What is Odoo ERP? Features, costs, and how it stacks up to SAP and NetSuite

Key takeaways

• Most ERP implementation projects take nine months, according to the Panorama Consulting Group. This makes it important to choose the ERP edition, hosting, and vendor as early as possible.¹

• Odoo ERP is business software with separate apps for accounting, sales, inventory, manufacturing, and HR, with one shared database.

• Airwallex sends transactions in multiple currencies into Odoo Accounting through bank feeds, which means payments, transfers, and card spending appear in the books without needing manual uploads.

Odoo ERP is enterprise resource planning (ERP) software that lets a business use some or all of its apps, including accounting and inventory apps. Finance and operations leaders consider Odoo when numbers from their existing accounting software, inventory spreadsheets, and separate sales tools begin to differ at month-end. This guide explains how the Odoo ERP system works, its modules, editions, hosting options, and costs, and how it compares to alternatives such as SAP, NetSuite, and Microsoft Dynamics 365.

What is Odoo ERP?

Odoo ERP is a suite of business apps from the Belgian company Odoo SA that covers accounting, sales, purchasing, inventory, manufacturing, human resources (HR), point of sale, and eCommerce. ERP stands for enterprise resource planning, which is software that runs a company's finances and operations from one shared database. Each Odoo app handles one function, and businesses can switch on only the apps they need.

Odoo uses an “open-core” model. The core software is open source and free, while advanced features require a paid license. Odoo calls the free version Community and the paid version Enterprise, which adds apps, hosting, and support. Third-party developers sell add-ons in the Odoo Apps Store for industry-specific features.

How does the Odoo ERP system work?

Odoo stores data from all of its apps in one PostgreSQL database. That means one action, such as a sale, updates every team that needs the information. For example, one contact can be a sales lead, a customer, and a supplier, which means staff only enter those details once. The table below shows how a typical order moves through Odoo.

The core Odoo ERP software modules

The main Odoo ERP software modules—or apps—cover sales, accounting, inventory, manufacturing, retail and online sales, and HR. A module is a part of an ERP that focuses on one business area, such as inventory, and each module can be turned on separately. Businesses use the six modules below the most. 

Sales and CRM

Odoo’s customer relationship management (CRM) app tracks leads and deals through each sales step. It routes new leads to the right sales rep automatically, based on rules such as the lead’s location. Reps turn qualified deals into price quotes with customer-specific prices and discounts. Customers can then sign and pay online, and the signed quote becomes a sales order.

Accounting and invoicing

Odoo Accounting uses double-entry bookkeeping, which records every transaction twice, as a debit in one account and a matching credit in another. It covers money customers owe, money owed to suppliers, multiple currencies, fixed assets, and costs tracked by project or department. Bank synchronization imports bank transactions automatically, and the reconciliation tool matches them to open invoices and bills.

Inventory and purchasing

Odoo Inventory records stock movements as location-to-location transfers. It supports multiple warehouses, lot and serial tracking, barcode scanning, and landed costs. Landed costs add freight and duties to product costs. Reorder rules trigger purchase orders automatically when stock hits defined thresholds.

Manufacturing (MRP)

Odoo Manufacturing, also called MRP (material requirements planning), plans production from each product’s bill of materials, a document that lists the parts and quantities needed to make it. The app schedules work orders across work centers, which are the machines or teams that do each step, and shows instructions to operators through tablets on the shop floor. Odoo’s Quality and Maintenance apps add quality checks and equipment upkeep. Labor and machine time are added to product costs in the general ledger.

Point of sale and eCommerce

Odoo Point of Sale runs in browsers on touchscreens and terminals. It handles short internet outages by syncing sales upon reconnection. Odoo eCommerce syncs product and availability data with the online store. The website and ERP display matching stock levels and prices.

HR and project management

Odoo's HR apps manage employee records, time off, appraisals, and expenses. The Project app also tracks tasks and milestones. When staff log hours on a project in Odoo’s Timesheets app, those hours can be added to customer invoices at the agreed billing rate.

Odoo Community vs Enterprise

The difference between Odoo Community and Odoo Enterprise is that Community is free and Enterprise is paid. Community is the open-source edition, while Enterprise adds more apps, hosting options, and official support. The choice between the two decides how many accounting features the business gets and who maintains the ERP system.

Licensing

Odoo Community is free for any number of users, and businesses can host and change the code themselves. Odoo Enterprise uses a paid license billed per user, per month. Companies can start on Community and move to Enterprise later, although moving data and custom apps between editions takes planning.

Apps and features included

The Community edition includes core sales, purchasing, inventory, and invoicing. It excludes advanced accounting features like bank synchronization and automated reconciliation. Odoo Enterprise includes these accounting tools. Its Custom plan includes Odoo Studio for no-code field, screen, and report modifications.

