Skip to Content
Odoo Menu
  • Sign in
  • Try it free
  • Apps
    Finance
    • Accounting
    • Invoicing
    • Expenses
    • Spreadsheet (BI)
    • Documents
    • Sign
    Sales
    • CRM
    • Sales
    • POS Shop
    • POS Restaurant
    • Subscriptions
    • Rental
    Websites
    • Website Builder
    • eCommerce
    • Blog
    • Forum
    • Live Chat
    • eLearning
    Supply Chain
    • Inventory
    • Manufacturing
    • PLM
    • Purchase
    • Maintenance
    • Quality
    Human Resources
    • Employees
    • Recruitment
    • Time Off
    • Appraisals
    • Referrals
    • Fleet
    Marketing
    • Social Marketing
    • Email Marketing
    • SMS Marketing
    • Events
    • Marketing Automation
    • Surveys
    Services
    • Project
    • Timesheets
    • Field Service
    • Helpdesk
    • Planning
    • Appointments
    Productivity
    • Discuss
    • Approvals
    • IoT
    • VoIP
    • Knowledge
    • WhatsApp
    Third party apps Odoo Studio Odoo Cloud Platform
  • Industries
    Retail
    • Book Store
    • Clothing Store
    • Furniture Store
    • Grocery Store
    • Hardware Store
    • Toy Store
    Food & Hospitality
    • Bar and Pub
    • Restaurant
    • Fast Food
    • Guest House
    • Beverage Distributor
    • Hotel
    Real Estate
    • Real Estate Agency
    • Architecture Firm
    • Construction
    • Estate Management
    • Gardening
    • Property Owner Association
    Consulting
    • Accounting Firm
    • Odoo Partner
    • Marketing Agency
    • Law firm
    • Talent Acquisition
    • Audit & Certification
    Manufacturing
    • Textile
    • Metal
    • Furnitures
    • Food
    • Brewery
    • Corporate Gifts
    Health & Fitness
    • Sports Club
    • Eyewear Store
    • Fitness Center
    • Wellness Practitioners
    • Pharmacy
    • Hair Salon
    Trades
    • Handyman
    • IT Hardware & Support
    • Solar Energy Systems
    • Shoe Maker
    • Cleaning Services
    • HVAC Services
    Others
    • Nonprofit Organization
    • Environmental Agency
    • Billboard Rental
    • Photography
    • Bike Leasing
    • Software Reseller
    Browse all Industries
  • Community
    Learn
    • Tutorials
    • Documentation
    • Certifications
    • Training
    • Blog
    • Podcast
    Empower Education
    • Education Program
    • Scale Up! Business Game
    • Visit Odoo
    Get the Software
    • Download
    • Compare Editions
    • Releases
    Collaborate
    • Github
    • Forum
    • Events
    • Translations
    • Become a Partner
    • Services for Partners
    • Register your Accounting Firm
    Get Services
    • Find a Partner
    • Find an Accountant
    • Meet an advisor
    • Implementation Services
    • Customer References
    • Support
    • Upgrades
    Github Youtube Twitter Linkedin Instagram Facebook Spotify
    +1 (650) 691-3277
    Get a demo
  • Pricing
  • Help

Odoo is the world's easiest all-in-one management software.
It includes hundreds of business apps:

  • CRM
  • e-Commerce
  • Accounting
  • Inventory
  • PoS
  • Project
  • MRP
All apps
You need to be registered to interact with the community.
All Posts People Badges
Tags (View all)
odoo accounting v14 pos v15
About this forum
You need to be registered to interact with the community.
All Posts People Badges
Tags (View all)
odoo accounting v14 pos v15
About this forum
Help

The Hitchhikers guide to Odoo.

Subscribe

Get notified when there's activity on this post

This question has been flagged
configurationguidebeginner
3 Replies
26256 Views
Avatar
Stephen Mack

Odoo is a huge program with many community groups working on it's software and modules.  So what is available and how do I get started?

I am writting a guide that I wish I had discovered when I first starting investigating Odoo six months ago.  Please feel free to add your own advice or comment on mine and I will attempt to keep the guide up-to-date.

Best regards.

11
Avatar
Discard
Yenthe Van Ginneken (Mainframe Monkey)

Great Xmas present to the Odoo eco-system! Thank you for taking the time ....

Niyas Raphy (Walnut Software Solutions)

For those look how to start development in Odoo, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8FNdellz3Y&list=PLqRRLx0cl0homY1elJbSoWfeQbRKJ-oPO&index=2

Avatar
Stephen Mack
Author Best Answer

History:
Odoo started as TinyERP in 2005 before changing it's name to OpenERP in 2008.  Then in 2014 with the addition of modules that fall outside of the traditional ERP model such as CMS and eCommerce, OpenERP S.A. changed it's name to Odoo to focus on their future beyond just ERP software.

