I have a client using Odoo for all applications except
Is anyone using Odoo for accounting? Need some insights.
Answers
Anon,
My only thought is this, quite simply:
Your client needs to define their key accounting and reporting requirements (what is unique and complex for them, beyond standard features like entering and paying vendor bills?). Then they should describe those in use cases or business scenarios, including upstream processes from purchasing, inventory, sales orders etc, and get the vendor to demo their accounting module(s) to show degree of fit.
You cannot approach this from the software side, you and your client should start with your needs, then evaluate the software.
Kind regards
Len
"An ounce of selection is worth a pound of implementation"
1
I put it into Friday 6/17's Digest email to try and find you someone who has actually used Odoo.
We've had questions about Odoo before here and here, without much specific info on their open source solution.
I think you're right to consider how difficult it may be to find folks who are up to speed on it going forward.
Although, I noticed on their website that they claim 2 million users, which is huge.
Anyway, here's this
"The Small Business Guide to Cloud Accounting Systems: Getting Your Money’s Worth In the Cloud"
https://www.proformative.com/whitepapers/small-business-guide-cloud-accounting-systems
Best... Sarah
Thanks Len. We are in the process of doing the requirements assessment and there are many tools that can provide great solutions (this is fairly vanilla from an accounting standpoint). I am most concerned about whether the company will be able to hire accountants/temps who are proficient with Odoo software and whether there are any things that we should consider with this tool. Of course, Odoo is the full-integration solution.
2
You asked an interesting question, can you hire people who are proficient.
Have you found it difficult to use? Is the user interface consistent with other systems you have used? If the answers positive, while you may not find many native users, their
I have seen some accounting systems where my answers (as a user) would be in the negative. That is, the system was difficult to use and the UI was horrible. Learning curve, much longer.
From an implementation perspective, horrible, but that's not really the issue with this particular aspect of the question you posed.
Anon,
I would hire for ability to be a good
As to your question about Odoo's fit for your company, wait till your accounting and reporting requirements are defined, then do the gap/fit assessment on Odoo or any of the other solutions you mention above.
In your case, I think my approach would be: " Now that I know my key and unique requirements, is there any significant reason why Odoo will not work for us?" Can you talk to an Odoo user group?
It's not clear whether your company has unique or complex operational or technical needs that would make Odoo a long term poor fit, so here are some posers:
1. Operationally, does Odoo have any gaps that are critical-e.g. order
2. Technically, is Odoo sound for you-scalable, secure, integratable, open?
3. Organizationally, how do you view the vendor company-references, product strategy, financial viability?
Hope that helps.
Wayne - thank you. I am interested in your thoughts on implementation. Have you implemented Odoo?
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Sorry, no.
Although the thread is some month old just my 50 Cents:
Odoo is a wonderful software and it meets nearly each part of business.
It is free (Community Edition!), but I recommend to use the Enterprise Edition, which is much cheaper than e.g. SAP.
The price is the main point to choose Odoo, because you´ll get each of your special software needs (reports & more complex as well) fulfilled with less costs.
Accounting & tax management is implemented and links to big data solutions are given.
Usage is easy and with basic knowledge of computer work no problem.
Especially the new Odoo 10 (https://www.odoo.com) is it worth to think about for the whole business - with POV beside accounting! ;-)
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Looks interesting though...
Found this review, very interesting...
http://blog.karmacomputing.co.uk/an-odoo-review-how-odoo-could-be-so-much-better-for-smes/
On Odoo's website, it says it has 2 million users, and it its also used by some big brands.
Also, I can see it is built on top of some modern, extensible technology. Their open source activity is also quite impressive. See their Github page.
I like how all other business apps are connected to it e.g. the CRM, e-commerce, Point of Sale System. And also it's nice to have access to the backend PostgreSQL database, where we can easily write our own extensions.
I would recommend reading this article https://artjoker.net/blog/how-to-improve-user-engagement-and-acquisition-for-startups/ How to Improve User Engagement and Acquisition for Startups?
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