Your Resource for Open Source

Welcome to ERPOpenSource.Guru, your ongoing resource for everything Open Source. Here you will find a wide array of answers to questions about Open Source ERP that may help you leverage its full potential. This is a living, breathing information exchange where questions are continually added, so if you don’t find the answer you need, feel free to submit your own. The Odoo experts at Open Source Integrators (OSI) are dedicated to providing answers that both clarify and empower.

Find out what Open Source Integrators can do for you!

Get Answers About Open Source ERP

Explore answers to a variety of user submitted questions about Open Source ERP, or propose a question of your own.

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Q:
How do I run an Inventory Valuation Report in Odoo?
A:

Go to the Inventory Application.

Select Reports in the purple title bar and select Inventory Valuation.

This is what your Inventory Valuation Report will look like.

You inventory valuation report is based on the costing method used to set up your organization’s Odoo Accounting module. For more information on GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) compliant costing methods, please consult the 3rd edition of Financial Accounting with Odoo.

Q:
Can I export my Odoo data to Microsoft Excel for data analysis?
A:

Odoo easily exports data to Excel, where you can perform further analysis. However, Odoo’s reporting, pivot views, and charting may negate many of the needs for Excel.

Q:
Is Odoo a cloud-based or on-site ERP solution?
A:

Odoo can be deployed easily in many ways. You can use cloud hosting or on-premise servers easily.

Q:
My system is having problems. How do I convey urgency to my IT department to get the issue fixed ASAP?
A:

The first thing a doctor does when treating a sick patient is to collect information on symptoms. They will ask, “Do you have a fever? A sore throat? They might perform lab tests to see if the patient has a strep infection or order blood work if they suspect a more serious condition. The doctor determines treatment based on the observable symptoms. Likewise, your IT department treats IT problems based on observable issues. You can help your IT professional help you by providing specific information on the problem up front.

Here are two highly effective methods for reporting problems to your IT department.
Reproduce the problem. Communicate exactly what to do and where to go to experience the issue. What are the clicking steps to reproduce the issue? What information did you enter? What result did you expect? What happened instead?

Record the problem. If possible, show the error or issue to your IT team using screen shots or video capturing software

Q:
We have 100 users in our organization. Are we a good size for Odoo?
A:

Yes. Odoo is scalable from small business with a handful of users to large enterprises consisting of thousands of employees. Organizations with more users and a larger database need more servers and memory to operate Odoo. Organization with a smaller database and fewer users need less memory and fewer servers.

Q:
Is open source technology and Odoo as secure as other ERP solutions?
A:

Open source technology is a secure ERP solution. In Odoo, communication between the server and Odoo user is encrypted. System administrators assign and limit functionality and privileges by user and group. Odoo’s source code is publicly available for review. This is the real guaranty of security.

Q:
What is the advantage of using open source ERP technology, such as Odoo?
A:

Open source technology gives users and businesses ultimate freedom and flexibility in customizing their ERP system. Because the software is not proprietary, users may alter the software at the source code level. Users also have access to the Odoo community, where people collaborate from around the world to help each other.

Q:
Does it cost less or more to go with Open Source software?
A:

This is one of those areas where Jack Nicholson would say, “They can’t handle the truth.” The issue is not so black and white. It takes a detailed SWOTS assessment to answer this question for each company. What makes open source software the best choice by one company could make it the worst one for others. Any qualified open source software integrator will provide that assessment before any recommendations are made. 

Q:
My company seems to be in a continuous growth and constant change mode. I understand with Open Source software there is a method dealing with this called continuous integration. Can you tell me more about the continuous integration idea or concept?  
A:

Continuous Integration is the idea that a business can incrementally get a little bit better every single day at a much lower cost when integration is ongoing rather than a one-time integration, light up or execution of a single transformative event. Best of class Open Source Integrators will show your company how to avoid the huge HR and change management restraining forces with this methodology. The bottom line is your evolution every single day versus saving it up for a single event.

Q:
Can my company run my old version of Proprietary ERP software concurrently with the new installation of Open Source ERP? Or does this create too many hurdles?
A:

Yes, you can. Although, the devil is in the details and it is more about the how than the what in this area. Sequencing and change management is critical to this issue.

Q:
Do I need a separate integrator to help me streamline my open source accounting, sales, logistics, and operational efforts? I can’t seem to find someone who truly has expertise across the enterprise with Open Source software.
A:

There are many that can wield Open Source coding libraries, but few have expertise in all the functional areas when it comes to how they connect together and create seamless, real-time operations. It takes cross-discipline teams of experts in each of the functional areas to do this job right. Our company is one of the few. Find out more about our teams here.

Q:
Why would someone go with Open Source software rather than proprietary or big box applications?
A:

Benefits include flexibility, time-to-utilization and down-line costs to customize or create or maintain a competitive advantage. Just think about it for a second. If most of the companies use the same ERP capability, then upon release of new features all competitors do and feel the same once again. With Open Source software, you can chisel out a competitive advantage not so easily copied by all others.  

About Open Source Integrators

As a top independent open source software integrator in the US, Open Source Integrators™ (OSI) provides our customers a unique combination of open source business process consulting and implementations. Our seasoned teams of Open Source ERP maestros live to help synchronize and integrate manufacturing as well as online retail engines, including the aggregation of processes and separate independent systems with open source technology customizations. From logistics, e-commerce, business process management, data integration, and accounting within direct to consumer to manufacturing, the service sector, construction, utilities, and particularly businesses that are engineering centric, the teams at Open Source Integrators have you covered. 

Take your company to the next level with ERP solutions from Open Source Integrators.