Field notes
from the work.
Honest writing about Odoo implementations, ERP migrations, the TARGET method, and the people who run businesses on it.
Adding a Dutch entity to your ERP: what changes, by country of origin
What changes when a foreign group adds a Dutch entity: BV or branch, the Dutch VAT return and the ICP declaration, the article 23 import deferment you cannot apply for yourself, the chart of accounts, filing, payroll and e-invoicing. Plus what specifically catches out teams coming from the UK, Germany, Belgium, France, the US and China, and what each of those does to the ERP you already run.
Smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0: what it means, what it costs, and where to start
Industry 4.0 is real, and most of what is sold under that banner is not for you yet. This page separates the terms (smart manufacturing, smart factory, IIoT, digital twin, predictive maintenance), gives a five-step maturity ladder, shows with an interactive OEE calculator why measurement comes before intelligence, and says plainly which steps pay off for a mid-sized manufacturer and which do not.
Odoo Website or an alternative? Choose on findability, not on convenience
The Odoo Website app is fine for a company site that mainly needs to belong to your backend. But if you genuinely want to be found - SEO, AEO, GEO - you run into its limits. Our current choice: a lightning-fast, lightweight site (we build on Astro) that unlocks parts of Odoo headless, with AI as the build accelerator. This very site is the proof.
How many apps does Odoo have, and which are they? (2026)
Odoo has 78 official apps, counted in the Apps menu of a current Odoo database in July 2026, across 13 categories. This page gives the full breakdown per category, explains why sources variously claim 40, 60 or 80 (only one of those is simply out of date), covers the 80,000+ App Store total, free versus paid, and the number that actually matters: how many you really need.
Manufacturing software: the categories explained, and which ones you actually need
ERP, MRP, MES, APS, WMS, PLM, QMS, CAM: eight categories of manufacturing software that overlap, compete and get sold as each other. This page maps what each one does, what it does not do, where they overlap, and which a mid-sized manufacturer genuinely needs - with an honest verdict on one integrated system versus best-of-breed.
Subscription management software: dedicated tool or inside your ERP?
More and more companies earn recurring revenue: rentals, service contracts, SaaS, coffee subscriptions, advertising screens. Dedicated subscription software promises a lot, but cuts your process in two: the contract in one system, invoicing and accounting in another. How Odoo Subscriptions solves that in one environment - and when a specialised tool genuinely wins.
Production scheduling software: capacity, sequence, and the hours you do not have
Planning decides what to make and order; scheduling decides when it runs, on which machine, in what order. This page separates the two, explains finite versus infinite capacity, shows with an interactive capacity check why planning at full utilisation guarantees late deliveries, and gives an honest view on choosing production scheduling software - including when your ERP already covers it.
Warehouse management software: can Odoo handle your warehouse?
Considering Odoo for your warehouse? Odoo has a full WMS core: barcode scanning, putaway rules, storage categories, removal strategies (FIFO/FEFO), reordering rules and lot and best-before tracing. This page shows honestly what Odoo does and does not do as a warehouse system, when it is enough and when you need a dedicated WMS, with examples from a finishing and coating company and a fresh-produce grower.
MES vs MRP vs ERP: the three layers of manufacturing software (and how Odoo unites them)
MRP plans, MES executes, ERP processes the consequences. They are not competitors but three layers, each with its own question and its own clock. This page puts them side by side, shows when you need which layer, and why it matters in Odoo that they sit on the same database. Including a diagnostic that tells you in five questions which layer your situation calls for.
MES software: how to choose one (and when you do not need one)
A buyer-side guide to MES software: the four categories of vendor, the eight criteria that actually decide the outcome, what it really costs, why implementations fail, and an honest test of whether your ERP already covers it. Written by an ERP partner, including the cases where we would tell you not to buy.
What is a MES system (Manufacturing Execution System)? And how does it work in Odoo?
A MES is the layer that drives and records your production at the moment it happens: which operation is running, how long it takes, how much scrap there is and whether the quality check passed. This page explains what a MES does, which functions belong to it, how it relates to ERP and MRP, and what Odoo Shop Floor offers out of the box - including an honest limit.
MRP software explained: the calculation, the limits, and how to choose one
An MRP system answers three questions: what do we make, how much do we need, and when do we order it. This page shows the netting calculation an MRP run actually performs (with an interactive version you can try), explains where MRP ends and ERP or MES begins, and gives an honest view on choosing MRP software - including when a spreadsheet is still the right answer.
