You should check out the Beverage Distributor industry package: https://apps.odoo.com/apps/modules/19.0/beverage_distributor

Ultimately, to Odoo, this is just another Tax Rate, applied to all relevant Products. The Beverage Distributor package however also comes with some return logic.

If you don't have a test database, go to https://demo.odoo.com (you'll be redirected to a temporary, dedicated instance - something link demo3.odoo.com), install Beverage Distributor (technical name beverage_distributor) from Apps -> Industries (left side panel) and play around with it.

Description says

Discover everything you need to know about this package by visiting the Knowledge App after installing it.

You can find the relevant section of the knowledge article below:

Deposit Management 🍻

Manage your deposit more precisely and efficiently than ever before.

• Create deposit products for each different type of consigns
• Apply DEP XX taxes to these consigns.
• Set a deposit product on your product to apply these taxes. This will ensure that you invoice correctly the price of consigns.

💡

If you want to automatically split products sold in a specific packaging, precise a unit sale product in the so-called field and the number of units contained in the main product.

This will automatically create a Bill of Material and process a Manufacture Order each time you need to split your product and reflect this operation in your stock perfectly.

For example:

• Mobius Blanche - 24x33cl is your main product
• Mobius Blanche - 33cl is the unit sale product
• [FULL 33 BIN] Regular 24x33 Bin is the complete deposit product (4.5$ value)
• [EMPTY 33 BIN] Regular 24x33 Bin is the empty deposit product (2.1$ value)

Every time you need to sell a single Mobius Blanche - 33cl, if you don't have enough in stock, it will split your main product in 24 units and take into account an extra empty bin that will be left at the end.

The inventory of all products will be updated accordingly.

⚠️

This deposit management system is a specific features of this package. Proceed carefully if you need to adapt anything.

• Collect deposit when you deliver your customer. It is easy. When validating your delivery, you can directly set a "Return" and precisely count the number of each type of deposit your customer gave you. It will automatically be reflected on his invoice or issue a credit note.
• You can also collect deposit directly on your Point of Sale. Select the correct product and encode a negative quantity.

Hi,

Since you’re on Odoo Online, you can’t install custom modules, so the solution must rely on standard Odoo features and possibly Studio. The challenge with Ireland’s “Re-Turn fee” is that it must appear as a separate line on the invoice, be applied automatically when drinks are sold, and still work with pricelists and barcode scanning.

One option is to use Product Packaging, where each drink has a packaging unit that includes the deposit fee as a separate product. This way, when scanning the drink’s barcode, the deposit line is added automatically. Another approach is to use Odoo Studio automations to ensure that when a product in a certain category (like drinks) is sold, a Re-Turn fee line is automatically added to the order, preventing cashier mistakes.

A more robust method is to use Kit Products (BoM type = Kit). In this setup, the drink is defined as a kit containing two items: the drink itself and the Re-Turn fee product. The price is set only on the drink, so pricelists still work correctly. When the product is sold, Odoo automatically splits it into two invoice lines — one for the drink and one for the deposit. This avoids duplicate pricing issues, works with barcode scanning, and ensures compliance with the fee requirement.

In practice, the Kit approach is often the most reliable way to handle mandatory deposits in Odoo Online, as it combines automation, compliance, and compatibility with existing features like pricelists.

Hope it helps

Hello,

You’ve described the situation very clearly — this is a common challenge when dealing with bottle deposit or “Re-Turn fee” systems in Odoo, especially for users in regions like Ireland or Germany. Using combo products works, but as you mentioned, it’s prone to pricing inconsistencies and manual errors.

Here are a few alternative approaches you might consider:

1. Use a Product Bundle (Optional Products) or Bill of Materials (BoM):
   • Create your drink as a standard product and link the Re-Turn fee as an optional or component product in the BoM.
   • Set the Re-Turn fee as a fixed price line item.
   • This ensures both items appear separately on the invoice while staying linked.
2. Automate via Pricelist Rules or Fiscal Position Mapping:
   • If the fee applies to specific product categories (e.g., all bottled drinks), you could use an automated rule or fiscal position to add the Re-Turn product line automatically when those categories are sold.
3. Custom Automation (if Studio or Developer Access available):
   • With Odoo Studio or custom code, you can trigger an “On Add to Cart” or POS Scan automation that automatically inserts the Re-Turn product line whenever a qualifying drink product is sold.
   • This prevents the issue of cashiers forgetting to add it or scanning errors.
4. Pricing Consistency:
   • Maintain one product price (excluding the Re-Turn fee) and let the system automatically add the separate Re-Turn product to keep pricing aligned across pricelists.

Unfortunately, Odoo Online (SaaS) limits deeper automation unless you use Odoo Studio, but the BoM or optional product approach is usually the most reliable workaround within the standard setup.

Hello Otter Space Ltd,

It sounds like you need a way to automatically add a "Re-Turn fee" to invoices for applicable drinks in Odoo. Here’s a better approach than using combo items:

  Product Setup: Create a product for the "Re-Turn Fee." Ensure it's set up as a service or a storable product with the appropriate tax settings.

  Automated Action (Odoo Studio or Custom Module): Since you're on Odoo Online, the simplest approach might be Odoo Studio if it's available. Otherwise, a custom module would be needed. The goal is to create an automated action that triggers when a qualifying drink product is added to a sale order.

  Action Logic: The automated action should:
    Check if the product added to the sale order is a drink that requires the fee.
    If it is, add a line to the sale order with the "Re-Turn Fee" product and the appropriate quantity (usually 1).

  Pricelists: Pricelists apply to the main product being sold. The "Re-Turn Fee" will be a separate line, so pricelists won't directly affect it. You can set a fixed price on the "Re-Turn Fee" product itself.

  Preventing Manual Addition: To prevent cashiers from accidentally adding the "Re-Turn Fee" manually, you could potentially archive the product and rely solely on the automated action to add it.

For personalized assistance:
https://www.pragtech.co.in/contact-us-mql.html