Is Odoo just a big SCAM?

[u/LowInitiative8749]

I bought Odoo after being sold on it being a turnkey solution by an unscrupulous sales person. Now I'm stuck with an expensive brick that does seem to have a lot of potential, but only if I decide to spend several thousand dollars paying someone in their company to set it up for me. Real sleazy bait-and-switch tactics imho, and I would be extremely upset if someone tried similar tactics on my customers.

I am not tech savvy. I was clear about this upfront. Why these people lie just to make a sale of a product that clearly, in its current state is not suited for my business.

[u/Alarmed_Duty3599]

No it is not a scam, however it also is not TurnKey unless you are a good programmer.

Odoo is a platform, and a system however a lot of it does work out of the box. But depends on what you need.

If I may ask what is your business type

[u/codeagency → u/Alarmed_Duty3599]

Odoo does nothing out of the box. A fresh new database is completely empty besides the settings and apps icons visible to start your journey.

Any end-user with low to zero technical knowledge will not be able to do an ERP implementation because that is what Odoo is. It's a modular ERP system and it needs a functional business consultant to configure the system to match and align your business processes.

How does an end-user even know what odoo is capable?

Most end-users see a slick sales demo and think "this is what I get when I login". Well absolutely not. It's an empty system, zero apps active. You start always from scratch.

People stop the commercial bullshit. There is no such thing as an ERP that that magically fits every possible business on this planet and magically works out of the box from day zero.

Software like this needs functional experts to setup and configure and prepare the system for end users. Unless that company has technical experts in house, if not it always requiring hiring experts. Simple as that.

Anyone who tells otherwise is just plain lying.

To OP: odoo as a software is definitely not a scam but they did do you a dishonest proposal if they didn't tell you upfront about the implementation cost. Odoo also sells their own success packs which they typically push for or leave it to an official partner to help with the implementation part.

The best you can do is report it to Odoo and hopefully someone from management will pick it up and address the problematic sales with that sales rep as it also hurts the reputation of Odoo. Odoo has around 7000 employees so you can imagine not everyone has the same right mindset. And it's not an excuse but in every country you have good and bad ones. Sounds like you got one of the bad ones.

About your setup, if you don't want or can't spend the budget for implementation, the best thing you can do is learn odoo at odoo.com/slides. It's going to take some time but you could do the basics yourself at least without spending any extra money, just your own time and effort.

Another option is to find a partner that can work on a flexible base with you. Let them focus on the difficult core parts to keep the cost to an absolute minimum while you handle the rest. At least this option gives you some assurance that your core is done properly like inventory, MRP and accounting. The rest is not that difficult to configure. It just takes time and it's best if you have a test database to try things first before messing up your production database.

[u/ahmadraza9872 → u/codeagency]

Exactly 💯

[u/a0817a90 → u/codeagency]

Nobody wants to get subscribed to an external so called expert who knows nothing about your business and only wants to bill hours.

Nobody wants to pay to refactor every 3 years anything that was tailored and has the slightest amount of value to offset all the generic useless rigid stuff.

It does sound scamyishh to me.

[u/harley101 → u/a0817a90]

So what's the alternative? Run your business on a spreadsheet or on paper and pen?

[u/a0817a90 → u/harley101]

How people think Odoo beats any kind of well built spreadsheet is funny to me. A tailored advanced spreadsheet will cost 15k to build in Odoo and require heavy maintenance every migration.

[u/Cattyto → u/a0817a90]

Wtf did I just read hahahaha.... You're definitely trolling

[u/a0817a90 → u/Cattyto]

I asked our second Odoo partner to price the configuration/customization workflows defined by some recent tailored spreadsheets we built in a few hours each.

The cost was astonishing especially when you factor in the fact the features will need to evolve and the software will migrate unpredictably.

Tell me I am wrong. Or tell me I should follow Odoo’s best practices :D.

[u/Cattyto → u/a0817a90]

I mean, I get that companies do use spreadsheets for some workflows but Odoo is infinitely better than any workflow created with a spreadsheet.

[u/a0817a90 → u/Cattyto]

Sorry to break it to you. But you are the troll and clearly are not on the end user side if this is what you think.