Cost price calculation: direct and indirect costs, and how to spread them (with calculator)
A cost price is direct costs plus an allocated share of the indirect costs. The art is in that allocation: how do you spread overhead fairly across your products? This pillar explains the markup method, the cost-centre method and ABC, plus absorption versus variable costing, and how to capture it in Odoo. With an interactive calculator that builds up your cost price per unit.
Job costing: from estimate to actual cost (with calculator)
Job costing shows what an order, project or production run actually cost, compared to your estimate. This pillar explains how to set up job costing, how to break the difference down into volume, budget and material variance, and how to automate it in Odoo. Includes an interactive calculator that works out the variance by cause for you.
Manufacturing accounting in Odoo: work in progress, job costing and product cost that reconcile on your balance sheet
From estimate to job costing: how to post material, machine hours and overhead surcharges per production step to work in progress (WIP) in Odoo, settle it against a standard cost and reveal the volume and budget variance. In this video (10 min) we walk through the entire posting flow, from work order to a reconciling trial balance - plus the terminology (applied-overhead account, cost type, cost centre, cost object) and where standard Odoo stops.
The Odoo Success Pack: when it works, and when to call a partner instead
Request a demo at Odoo and a Success Pack of around 50 hours often lands on the table quickly. Sometimes that is exactly enough. Often it is not. An honest breakdown of how the pack works, who it genuinely fits, and where it strains in practice.
Odoo implementation checklist: 26 checkpoints from preparation to go-live
Not 30 loose tips, but the order that makes an implementation predictable: 7 phases, 26 checkpoints, from appointing your project lead to closing the project after the buffer period. Free to use, also as a PDF - no form in front of it.
Digital work orders: what belongs on one, what an app costs and when to look further
Most field-service companies went digital long ago - with a standalone work-order app. That killed the paper docket book, but not the retyping: the order sits in the app, the invoice in another system. This is what belongs on a work order, when a standalone app suffices, and the moment the order should be the start of your invoice.
What is CRM? Meaning, what a CRM system does and when you need one
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management: one place where your customers, touchpoints and sales opportunities come together. This is what a CRM system concretely does, the difference with ERP, the well-known examples side by side - and the honest tipping point where a standalone CRM starts to hurt.
What is a key user? The role that makes or breaks your ERP implementation
A key user is the employee who represents their department during an ERP implementation: they know the process, test the system and later train their colleagues. This is what the role involves, how much time it takes, how it differs from project lead and application management - and how to pick the right people.
What is an ERP system? Meaning, examples and when you need one
ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning: one system in which your core processes - sales, purchasing, stock, accounting - work together on one data model. This is what that means in practice, seven well-known examples compared, the signals that you are ready for one, and the honest story about when you are not.
Odoo alternatives: by process, by sector and open source - honestly compared
Anyone searching "Odoo alternatives" is comparing point solutions per process, looking for an industry specialist, or doubting a quote. Here are all three answers, honestly: the point-solution alternatives per process (revealing what Odoo actually covers), the sector specialists that sometimes genuinely win, and the open-source alternatives nobody dares to name.
How long does an Odoo implementation take? Three months standard, then everything adds up
A standard implementation stands in about three months. After that, everything adds up: users, modules like eCommerce and Manufacturing, custom work, integrations and data migration. This is what really drives the timeline, why the biggest accelerator is a person, and how to count back from 1 January.
EDI integration with a large retailer: no EDI, no customer
Anyone who wants to supply a large supermarket chain soon discovers that EDI is not a wish but an entry requirement. Three messages, three parties, and a retailer that tests your connection itself. This is how it works, why there is no generic EDI connection, and why you start here.
Selling without your own warehouse: outsourced fulfilment and how to connect it to Odoo
No warehouse of your own does not mean no stock administration. Your logistics provider picks and ships, but you remain responsible for what the books say. This is what stays in Odoo, what you integrate, and why an integration is rarely your first step.
Promo discounts and annual agreements: why your retail margin belongs at the top of the P&L
Supplying large retailers comes with two margin eaters: promo discounts and annual contributions. Most companies book them under marketing costs - and so never see their real margin per product. This is why they belong against your revenue, and how to set that up in Odoo.
Chinese accounting in Odoo: the fiscal localisation (l10n_cn), fapiao and Golden Tax
Odoo has a Chinese fiscal localisation: l10n_cn provides the chart of accounts and taxes. But fapiao and the Golden Tax system are a story of their own. This is what the localisation does cover, where OCA modules step in, and when you book in Odoo versus keep the Chinese accounting local and couple it.