Support and version upgrades

Odoo SA provides bug fixes, security updates, and upgrade assistance for Enterprise customers. Community users rely on internal developers, implementation partners, or open-source scripts for major updates. Enterprise customers request database migration directly from Odoo SA for new releases.

Odoo ERP hosting options

Odoo ERP offers three hosting options: Odoo Online, Odoo.sh, and on-premise hosting. The hosting option determines how much customization is possible and who maintains the servers.

Odoo Online

Odoo Online is Odoo SA's managed cloud service, where Odoo handles servers, backups, security patches, and upgrades. It is the simplest option, but the Standard plan on Odoo Online doesn't allow custom modules. Businesses on the Custom plan can still add fields and screens with Odoo Studio.

Odoo.sh

Odoo.sh is Odoo's cloud platform for companies that need custom code but don't want to run their own servers. It connects to GitHub, a code hosting service, which lets developers build and test changes in separate development and staging environments before release. Odoo bills Odoo.sh separately from user licenses, based on server capacity, storage, and the number of staging environments.

On-premise hosting

On-premise hosting means the business installs Odoo on its own servers or in its own cloud account, such as Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure. This option gives full control over data storage, security, and database tuning, which matters most in regulated industries. The trade-off is that the company's own IT team must handle patches, backups, and upgrades.

How much does Odoo ERP cost?

Odoo ERP charges a monthly fee for each Enterprise user, plus hosting costs for Odoo.sh or self-hosted setups and fees for ERP implementation services. For businesses with complex inventory or manufacturing, setup and implementation often cost more in the first year than the Odoo subscription itself.

Odoo subscription plans

Odoo offers two paid plans priced per user per month. The Standard plan includes all apps on Odoo Online and starts at US$31.10 monthly. Custom plans start at US$61.00 and provide access to Odoo Studio, multi-company accounting, the API for connecting other software, and hosting on Odoo.sh or on-premise.² These starting prices are first-year discounts for new customers, and monthly billing costs more than yearly billing.

Implementation partner costs

ERP implementation includes setup, data migration, custom workflows, and training, and it often costs more than the first year of licenses. Odoo sells its own onboarding Success Packs from US$580 for four hours to US$25,000 for 200 hours, with 15% off a customer's first pack.³ Businesses with multi-warehouse inventory, manufacturing, or large data migrations usually hire a certified Odoo partner who bills either by the hour or by project.

Benefits of Odoo ERP

The main benefit of Odoo ERP is that one per-user license provides access to every app, keeping software costs predictable as the business switches on more modules. Odoo's browser interface is also easier for new staff to learn than many older ERPs. Companies on Odoo.sh or self-hosting can also read and change the source code, which reduces dependence on a single vendor.

Challenges of Odoo ERP

The main challenge of Odoo ERP is that heavy customization can break during yearly version upgrades, turning each upgrade into a development project. Databases that stick to standard features can upgrade with far less rework than those with custom code and third-party modules. By configuring standard features wherever possible, businesses can keep upgrades simple.

Results also depend heavily on the ERP implementation partner, because an inexperienced partner may write custom code where a simple configuration would work. US companies with complex multi-entity consolidation, sales tax in many states, or strict audit requirements need a careful accounting setup.

4 signs a business is ready for Odoo ERP

A business is ready for Odoo ERP when its separate tools no longer keep up with business needs and it has the people needed to run an ERP project. These four signs usually appear at the same time: 

Separate apps no longer share data

When a business runs separate apps that don’t share data, employees must copy customer details from the sales system into the accounting software and retype orders into the warehouse system. Every handoff adds delays and errors, and reports can take whole days because the numbers sit in different places. A shared database ends this double entry because each team works from the same records.

Inventory or manufacturing drives the business

Entry-level accounting software usually can’t track landed costs (the full cost of goods after shipping and duties), batch numbers, lot numbers, multi-step warehouse moves, or products still being made on the shop floor. A business that keeps these numbers in spreadsheets has already outgrown its starter tools. Odoo’s Inventory and Manufacturing (MRP) apps record them in the same system as the accounting.

The business plans to add modules over time

Companies that expect to add retail, business-to-business (B2B) distribution, field service, or subscriptions benefit from Odoo's large catalog of apps. Companies using Odoo can launch accounting and purchasing first and then add other apps in later phases, using the same customers, products, and accounts. This phased approach often costs less than buying a separate tool for each function.

Developer or partner support is in place

An Odoo project needs someone in-house who understands configuration, data migration, and testing. A business is ready when it has internal developers who know Python and PostgreSQL, or has a signed agreement with an experienced Odoo partner.

How does Odoo ERP compare to SAP, NetSuite, and Dynamics 365?

Odoo ERP costs less per user than SAP Business One, Oracle NetSuite, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Odoo includes more apps in its base license. Competitor systems cost more and offer alternative financial controls. The table below compares their pricing, deployment, and customization models.