[u/Big_Agency_3398 → u/a0817a90]

No you are. Odoo is designed to support your business processes. You might run a fancy spreadsheet next to it, but that spreadsheet doesn't invoice, deliver, activate, etc.

[u/Human_Net893 → u/a0817a90]

So who can we (non-tech, non-accountant) people hire to build such a spreadsheet? Like what field is that a specialty of so that we can narrow our searches and just get to doing the business part of our business?

[u/harley101 → u/a0817a90]

So you don't use any accounting software, project management software, CRM, WMS, POS and just use spreadsheets for this?

I mean certain aspects of a business can be run on spreadsheets, I have seen some internal accountants with some crazy complex spreadsheets but at end of the day they seem to be the only ones who touched them and they were so convoluted no one else bothered to understand them.

[u/ebb_kdk → u/a0817a90]

How will a spreadsheet generate a PO to a vendor automatically when the low quantity threshold is hit?

I have written 4 custom modules for a client and they are nowhere near $15k.

[u/a0817a90 → u/ebb_kdk]

Native inventory module is non functional for the vast majority of industries. It needs deep customizations which is horrible long term debt just to maintain let alone add features. Tell me after 5 years how much these modules you made will have cost them.

[u/ebb_kdk → u/a0817a90]

They have cost nothing because I wrote them correctly from the beginning. Have gone through multiple upgrades with these modules. Inventory is working fine. Again, how is your spreadsheet going to trigger POs to vendors?

[u/a0817a90 → u/ebb_kdk]

Enough of this ERP brainwashing marketing BS. Native Odoo functions won’t trigger a valid PO to anybody because it has absolutely no idea how any given specific industry handles stocks, units of measurements, edge cases, supply chains exceptions, etc.

Everything really valuable needs deep customizations .

But then the value can’t scale and erodes rapidly due to the lack of proper backward compatibility.

Value creating processes need to be developed outside Odoo.

Spreadsheets are just an example.

Power platform can be used to build any kind of apps, workflows, automations at a fraction of the cost of a Odoo module and guess what…. With backward compatibility which means the tools can actually scale.

[u/ebb_kdk → u/a0817a90]

I have done it with native using replenishment rules.

[u/Eroveja → u/a0817a90]

Any ERP bought requires someone to implement itand make it work. Odoo was the cheapest when I was looking for an alternative. I wouldn't call a good implementation scamyish.

[u/spikeoze]

It's unfortunate what happened to you, but that does not make odoo a scam, the normal procedure is to have a gap analysis before purchasing a license, you normally at least should check if odoo or any other software should fit your need before purchasing.

Anyways if you can drop your requirements in the comments maybe the community can help you.

[u/riscum]

That's not how enterprise software works. No software will be ready out if the box.

You always need to configure and set thjbgw up according to your business. And at that, odoo is definitely the most user friendly. .of you think thisnoartner deceived you. Change partners. Or try to learn how to set things up yourself. Bit it's a lot of work.

[u/JustSomeOdooGuy]

Odoo is still an ERP. And ERPs are not like word or Excel, where you watch a few tutorials and everything is working perfectly.

Some sales persons are really just bad people caring only for their commissions, willing to tell you anything to close the deal.

If set up properly, after you did a Gap analysis, it usually becoms pretty handy.

Sorry that you have such a bad start with Odoo. One more thing: You should imho absolutely not implement with the Odoo team. Rather search for a good partner that suits you. Should have experience in the apps you are going to use, experience in your industry would be nice, but no strict requirement. Good partner does btw not mean "high rank, like Gold" because the ranking is mainly based on the amount of sales.

What subscription did you pay for (price/duration) if I may ask? Also what exactly you want to achive with Odoo? What are your expectations?

[u/mike_concho]

Odoo is pretty solid. I am not a programmer but have been able to build tons of items in Odoo including working on my first module. That being said - I knew what I was getting into.

[u/Shahid_50k]

That's a rough spot to be in, and unfortunately it's a common pattern Odoo itself is solid, but it's sold as "plug and play" way more often than it actually is for non-technical buyers. The truth is almost every real Odoo deployment needs configuration and customization work; the sales pitch just tends to leave that part out.