Cost:
Full source code for Odoo is available on GitHub and released under the GNU AFFERO GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE, Version 3 (AGPLv3).  So like most Opensource software you can download, install, modify and use the software freely.  The cost of the software is your time to learn and maintain the software, development costs to personalize the software and associated costs in hosting the software internally or publicly.

There are a few items that Odoo does not include for free:

  1. Upgrades between major version numbers (i.e. 7.0 -> 8.0).  Odoo charges for their upgrade service, however the community also has a free opensource upgrade option called OpenUpgrade.
     
  2. Installing add-on modules through the GUI interface.  Odoo's built-in module installation system stops working once you have more than two users on a system without an Odoo maintenance contract.  However you can install (-i) and update (-u) modules using the command line interface.
     
  3. Hosting services.  Odoo provides for it's customers an online hosted version of Odoo.  Their SLA (Service Level Agreement) includes replying to bug reports, provide back-up and security services as well as migrate users to new versions (including early access to new unreleased features) at no additional charge.  The price is based on the number of users and modules that are installed.

    Recently Odoo has announced that their hosted solution will be free for customers with one or two users regardless of the numbers of modules installed. However you server will have a YourName.odoo.com web address.  Odoo will not point your domain (YourName.com) to their free hosted solution.
     
  4. CRM website themes.  Odoo is developing 70 themes for the website and eCommerce (see CRM website themes below).

Communities:
Odoo has many distinct communities where you can find and give advice.  First Odoo hosts it's own forum and several email lists on various topics.  The OCA (Odoo Community Association) has their own website and email list (publicly searchable) as well.  Many Odoo users post tips and information on their personal blogs.  And at least two private forums exist on Odoo related topics: StackOverflow.com and developpez.net (French).  There is even an IRC chat room for Odoo as well as Linked-in, Google+ and a Meetup group.

Odoo also hosts a yearly OpenDays event with Sessions, Workshops and Training.  The event is free to attend (there is a nominal charge for catering if you choose to eat at the event or wish to attend the after hours parties) and there are optional training opportunities available for a fee.  You can watch the OpenDays 2014 event online: Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3. 

Documentation:
The documentation for Odoo varies from version to version because, on average, Odoo releases their software every 15 months.  In general, Odoo tends to focus more on new software features and improvements than on development of user documentation.  A compiled list of known community and Odoo released documentation is available on the Odoo forums.

Training:
Training can be obtained through one of the over 500 Odoo certified partners located in more than 100 countries.  These events, some free and provided electronically over the web, are posted on Odoo's event page.  Also from time to time there are events posted on the OCA's website.

Software:
As stated above, the source code is available on GitHub for versions 5.0 through the current master branch (future development branch).  Odoo also provides nightly builds of source, Windows, Debian/Ubuntu and RedHat install packages. This is also where you can find copies of TinyERP version 3.0 and 4.0 available.

If you wish to build your own packages, instructions are available for Odoo v8 as well as OpenERP v6.1 & 7.0 builds.  For Windows users there are also instructions on compiling an executable.

Modules:
Modules are the way you can add new functionality to the system and a way to only install functionality that you need.  They are written by Odoo, official Odoo Community partners and by individuals.  Odoo provides an online apps store that can be used to publicize the existence of an odoo app.  Currently there are over 2,000 apps for OpenERP 7.0 and the number of apps for Odoo 8.0 are just beginning to be added to the system.

In general, if you are unable to find an app that covers your needs, it is best to ask the online community if something exists before you begin development on your own.

CRM Website Themes:
With the addition of CRM and eCommerce modules in version 8.0, Odoo is working on building 70 themes to allow users to customize their publicly facing website.  These themes will be hosted on Odoo's theme store and during development their progress can be viewed on runbot.  These themes will not be free and Odoo encourages designers to develop themes that they can list and sell on the website.

Odoo has released some documentation on building your own themes and will also be authoring an official book as well.  More information can be found on odoo's forum and OpenDays presentation slides.

Testing:
Odoo provides a service to test build all of their proposed updates and versions before they are committed to the base, this service is called runbot and is available to anyone to login and test a feature.  All Odoo modules are installed on every build instance.  The administration Login and Password is: admin and admin.  There are no posted restrictions as to what you can do with these databases, however common courtesy should apply as you will not be the only person using them.  Also note that these instances can be eliminated at any moment.  The source code for runbot is available if you wish to host your own development environment internally.

Another service available for testing is demo.odoo.com which contains the demonstration data  that you can use to see the system in action.  It does not require a login or password.