Odoo vs SAP Business One

The main difference between Odoo and SAP Business One is that Odoo includes eCommerce, website, and CRM apps in one license, while SAP Business One is built for manufacturers and distributors that manage a lot of inventory. SAP Business One offers strong inventory controls and connects to the wider SAP ecosystem. Its interface looks older than Odoo’s, though, and each user needs a paid license priced by role, which means costs rise as more staff need access.

Odoo vs Oracle NetSuite

The main difference between Odoo and Oracle NetSuite is that NetSuite costs more but handles companies with several legal entities better. NetSuite OneWorld can combine the books of many subsidiaries into one report and record sales between them as a standard feature. NetSuite doesn’t publish its prices, meaning each US business gets a custom quote for a yearly base license, per-user fees, and module fees. Odoo lists its prices publicly, and its Standard plan includes all apps for US$38.90 per user per month or US$31.10 per user per month for the first year.

Odoo vs Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

The main difference between Odoo and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is that Odoo includes point-of-sale and eCommerce apps in one license, while Business Central connects natively to Excel, Outlook, Teams, and Power BI. Business Central costs US$80 per user per month for Essentials and US$110 for Premium, paid yearly, with US$8 Team Members licenses for light users.⁴ Business Central users often add those features through third-party extensions from Microsoft AppSource.

How Airwallex works alongside Odoo ERP

Airwallex works alongside Odoo ERP as the business account that collects, holds, and sends money, while Odoo tracks the money in the company’s general ledger. Airwallex sends its transactions into Odoo Accounting as bank statement lines, and Odoo suggests matches against open invoices and bills. The wider Airwallex Integrations catalog also connects Airwallex to other accounting, payments, and eCommerce tools.

Airwallex bank feeds in Odoo

Airwallex imports transactions into Odoo through Yodlee, a financial data provider, for businesses registered in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore.⁵ After setup, customer payments, transfers, and card transactions appear in the matching Odoo bank journal, which is Odoo’s record of one bank account, for each currency. This bank feed connection is a basic form of ERP integration, which connects payment data to the general ledger.

Multi-currency accounts and international transfers

Airwallex Borderless Cash Accounts let businesses hold 20+ currencies and receive funds from 70+ countries with local account details. Customers abroad can then pay by local bank transfer. 

Businesses use Airwallex Transfers to pay suppliers in 200+ countries and regions with local payment networks in 120+ countries. Currency conversions cost just 0.5% above the interbank rate for major currencies and 1% for all others.⁶ 

Airwallex Corporate Cards give employees virtual and physical cards with spending limits, 0% foreign transaction fees, and 2% cashback.

Frequently asked questions about Odoo ERP

Is Odoo an ERP or a CRM?

Odoo is an ERP that includes a CRM app. Businesses can use the CRM on its own to manage leads, deals, and quotes. Most of Odoo's value comes from connecting that CRM to inventory, projects, and accounting in the same database.

How long does an Odoo implementation take?

An Odoo implementation takes a few weeks for a small business using standard apps on Odoo Online and up to several months for a mid-market company with manufacturing, data migration, and custom integrations. The timeline depends on the project size, how clean the old data is, and how much custom code is needed. The best way to stay on schedule is to agree on a clear scope before the project starts.

Can Odoo replace QuickBooks?

Yes, Odoo Enterprise can replace QuickBooks. Odoo includes double-entry accounting, financial statements, accounts payable and receivable, and bank reconciliation. QuickBooks focuses on accounting and needs add-ons for advanced inventory and manufacturing. Odoo runs those operations and the books in one database.

How often does Odoo release a new version?

Odoo releases a major version every year. These versions are usually announced at its Odoo Experience conference in the fall. Odoo SA supports the three most recent major versions with bug fixes and security updates.

Is Odoo ERP secure?

Odoo ERP is secure when it’s set up correctly. A secure setup includes role-based access, encrypted connections, and activity logs. For its cloud hosting, Odoo keeps 14 full backups for at least three months, stored in at least three data centers. Odoo is also part of the Cloud Security Alliance's STAR program.⁷ 

Does Odoo support US sales tax and accounting rules?

Yes, Odoo has a US version that includes a US chart of accounts, check printing, and 1099 data export for vendor reporting. For sales tax in different states, Odoo integrates with Avalara's AvaTax to calculate tax rates at the time of sale. Businesses that collect sales tax in several states should test the Odoo setup carefully before go-live. 

Sources

1. https://4439340.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/4439340/Reports/ERP%20Report/2026-erp-report-panorama-consulting-group.pdf

2. https://www.odoo.com/pricing-plan

3. https://www.odoo.com/pricing-packs

4. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics-365/products/business-central/pricing

5. https://help.airwallex.com/hc/en-gb/articles/10945423898511-Yodlee-integration-for-Bank-Feed

6. https://www.airwallex.com/en-us/pricing

7. https://www.odoo.com/security