From Excel to Odoo: why even companies with tens of millions in revenue still run on spreadsheets
An established trading company, tens of millions in revenue, a site in China and one in the Netherlands, supplying large retailers - and still everything runs in Excel and Google Sheets. It is not a size problem. This is when spreadsheets start to slow you down, what they silently cost, and what the move to Odoo looks like.
International accounting with Odoo: one group, multiple countries (and sometimes a Chinese ledger alongside)
Growing companies with a foreign entity hit the same question: does that country's accounting also run in Odoo, or do you keep it local and connect it to the group? This is the honest trade-off - multi-company, fiscal localisation, bank connections and consolidation - with the Chinese ledger as a sharp example.
PIM software and Odoo: when product data belongs in a shell around it
When Odoo's standard product model no longer suffices - thousands of items each with a complete dossier - you do not build PIM inside Odoo, but as a shell around it. With one hard rule: the sync runs one way only. This is the architecture, why syncing back and forth rebuilds the chaos, and where the line is.
Odoo for leasing and rental companies: contracts, assets and a portal where customers manage their own fleet
Leasing and rental are not ordinary sales: they are about contracts, assets, depreciation, maintenance and damage across years. Loose packages each cover a piece. This is how Odoo brings leasing and rental companies onto one platform, plus an Updoo customer portal where lessees manage their own fleet.
Odoo for procurement, sourcing and import companies: from 173 Excel columns to one product model
Sourcing and import companies work between two worlds: factories in Asia and demanding retailers in Europe. We recently made a solution assessment for such a company where a single article row held 173 Excel columns. This is how Odoo brings the chain from RFQ to retailer onto one platform - and why PIM is the heart, built as an Updoo shell.
Odoo from China: hosting, speed and self-hosting behind the Great Firewall
If a large part of your team sits in China, keeping Odoo reachable is a real question: there is no Odoo.sh data centre in China, Singapore and Mumbai are the nearest, and the Great Firewall stays a factor. This is what does work, when self-hosting inside China is the only route, and how to choose.
Odoo hosting and data residency for international companies: where does your data live (Singapore, Europe or China)?
For an international company, hosting is not only "which form", but above all: where does your data live, and who can reach it quickly and legally? If much of your team sits in China, the choice between a Singapore node, Europe or self-hosting suddenly becomes urgent. This is the trade-off, as a deep-dive on our hosting guide.
PIM, EDI and customer portal in Odoo: the three building blocks of B2B wholesale and import
B2B wholesale and import run on three things that must be right: clean product data (PIM), electronic orders (EDI) and self-service for your customers (portal). Separately they work halfway; together on one data model they form the backbone. This is what each does, how they come together in Odoo, and where it goes wrong.
Choosing the best Odoo-Shopify connector: what the comparisons leave out
There is no universally best Odoo-Shopify connector, and Odoo does not build one itself. An honest, in-depth decision guide based on the real apps, their prices and reviews, plus the architecture questions most comparisons skip: who owns the sync logic, REST or GraphQL, and what happens at the next upgrade.
Connect Shopify to Odoo: the complete guide
Shopify sells, Odoo runs your business. But the moment stock, orders, returns and accounting have to add up across channels, the integration becomes decisive. A deep guide to the trade-offs, the choices and the why: from data strategy and stock patterns to connector choice and go-live.
The most-asked Odoo questions (with honest answers)
We gathered the questions that come up most on the Odoo forum, Stack Overflow and in our own projects - from "what does it really cost?" to "why does my customisation break on upgrade?". Here are the honest answers.
Odoo Community vs Enterprise: when does free cost more than paid?
Community or Enterprise is not a pricing question but an ownership question: do you make yourself dependent on licences, or on technology? An honest decision guide based on user discussions, Odoo documentation and our analysis of 2,500+ Odoo reviews.
Odoo reviews: what do users really say?
We analysed over 2,500 verified Odoo reviews plus hundreds of forum questions and discussions. This is what users truly value, where it hurts, and the common thread almost no one names.
Odoo hosting: Online, Odoo.sh or self-hosting?
Beyond the choice between Community and Enterprise, you also choose where Odoo runs: Odoo Online, Odoo.sh or your own server. That choice decides whether you can run customisation, who does the upgrades and what support you get. An honest overview with diagram and table.