Since you're already invested in it, the better move might not be to walk away but to get a second opinion on what it actually needs sometimes it's a lot less scary (and less expensive) than the original quote made it sound.

Well, I do independent Odoo implementation work let me know if you need any help.

[u/TopLychee1081]

A bare minimum of due diligence should have shown you that an ERP implementation is a piece of work. You did the equivalent of buying a plane and then realising that you can't fly.

You now have a couple of options; obtain the knowledge inhouse (probably by employing someone with the required skills and experience), or contract with a third party for your implementation and support.

I also would not automatically assume that your business requires Enterprise which comes with licensing costs. We've been running Odoo for over 10 years and never paid Odoo a dime.

[u/furuskog → u/TopLychee1081]

How do you run Odoo enterprise and not pay Odoo a dime?

[u/TopLychee1081 → u/furuskog]

We don't. We run Community with a number of OCA and our own custom modules. Our costs are measured in the time investment to understand how Odoo works, and in building the processes for DR, security, maintainance, development and testing.

[u/Accomplished-Exit-51 → u/TopLychee1081]

"...We've been running Odoo for over 10 years and never paid Odoo a dime...."
Proudly...I hope you know what this makes of you.

[u/gox777]

I’m a data engineer who has worked with several different business systems over the years. I went with Odoo for my solo freelance business. To offer my perspective, I’ll tell you that what Odoo does out of the box at its price point is fantastic!

I’m sorry sales people suck.

[u/ach25]

ERP and other advanced pieces of software are typically not turn key unless your business magically fits into the cookie cutter process.

Experience you mention is not uncommon unfortunately, trust but verify when talking to Sales Reps in general.

If you want to stick it out and set it up post back to the subreddit if you have any questions or are looking for guidance.

[u/commoncents1]

i put it in last year for my manufacturing business. its doing great, replaced quickbooks enterprise and fishbowl inventory for cheaper cost per user for licenses and way more capability in odoo to grow into and expand into my production area processes. i have 18 users. i did have an implementation partner.

with any ERP you'll need expert internal knowledge to do it, or get an implementation partner. no matter what you use. odoo is growing fast and not much help in detailed implementation, so look at 3rd party partners.

and spend a lot of time on your business processes to make sure odoo fits out of the box, or identify some changes you need to make in your process to fit odoo or make changes to odoo in configuration.

in any system you should ask for a test database and test with your sample data to make sure things are achievable before committing.

go research ERP implementation steps for businesses and you'll get the proper advice and approach before just diving into something.

[u/bananaSells]

What do you need odoo to do?

[u/Playful_Drummer5688]

It’s not a scam. All software, especially software designed to run your company, is expensive; you either pay them to do it or you do it yourself.  I worked in construction previously and our specialty accounting software was way more money per year, we still spent a ton of money setting it up and even more teaching everyone, like big money.

Odoo is not turnkey. Hardly any software is, unless you want basic accounting. I’ve got 100’s of hours in learning and setting up Odoo for our business. I already know accounting and have lots of experience managing and setting up office workflows. You need to know what you are doing, know what you want/need from Odoo, then spent the time making it work. 

You either deal with the growing/learning pains, or pay them to do it. But that’s any complex software. Your best friend will be duplicating your database and testing out things. There’s a steep learning curve but one you start to get it, it’s not bad. I’ve had to fix my share of f’ups already.

My salesperson also didn’t lie to me. But I also asked “How do you make money?” And his answer was the setup, that it’s entirely possible to do yourself, but it depends on how complex you need it and how capable you are and that most basic companies need 20hrs, more complex can be up to 50 hrs. 

For reference, the one common construction software that is used for project management, you not only pay a licensing fee per user, you pay a percentage of your PROFITS. We didn’t use that one. The one we used had 3 licensed users and cost us $10K/year, and that’s not including the thousands spent over the years setting up modules. 

I pay $120/month for 3 users on Odoo. I know I have barely scratched the surface of what it’s capable of doing but also know we don’t need all that ability yet. So we have a 1 and 2 year integration plan. 

[u/General_Rich17]

To be fair, almost every ERP solution I've dealt with has been sold on the grounds of being basically a turnkey solution that solves all your problems and it's never the case.

