This year’s Odoo Experience 2024 has come and gone and the highlight for me was undoubtedly the release of Odoo 18. There are so many new upgrades and new features introduced to streamline operations and enhance user experience and here are some of my favourite highlights:
A mobile-first approach
This is the year Odoo takes another step towards a better mobile experience for businesses. The new mobile app now offers a cleaner, faster interface that is optimised for smaller screens. This means you can access and manage your business operations from anywhere, anytime easily.
Key features of the new mobile app:
- Barcode scanning: Easily scan barcodes using your device's camera for efficient inventory management and sales.
- POS on mobile: Run your point of sale directly from your mobile device, providing flexibility and convenience.
Finance enhancements
Odoo 18 introduces several enhancements to the finance module.
- Australian payroll certification: The Australian payroll module is nearing completion and is already certified for Single Touch Payroll (STP) and super deductions. We are also excited to see Odoo’s payroll integrating with other area of Odoo such as expenses and timesheets.
- New dashboard: A redesigned dashboard provides a clear overview of your financial performance.
- New financial budgeting: Budgets can be imported directly or manually entered against specific financial accounts. The system automatically pro-rata across different reporting periods, providing accurate and up-to-date financial tracking. This is a welcome addition and will be well received by accountants who prefer the traditional approach to budget management.
- Improved analytic budgeting: Easily track and manage your budgets using analytic accounting.
- Refactored Chart of Accounts: The Chart of Accounts (CoAs) has been refactored to allow accounts to belong to one or more company entities, with mapping of account numbers between companies now seamless. It also seems like you are now able to have multiple depreciation schedules based on different CoAs.
From WilldooIT’s experience implementing payroll solutions, Odoo Payroll is a resource-intensive module that requires careful planning and training before implementing. Prior attention must be given to this aspect.
Sales made simple
There are also significant improvements made to the sales module.
- Product combo selector: Easily add product combinations to sales order lines.
- Quotation templates with spreadsheet templates: You can now link complex spreadsheet templates directly to your quotation templates. These spreadsheets can include multiple tabs, charts and real-live product price updates, making them perfect for intricate quotes like those needed for custom kitchens or specialised Aussie trade services.
- Integrated commissions: Automatically calculate commissions based on sales, invoiced amounts, and quantities.
- eSign feature: Now fully integrated eSign functionality for digital signatures.
When you create a sales order from a quotation template, a new version of the spreadsheet is automatically generated and associated with the order. The spreadsheet's calculation cells are linked to the corresponding lines on the sales order, ensuring accurate and up-to-date information. This powerful feature simplifies your workflow and eliminates the need for manual data entry, saving you time and effort.
Inventory & Warehouse enhancements
Odoo 18 introduces several new features to improve inventory and warehouse operations:
- RFID implementation: Support for RFID technology for enhanced inventory tracking and management.
- Dynamic operations: Operations are no longer created in advance but are generated as needed, providing greater flexibility and adaptability. For example, previously, if a pick-pack-delivery route was established, then all three operations were created in advance, which made it difficult/complicated to dynamically change the steps if there were unforeseen changes. Now, the steps are created sequentially, with any one step being able to affect the subsequent steps.
- Improved Google Maps integration: Better integration with Google Maps for driver deliveries, although route optimisation is not yet available.
- Traceability, simplified: Seamlessly track product lots and serial numbers across multiple companies. This enhanced functionality provides businesses with complete visibility and traceability of products throughout their supply chain, even when products move between different company entities.
Enhanced AI capabilities
Odoo 18 leverages artificial intelligence to automate tasks and improve efficiency.
- AI-generated text: AI can generate text in various areas, such as emails, SMSs, and knowledge base articles. This predictive feature makes the process of generating content much quicker and simpler.
Overall, Odoo 18 is a significant release that offers a wide range of new features and improvements. Whether you are a small Aussie business owner or a large enterprise, Odoo 18 can help you streamline your operations and achieve your goals.
If you are curious about how these upgrades and features can benefit your business, don't hesitate to contact us.
For the complete list of new/enhanced features, please see Odoo’s official Odoo 18 Release Notes document.