All 749 Odoo partners of Europe analysed: 96% work only in their home country
We mapped the complete European Odoo partner landscape: 749 firms across 21 countries. Only 28 are present in more than one country, and just 8 in three or more. What that means when your company has entities across borders.
The most forward-thinking Odoo partners in Europe: 52 scored on 7 measures
We scored 52 European Odoo partners on own products, method, knowledge-sharing, pricing transparency, AI, onboarding tools and awards. No partner is best at everything - the leader changes per measure. Explore the interactive ranking.
Why companies really switch ERP: we analysed 300+ switchers
We analysed over 300 Dutch companies looking for a new ERP. These are the five most common reasons to switch - and the one thread almost nobody names out loud.
Implementing Odoo directly or through a partner? An honest assessment
Odoo is growing fast, but the numbers show where it gets tricky: huge lead volume, mostly micro-businesses, and not a single public figure on retention. What does that mean for your choice between Odoo direct or a partner?
Odoo Studio: rarely the solution, often the start of the problem
Odoo Studio promises quick changes without code. But on upgrades it often breaks - fields disappear from views, inherited views get reset - and combined with custom code it gets dangerous. Why we prefer customisation you can isolate.
Switching Odoo partner? How to move safely to a new Odoo partner
Not happy with your Odoo partner? Learn how to switch safely to a new Odoo partner without losing your database, licences, customisation or progress.
Compare ERP systems: put them side by side yourself
Which ERP fits your company? There is no universal winner. We built an interactive comparator that puts AFAS, Exact, Dynamics, SAP, NetSuite and Odoo head to head - and this guide shows what actually matters.
From SAP to Odoo: what a migration actually looks like
Not a list of alternatives, but the move itself. How we run a SAP-to-Odoo migration, what comes across and what does not, what goes wrong - and an honest TCO comparison of staying versus switching.
Best ERP for metal companies: Odoo, Ridder iQ, MKG, ISAH and Business Central compared
There is no single best ERP for metal companies. An honest comparison of Odoo, Ridder iQ, MKG, ISAH, Bemet and Business Central - with a choice table per type of business, when Odoo is and is not the smart pick, and how to decide with a fit-gap.
Exact Globe Next is end-of-life: what now?
The last full service pack for Exact Globe Next shipped in March 2026. After that: no updates, bugfixes or security patches. You are migrating either way - the question is whether you move to Globe+ or use this moment to choose once, properly.
What does an Odoo implementation cost in 2026?
An Odoo implementation costs roughly €1,000 to €3,000 per user as a one-off. A manufacturer with 15 users and full scope usually lands between €25,000 and €30,000. This guide explains what drives the price and why it drops per user as you grow.
In three months, AI changed our company
Last night at my entrepreneurs' club, within ten minutes the talk was about AI. At our company that wave is no longer a forecast - it is here. What shifted, how we do it, and why we pass the gains to the client.
AI in manufacturing: from hours of work to minutes
At Agrowteam, AI turns a complex bill of materials from Inventor into an Odoo BOM - work that used to take hours, now done in minutes. How it works, where else it pays off on the shop floor, and when to wait.
Custom software just got affordable for mid-sized companies
For years, the software a mid-sized company wanted and the software it could afford were two different lists. AI is bringing them together, and that changes what you can do with Odoo.
Odoo for NGOs: why grant management is the key
NGOs run on idealism and accountability in equal measure. Odoo can be that foundation - but only with a grant management layer that thinks the way an NGO thinks.
AI for cultural organisations: less reporting, more doing
A grant application of forty pages. Half of it sits in last year's applications. At NIMD, AI puts that ready. How this and other patterns work for cultural organisations and non-profits, with togrant.com and concrete examples from our work.
When your checkout needs more than standard Odoo POS
Standard Odoo POS covers most retail: scan, pay, print, stock updated live. This guide covers when you need age checks, deposits or cross-channel loyalty, and when a dedicated till is the simpler choice.
AI in hospitality: time back for your guests
An inbox with reservations, supplier receipts, guest questions and reviews - all mixed up. AI sorts it for you. A demand forecast on your own sales. Patterns that small hospitality businesses can now use, thanks to cheaper custom work.
A self-service portal for your B2B customers, on Odoo?
Odoo has a B2B portal built in: per-customer pricing, payment terms, ordering against quotes. This guide covers what you get for free, what customers actually ask for, and where custom work pays off.
AI in retail: only useful when your stock adds up
Three tills, a webshop, and on Saturday night three different stock figures. That is not an AI problem - that is an 'one-stock-figure' problem. Once you have that, AI can do a lot. Three patterns that work, and a few that do not yet.