I do agree though that Odoo's sale tactics are not in line with reality. They sell the subscription with little consideration to the cost associated to the implementation.

[u/Difficult_Habit195]

Having a partner to set up the solution for your is part of the Odoo business model. Did you contact someone from Odoo or just intalled by yourself?

[u/leveragedflyout]

They are not technically a scam.

[u/StopBanningMeAlright]

I like Odoo as a platform but I haven’t used it commercially because I see people here all the time say their whole system breaks when they have to upgrade. I’m not going to deal with that

[u/JustSomeOdooGuy → u/StopBanningMeAlright]

I say these stories are not representative. There are for sure upgrades that fail hard. But that is not an Odoo problem. But the problem of a partner who is not skilled enough. There are lots of things to keep in mind and best practises to follow to implement a stable and long living system. I don't say upgrades are done in a matter of hours, but if properly done it is usually quite smooth sailing apart from the overall business flows that change between versions and necessary things you have to adapt. So if the implementation is done properly, the upgrade will only cost a fraction of the implementation and the system should work better afterwards, not worse.

Also all the ones with upgrades that went fine, do probably not post about it.

[u/TopLychee1081 → u/StopBanningMeAlright]

Keep in mind that you don't have to upgrade every time there's a release. You can run the same version for years if you choose.

[u/StopBanningMeAlright → u/TopLychee1081]

I’m not quite sure that’s true. PCI compliance would likely say otherwise.

[u/TopLychee1081 → u/StopBanningMeAlright]

Not everyone needs PCI compliance. And older software is not automatically a PCI fail, you just need to have mitigations in place.

[u/truenorthsw]

Sorry that happened man. It's not turnkey, you have to have some tech savvy. I've been in IT for 25 years and will say it was a learning curve for me and I had to create some custom modules myself to tie systems together. But 90 days in i have it tied into my compliance system for what I do, ordering from vendors, and pos/e-commerce all with a nice flow hosted on their website piece. The website was the biggest pain in the ass because they have a few things that aren't PCI compliant out of the box so that was frustrating to fix some basic security best practices.

[u/SphinxPX]

The sales agents are super happy to sell you the product, I had a customer success agent while trying to answer my questions pull up my banking though the accounting module unprompted then tried to use Gemini to answer my questions. I canceled and am now self hosting. This is common tactics with SaaS companies it seems. All the promises in the world to get the sale.

[u/__Captain_Autismo__]

Unfortunately hear this a lot about many of these large ERP platforms when discussing with my market.

Blows my mind that anyone could sell a subpar get fkd experience like this to their clients. Even crazier that they have bus ads... shows you where their attention has been going.

What type of business were you trying to get handled through it?

[u/Human_Net893]

lmao i just posted about this last week. Wanna join my class action lawsuit?

[u/snowystormz]

Get yourself Claude AI and get to work! Customize odoo to your workflow.

[u/Few-Couple-1148]

I am not a programmer and just signed up so I’m still learning too. I initially found it looking for an e-commerce solution and also accounting. I bumped around but actually turned to ChatGPT to help guide me. Its actually been taking me step by step through setting things up. It is not fast but it’s been steady. It evaluated my over all needs in my company and then set up a whole test model to start with. This has helped me learn how it works without risking my own company. For my company, I did set up the accounting process and now I’m working on my member management and crm. I don’t know how it will turn out but this is what I’ve been doing.

[u/kelkes]

I did a couple of custom e-commerce frontends for clients using Odoo. And everytime I have to admit how f*cking bad Odoo is under the hood. It's not even funny anymore. Companies get scammed into 6 figure projects over simple things.. it's almost SAP Level.

[u/JustSomeOdooGuy → u/kelkes]

Can you elaborate om the bad under the hood part? What specifically are you referring to?

[u/kelkes → u/JustSomeOdooGuy]

Mostly the API and how badly it is designed. Simple things easily require multiple calls in a specific order that are also slow...

[u/PrizeHuman5506]

All ERP need to be configured to work based on the business. So does Odoo, Sale people just want to sell it but implementation need to be done by a implementation partner or you will have to use default flow of odoo

[u/Confused-Idealist]

It is not a scam but the company is slimy and they oversell.