Translations:
Odoo is available (to varying degrees of completeness) in about 80 languages and dialects.  The current master repository for all language translation work is being hosted on Launchpad for version 8.0 and below. Translations are broken up into three categories: Server, Web and Addons.  Starting with Odoo version 9.0, Odoo will find and use another platform such as "Transifex or [something] similar" according to the Odoo development wiki.

Problems / Support:
Depending on whom you wish to respond, you may ask for help on Odoo's forums or email lists (see the community section above), or you may engage with Odoo directly.  If you wish to report a bug or suggest an enhancement in the software, you may do so by posting a GitHub Issue.  You should search the issue database and comment on open issues relating to your problem and thus not open a duplicate issue for no reason.  For bugs you should verify that they still exist in the current development version by testing them on runbot (see testing above).  And then following the Contributing Guidelines and post your issue using the following format.  Please do not make extra work for the Odoo developers by posting duplicate issues that they must then merge or delete. 

If you have a question that is best directed to a support person (not a developer) then you may contact odoo support via the following email address: online@odoo.com  If you don't have a maintenance contract you can contact: sales@odoo.com

Upgrading:
See Cost above.

News / Keeping Current:
If you wish to know the latest news on Odoo development, releases, bugs and new R&D features there are several sources you should follow.  Odoo tweets on @odoo, @odooCMS, @odooStatus as well as posts on facebook. There are a few other resources including Linked-in, Google+, RSS feed etc that are mentioned by Fabrice Henrion (Director of Odoo - USA) in his forum post.

You can also "watch" the odoo and OCA development on GitHub to receive emails on new issues and merge requests.

21
Avatar
Discard
gunnar

can it be that oerp_no_phoning_home prevents the one-click installer from stop working once you cross the 2 users barrier?

Julian Robbins

In section 3 above, there is no longer (August 15) a free SAAS hosted system by Odoo, you have to pay for any users ;-(

Avatar
David Birchmier
Best Answer

Exceptional post! Really glad I found this as we are just getting started with Odoo. 

I'm also trying to document our "newbie" experiences to save others time. The first tutorial with screenshots I created was for creating multiple invoice templates. Feel free to reference this if  you find it useful:
http://www.askmpa.com/creating-multiple-invoice-templates-in-odoo-v8/

2
Avatar
Discard
Stephen Mack
Author

I added your blog to my post on blogs: https://www.odoo.com/forum/help-1/question/68797

Stephen Mack
Author

This post is the first of a series that I have planned: https://www.odoo.com/forum/help-1/question/71298

Avatar
Rami Talat
Best Answer

What a great post!

Thanks Stephen for this effort

0
Avatar
Discard
Stephen Mack
Author

Glad it was helpful (or I hope it was helpful)

Enjoying the discussion? Don't just read, join in!

Create an account today to enjoy exclusive features and engage with our awesome community!

Sign up
Related Posts Replies Views Activity
I need a beginners configuration guide for Odoo v8 Solved
configuration v8 documentation guide beginner
Avatar
Avatar
Avatar
5
Oct 19
14970
how to let "delivery to " address shows in the printed order file
configuration
Avatar
Avatar
1
Nov 25
401
Do seniors get discounts on United flights?
configuration
Avatar
0
Nov 25
2
accede al servicio de atención ¿Cómo hablo con un agente de Expedla?
configuration
Avatar
0
Nov 25
3
l10n_co- Regla: ZB01, Rechazo: Fallo en el esquema XML del archivo
configuration
Avatar
Avatar
1
Nov 25
133
Community
  • Tutorials
  • Documentation
  • Forum
Open Source
  • Download
  • Github
  • Runbot
  • Translations
Services
  • Odoo.sh Hosting
  • Support
  • Upgrade
  • Custom Developments
  • Education
  • Find an Accountant
  • Find a Partner
  • Become a Partner
About us
  • Our company
  • Brand Assets
  • Contact us
  • Jobs
  • Events
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Customers
  • Legal • Privacy
  • Security
الْعَرَبيّة Català 简体中文 繁體中文 (台灣) Čeština Dansk Nederlands English Suomi Français Deutsch हिंदी Bahasa Indonesia Italiano 日本語 한국어 (KR) Lietuvių kalba Język polski Português (BR) română русский язык Slovenský jazyk slovenščina Español (América Latina) Español ภาษาไทย Türkçe українська Tiếng Việt

Odoo is a suite of open source business apps that cover all your company needs: CRM, eCommerce, accounting, inventory, point of sale, project management, etc.

Odoo's unique value proposition is to be at the same time very easy to use and fully integrated.

Website made with

Odoo Experience on YouTube

1. Use the live chat to ask your questions.
2. The operator answers within a few minutes.

Live support on Youtube
Watch now