Custom prices and configurable products in Odoo: how far can you go?
Made-to-order products with dozens of options and prices in three spreadsheets? Odoo can turn that into a configurator that quotes itself in minutes. This guide covers what's standard, what's custom, and when each fits.
Can Odoo really run your production floor?
Odoo plans production well out of the box. The floor itself needs a screen built for gloves and three-second glances. This guide covers what's standard, where the gap is, and how advanced planning fits.
AI in professional services: one sentence to your planning
'Dominique is leaving, move all his ecommerce tasks to Mitchel.' That is not an email to a colleague - it is a command to Hypergantt. AI in services is concrete, not abstract. With Hypergantt, Jobse groep and NIMD as examples.
What does Odoo customisation cost in 2026?
A focused custom Odoo module typically runs €4,000 to €15,000 and goes live in one to three weeks. This guide breaks down the price ranges, what drives them, and where AI has changed the maths.
Is Odoo's webshop good enough, or do you need something custom?
For most mid-sized webshops, standard Odoo eCommerce is enough, and that's the point. This guide helps you tell when it fits, when targeted custom work pays off, and when to go fully headless.
AI in wholesale: where it really earns its keep
A PDF order that books itself in Odoo. A price list built in four hours instead of four days. A B2B portal that proposes the right reorder. Four patterns we already have running for wholesalers.
AI for your webshop: four things that already work
A product configurator on your Odoo webshop for less than a tenth of a comparable off-the-shelf platform. Product copy in three languages that does not get stuck. Four things AI does today, with examples from our own practice.
From website visitor to concrete ERP lead
An ordinary contact form qualifies nothing. What if the website itself ran the first step of the sales conversation? A look at interactive lead capture with Updoo - and the ERP Reality Scanner as a concrete example.
We are now an Odoo Gold Partner
As of July 2025, Radical Fanatics is officially an Odoo Gold Partner - a title that puts us among the top Odoo partners in the Netherlands. But while others grow in headcount, we deliberately choose to grow in quality.
The best Odoo partner in the Netherlands? Top 10 honestly compared (2025)
Who is the best Odoo partner in the Netherlands? Compare the top 10 interactively on references, status, price level and SME focus - every sort crowns a different winner. With cost, segment, sectors and references per partner, 2025 edition.
Subcontracting in Odoo ERP with traceability based on lots and serial numbers
Video walkthrough on outsourcing production while maintaining full traceability through lots and serial numbers - all in standard Odoo, no custom development.
Why I left AFAS for Odoo - and never looked back
A few years ago I sold my cloud-software company and got my first taste of AFAS. Solid for finance, but something was missing. A year later I found that 'something' in Odoo.
Is your ERP ready for retirement? Time to switch - without the headaches.
Your ERP has served you for years, but it no longer works. Or you run a patchwork of separate tools. Five signs it is time for something new - and how to do it without the nightmare.
Why civil-engineering firms finally need to get their software sorted
In the world of cables, pipes and excavators, it's all about speed and just-doing-it. Without a good system, those metres get lost in stray work orders, double-booked schedules and hours that never get logged.
Why switching to S/4HANA isn't always the right call - and the best alternatives
SAP users being 'nudged' toward S/4HANA face a real decision: go with SAP's new platform, or look elsewhere. The main alternatives - NetSuite, Dynamics, Acumatica, Odoo - compared.
G.O.D. (Getting Odoo Done) - a success formula for Odoo implementations, with a smile
For many entrepreneurs, implementing software is like assembling a motor with only an IKEA manual. Three principles to make it faster and more enjoyable: Getting Odoo Done.
Why people with an ownership mindset are indispensable in SMB
Every company has a few. People who take responsibility without being told what to do. What makes them indispensable - and how they make the difference.
I hate project management
Timeboxing. Agile. Leverage. Touchbase. Bullshit bingo. And yet we run thirty IT projects a year and they mostly go well. How that's possible - and the six points that make the difference.
Keeping projects on track: how to avoid surprises
In every project there comes a point when you wonder: are we still on track? Without clear visibility on progress, even the best-planned project can run into trouble. Oversight is the backbone of success.
Want fast progress? Here's how expert meetings solve the biggest project problems
You're deep in a project. Things look fine, until you hit a wall where you simply lack the knowledge. That's the moment for an expert meeting - not a broad discussion, but a focused session.