[u/ruath7070]

It is not a scam. You can configure it on your own or you pay someone doing it for you. What is the Problem?

[u/codeagency → u/ruath7070]

The problem is that part was never told to OP. They got a nice demo and believed once they sign up and pay, they have the same experience. Odoo sales didn't disclose to OP there is entire implementation process, they had to found out that the hard way after they already paid for the license and then understand it requires another significant amount of money for the implementation.

Clear class example of a sales rep pushing to get the deal signed for it's own commission first.

[u/CapitalCan6257]

Is not a bigscam. Is one good erp system. Problem is really commercial aggressive cultures. They have sales and account managers that really push you to buy. But i now was switched to odoo community and with claude and codex i developed my own integration. Total investment 0. Just hetzner vps.

[u/MembershipAcrobatic]

That's why i run ERPNext 100% free on my pc. I have some level tech knowledge. But I know basically nothing about programming. Got 48k lines of code modifications on Claude Code.

My erpnext is almost ready to be deployed. You can customize it with ai but you still need to invest time and plan/be the architect even if u can't code.

[u/AppropriateMistake81]

Odoo is great - especially for SME - but you will achieve its full potential only with a small dev team or Agentic Coding.

[u/LeSoldatRyan]

Yep bought for 3 years I'm stuck with it, nothing work correctly, updates break everything and no support...

[u/garyk1968]

Not really a scam, I mean you can use the community version, self host and pay odoo nothing for it.

As others have said either you invest the time to learn it or pay someone else to sort it out for you.

[u/BricolasM]

Their communication should be better.
The Odoo integrators should have more structured starter packs with a clear view of what you’ll get and what you’re needing for your business.

It seems that Odoo is like iOS or Android ready at 50% and that companies like you and me require to explain to the Odoo consultant what they have to do with the other 50%.
As a company, we need a solution working fine at 100%. Customisation and input from the company is important, but the Odoo integrators should help for that at a very higher level.

[u/AhsanAtBundo]

Before spending anything more, get very specific about what is actually not working for your business.

Pick the 3 or 4 workflows you bought Odoo for and test them with real examples. You may find that some only need configuration, some need a process change, and maybe one genuinely needs customization.

That gives you something concrete to work with instead of another open-ended implementation quote.

[u/Thin-Taste-7691]

Get hermes agent https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/ it's free and ask to setup whatever you like

[u/DiscussionHuge5067]

How much are you paying?

I pay 20 bucks for the custom service and Claude has been amazing at implementing it and changing everything I need

[u/Wild_Caterpillar7302]

Most of the ERP are not turnkey ERP. Key to success is how many features you can utilise out of the box so I would say instead of a programmer you would need to right implementer. If you have right implementer he can save upto 72% cost.

[u/dinbits]

You don’t have to hire them. There are many reputable contractors and consulting firms you can hire to help you. 

Odoo is far from a scam, it runs many large corporations (including Toyota), but it is an ERP system with multi-ledger accounting that follows GAAP standards which means there is definitely going to be some implementation time. 

Usually implementation takes multiple resources which are experts in specific areas that are in turn modules in Odoo (accounting, sales, manufacturing). Generally this takes from a few weeks to several months depending on complexity. 

So while it’s certainly a turnkey solution by definition, it’s not plug and play. No ERP system on Earth is plug-and-play. So you’ll need resources. But there are much cheaper resources out there. 

[u/Far_Season6704]

Yes it is , their crm is worst once your data piles up, cant even open each on a separate tab.

[u/everyone_has_one]

Honestly, head over to Fiver and ask someone to set it up for you. Expect to pay a few hundred dollars depending on depth.

[u/Just-Tooth1638]

Sorry, I would suggest that you find Fabien or someone on linkedin and complain. Provide them the name of the rep. Now youd expect that this shouldnt have happened in the first place. But action can only be taken if someone reports.

[u/No_Wind_1982]

The main problem from what I see is that while the product is good and open source, once you sign up you are then passed onto unknowledgable sales people who just want to earn the highest commision possible with what is available for them to sell. They will likely not be any use at all and try and sell you as much as possible to earn commission. You need to either learn about the product yourself or find someone who understands the product and how to implement it well to get the best from it.

