Frequently ask
General, pricing & support FAQs
The abbreviation stands for Enterprise Resource Planning, but what does the ERP mean? A term coined by Gartner in the 1990s is defined as the ability to deliver an integrated suite of business applications. ERP tools are crucial for managing thousands of businesses because they integrate all the companies needed in a single system. They share a common process and data model, covering broad and deep operational end-to-end processes, such as those found in Finance and Accounting, Marketing and CRM, Supply Chain Management, Distribution, Manufacturing, Employees and Human Resources.
ERP software systems consists of business applications that are all connected and share one common database, centralizes data and resolves data conflicts and this is the reason why they sometimes been described as the “central nervous system of an enterprise”. They provide automation and integration of all day-to-day business operations, cross-departmental visibility and transparency, enable efficient analysis, and drive process improvements. Decreasing the number of resources necessary to run the business end-to-end leads to cost savings combined with higher productivity.
Enterprise resource planning systems helps you run efficiently your entire business. A good ERP system offers many advantages — which can vary depending on how the system is deployed and the adoption rate. Here are some examples of specific business benefits:
- Lower operational costs via adopting best practices and streamlining business processes;
- Reducing risk via maximizing business transparency through improved data integrity and financial controls. Predict and prevent the risk;
- Enhanced collaboration from users sharing common data in the database, incl. Customers and Vendors, Contracts, Prices, Orders, etc.
- Accelerated reporting: improved performance in real time thanks to the faster data tracking and easily sharing reporting results.
- Improved efficiency: through a common user experience across many business functions and well-defined business processes
- Higher productivity: Streamline and automate your core business processes to help everyone in your organization do more with fewer resources.
Modern ERP systems can be deployed in a different way: on premise, in a public or private cloud, or in various hybrid scenarios that combine environments.
- On-Premise ERP – this is the traditional model where the business software system is installed and run on the data center within the premises of the organization. The key leverage of On-Premise ERP systems is the control (including the security of its data) it provides to the organization, but this control also comes with the responsibility of managing and maintaining the system, which can be resource-intensive.
- Cloud-based ERP – also called SaaS ERP (since it is delivered over the Internet as a service your company subscribe to) is hosted in an offsite server (in the cloud) and is typically managed by your hosting vendor. With Cloud ERP deployment, most heavy IT work such as upgrading, maintaining and archiving is done. This is what turns the Cloud ERP better choice today – due to the lower upfront costs, greater scalability and easier integration.
- Hybrid ERP – a mixture of both, often with an on-premises ERP at headquarters and cloud-based ERP systems at subsidiaries.
- Small business ERP – small business solutions are usually located in the cloud, easier to install, and designed to grow with the company. It allows the small organizations to jump over the dispersed spreadsheets and locally installed numerous applications.
- Medium-sized ERP – companies and subsidiaries defined as medium-sized benefit from built-in best practices for dozens of different business processes in the ERP systems, such as Supply chain management, Distribution and Manufacturing.
- Enterprise ERP – large corporations with their world-wide operations usually needs a robust, market-leading ERP system. In this case the business tool can be deployed in all 3 ways: On-premise, in the cloud, or in a hybrid scenario depending on respective business requirements and possibilities.
5 reasons to look for an ERP solution:
- Common database – centralized, consistent and reliable information providing solid base so the management can take more precise decisions. Common base also results in increasing data transparency, which is not possible without ERP.
- Automation – periodically repetitive activities can be automated for higher productivity and efficiency by saving time and recourses of the company;
- Integration – complete integration with external data sources and software solutions (incl. from third-party vendors) in order to speed the process and reduce the dependencies;
- Latest technologies – different ERP modules allows you immediately to take advantage of rapidly advancing new technologies such as IoT (Internet-of-Things), RPA (Robotic Process Automation), AI-support and Machine learning;
- Robust security – Data Security is a prominent part of the ERP System and it is also one of the major benefits that are caused by ERP. If the company is using a Cloud-based ERP then the data is highly encrypted, secured, and accurate, especially important to all organizations dealing with highly sensitive information.
