri highlights several. The Employees module is perhaps the one the team uses the most. Accounting has proven to be very helpful, too, with the business moving all of its financial data over to Odoo. Studio allows for flexibility in terms of customization, especially when quickly prototyping changes that they might want to carry out. Finally, the Documents and Dashboards applications have improved the company’s reporting capabilities, which, for Dmitri as CFO, has proven extremely beneficial.

The difference between a piecemeal approach with its old system and Odoo’s integrated nature has made the world of a difference for First Line Software. With the company only continuing to grow, Odoo is prepared to help First Line Software continue its mission to serve its customers with unique IT solutions as efficiently and effectively as possible.