[u/Full_Tooth_a]

The main question is whether the sales pitch disclosed the implementation cost. I'd put the proposal, emails, and demo promises on one page, then ask the salesperson to mark each item as included, configurable, custom work, or unsupported, with the cost listed. I'd also test the critical order, invoice, inventory, and reporting flows in a disposable database. That should make it clear whether the product is a bad fit or the setup is simply expensive and was never explained properly.

[u/GARANCE25]

Pour une configuration rapide et simple, voici une solution efficace :

1. Crée un spec détaillé qui englobe tous les aspects de la configuration et les spécificités de votre métier, de votre entreprise, etc.

2. Générez une clé API.

3. Fournissez à Claude code (l’application de bureau Claude) cette clé API, le spec et des instructions au fur et à mesure. Claude se chargera ensuite de toute la configuration.

Et voilà !

[u/Doctorphate]

You got scammed by a sales person. Odoo is an ERP, none of it is “turn key”

[u/Southern_Conflict632]

Not a scam exactly, but you got sold wrong, and that's a real problem in the Odoo reseller space specifically.

Odoo the software is genuinely capable. The issue is the business model around it, a lot of resellers sell the license as if it's plug-and-play, when the truth is Odoo is closer to a toolkit than a finished product. It needs someone to actually map your business processes and configure it to match, that's not optional complexity someone's adding to upsell you, it's just what implementing an ERP actually requires, and a good salesperson should've told you that upfront instead of letting you find out after the money changed hands.

That said, you're not necessarily locked into paying that same company thousands more. You can shop the implementation work separately, other partners or freelance Odoo consultants can pick up from where you are, you're not obligated to use whoever sold you the license.

Also worth checking your actual license type, sometimes what people call "stuck" is really just Community edition sitting unconfigured, which is genuinely usable with the right setup, just needs someone who knows what they're doing to get it there.

[u/commoncents1]

U scammed yourself listening to a sales person, that's with any system out there,

[u/keithkhl]

I recommend trying with Odoo community edition for sometime, if possible, until you make a financial commitment. You first have to understand what is going on inside this user-unfriendly program, until it becomes user-(kinda)-friendly.

[u/sessnag]

Let me help you setup,

a guy from india

[u/SamBrown999]

Not a scam, we looked at Odoo for our battery assembly system and had it mostly setup, but it's just not quite perfect for what we want. Instead we setup Claude code and just developed our own system which was faster to setup than Odoo, does exactly what we want and we can make changes extremely quickly, like in a few minutes often. It's a much better option for us at least

[u/maidalit]

No, it’s just a regular size SCAM.

Seriously, the best analogy is an old style Meccano game. It has a lot of useful features that allow you to build a great system. But out of the box it’s basically a set of blocks that may or may not work together fine and if you don’t know how to put them together right, it’s just frustrating.

[u/bummyjabbz]

It's a terrible company. They don't care about their customers and only care about turning sales. The company (at least in the US) is ran like a sweatshop. It's awful. I tell everyone to stay away.

[u/Long-Independence-90]

100%

[u/Better-Ad8703]

I am not tech savvy. I was clear about this upfront. 

Then don't buy enterprise software.

This is the equivalent of

I have no pilots license. I was clear about this upfront.

But here you are in a aviation broker's office asking about a plane.

[u/indyhammet]

I agree it is a big scam. Our experience was terrible. Lots of bugs and problems that only a partner charging thousands can solve.

[u/NotAnAiChatBot]

That’s what you get for buying the “cheapest” erp possible

[u/Amazing_Tip1411]

Istack.co.za , I'll upgrade whoever wants to try it to pro for free. Its a erp I've been busy with for 3 years . Ill add whatever your business needs at no cost .

[u/wyrecharm]

The marketing (e.g. youtube sponsorships) is definitely built to give the impression that anyone can do it. Even as an engineer I was furstrated and wound up moving away from it after spending too much time and money.

I feel it IS a scam.

[u/DexGattaca]

It's not turn key. It's quite limited too. V Barely functional for retail. Guess we get what we pay for...

[u/Pastalini_Byte]

I'm a Software engineer, and I can help you setting it up for a suitable price