Yes, you are not dreaming!
The standard plan is hosted on Odoo Online, our cloud infrastructure to host databases without custom modules. With the custom plan, you can host on Odoo Online at no extra cost, or one of these two options:
- Download Odoo Enterprise and host it yourself
- Host on Odoo.sh, the continuous integration platform to host your development, staging and production branches, allowing you to develop or use custom modules.
Yes, the free plan allows multiple companies. You can also choose Odoo Studio as the app for a free plan.
If you choose an app that depends on other apps (e.g., eCommerce depends on Website and Invoicing), you get these required apps for free too. So, you can start with any app, and we guarantee that its usage is free for unlimited users, forever, whatever the dependencies of the app.
To upgrade from the One App Free plan to the Standard plan, just install the additional applications you need. If you install Studio or add companies to your database, you will automatically switch to the Custom plan.
The custom plan is for companies that want to manage multiple companies on a single database and that need to customize Odoo through Odoo Studio, custom developments or through the API.
When using Odoo Online, you can download a backup of your database at any time through the control center. You own your data! Odoo Online or Odoo Enterprise (On-premise or Odoo.sh) is the same software. Only the hosting and infrastructure are different: emails, backups, database redundancies, etc. Our cloud infrastructure runs on the latest version of Odoo with regular upgrades. On-premise users must use the latest stable version of Odoo. If you would like to switch from Odoo Online to Odoo On-premise, the best time to make this change is immediately following the release of the newest stable version.
External API means you set up external software (such as legacy systems, reporting engines, etc.) that initiates calls to the Odoo API (JSON-RPC or XML-RPC) to query, retrieve or update data stored in Odoo. When the call is initiated from Odoo, this is NOT considered an “External API.” For example, when an Odoo app uses an external service such as payment providers (Stripe, PayPal, Adyen, etc.), delivery carriers (UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc.), VoIP providers, or bank synchronization, it is part of the standard plan.
ERP modules are the key components of every Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. They are software programs that manage specific business areas. Together, the modules form an integrated ERP system, where each module interacts, exchanging information in real time.
The term Module and App are often used interchangeably. Think of an Apps as a collection of modules. Modules represents the building blocks of applications, individual pieces of code that introduce and/or extend functionality.
The number of modules depends on the size and needs of your company. Generally, large organisations will need more modules than smaller ones. The most common modules include Finance, Inventory, Supply chain management and Customer Relationship Management. In addition to the core modules, the Odoo’s app store has over 40,000 paid and free apps available, that can be installed to customise and extend the functionality of your ERP system, making it the worlds biggest enterprise ecosystem in the world.
Odoo Studio allows you to customise modules to suit your specific needs. It is recommended that you work with a trusted Odoo Partner to customise the Odoo ERP modules. Customisations need to be built in a way that can be easily updated as new versions of the software are released, which can be done by experienced Odoo partner by altering the code to fit your requirements.
Online hosting is SaaS (Software as a Service) type which allows you to access your Odoo database from the cloud. Through a web browser, you simply need to connect to www.odoo.com with your credentials to access your database. With this type of hosting, you have no responsibility to maintain your database as everything is managed by Odoo.
The On-Premise hosting (local) hosting requires you to download the software and install it, either on your computer or on your server. With this type of implementation you are responsible for everything related to the running of the software. You must purchase the network infrastructure, power, servers, operating system, etc. You also need to maintain all necessary infrastructures to keep it running, safe, and up to date. The On-Premise hosting gives you full control and autonomy of your installation. You do need to have fairly advanced technical knowledge in order to implement and maintain this kind of hosting.
Odoo S.A. also offers Odoo.sh as a PaaS (Platform as a Service), which is a mix between the two hosting types mentioned above. It allows you to create your cloud-based database whilst having custom developments or third-party apps installed. Odoo Community is NOT supported in the cloud-version, only local access where Odoo is installed on your computer or server.
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