Do you have products that are sold as one item but consist of multiple parts needing assembly? For example, an office desk is sold as a single product but delivered in separate components, such as table legs, screws, and a tabletop.

In such cases, it may be expected for customers to select the main product during checkout, while each component is shown separately on the delivery document. This setup is common for furniture and similar industries, where the final product is made up of individually managed items.

In Odoo, this scenario can be handled by using the Manufacturing module and defining a Bill of Materials (BoM) of type Kit for each main product.

Here is a step-by-step guide to set up the flow:

1. Create the Main Product:
   • Set the product type to Goods.
   • Disable Track Inventory.
   • Assign the Manufacturing route to it.
2. Create Component Products:
   • Each component should be a separate product.
   • Set the type to Goods.
   • Enable Track Inventory.
   • Assign the Buy route (unless they are produced in-house).
3. Define the BoM:
   • Create a Bill of Materials (BoM) of type Kit for the main product.
   • Include all components that are part of the main product with appropriate quantities.

Once set up, this configuration allows the system to track stock at the component level, calculate the main product’s availability based on its components, and show only the main product in the sales order. While in the delivery document, all components are listed, making it clear what needs to be shipped.

Although the main product has the Manufacturing route, a manufacturing order is not created. Instead, the BoM is used solely to display the components that make up the product in the delivery order.

In Odoo, it is possible to set different approvers for requested Time Off. This setting is based on the Time Off Type, so for each Time Off Type (Time Off > Configuration > Time Off Types​), one of the following options can be selected:

• No Validation
• By Time Off Officer
• By Employee’s Approver
• By Employee’s Approver and Time Off Officer

With the first option, as the name suggests, no validation is required for Time Off requests.

The second option, By Time Off Officer, will send the request for validation to the Time Off Officer selected in the Notified Time Off Officer​ field. Multiple Time Off Officers can be selected to be notified for the approval request, however only one approval is required. A Time Off Officer is a user who has the Time Off Officer role.

The third option makes the approver set on the Employee form the approver for the Time Off request. This setting is available per employee and can be found in the Work Information​ tab under the Approvers​ section, Time Off​ field.

The last option combines the second and third options, which means it requires two approvers: the Employee’s approver and the Time Off Officer.

In Odoo, when using standard Odoo routes, a separate transfer is created for each sales order. However, a request for quotation (RFQ) combines products from multiple sales orders if the vendor is the same. But why does this happen, and how can it be changed?

The Propagation of Procurement Group​ in the Rule object is the setting responsible for this behavior. This setting primarily has three options that determine how stock moves are grouped in a transfer:

• Leave Empty: Group stock moves from multiple orders into one transfer.
• Propagate: Create a separate transfer for each order.
• Fixed: Group all stock moves under one fixed group.

Returning to the purchase order example, products from different sales orders are grouped into one RFQ because the Buy route has a rule with Propagation of Procurement Group​ set to “Leave Empty.” If you need to change this behavior so that each sales order or manufacturing order has a separate purchase order, the Propagation of Procurement Group​ needs to be set to “Propagate.”

Important: The MTO (Make-to-Order) route must be enabled on the product for the system to create the connection between the sales order and the purchase order.

If you are managing a multi-warehouse setup in Odoo, where purchases are received in a central warehouse and then distributed to other locations, there's a built-in feature called “Resupply From” that can streamline this process.

Once you have at least two warehouses set up, you can enable the Resupply From​ option in the warehouse settings (Inventory > Configuration > Warehouses​). This allows you to specify which warehouse will supply products to the current warehouse. When activated, a route is automatically generated for product transfers. The route must be enabled at the product or product category level for the relevant items.

When an item with the route enabled is needed in a secondary warehouse, Odoo will create a request in the Replenishment dashboard, unless there is an automatic reordering rule. When the order is placed from the Replenishment dashboard, a delivery order will be created for the main warehouse and a receipt for the receiving warehouse. During the transfer, products will be placed in the Inter-warehouse Transit location.

This setup is particularly useful when you have one central warehouse and multiple stores, with each store represented by a separate warehouse. Each store can be automatically resupplied from the central warehouse using this feature.

Important:

• The Resupply​ setting for the central warehouse should be either "Buy to Resupply," "Manufacture to Resupply," or both, depending on the supply process.
• Ensure the reordering rules are properly configured to maintain stock levels across your stores.

In Odoo, you can set up automatic reminders for employees who have not submitted their timesheets on time. Here is how the reminder setting works.

To enable the reminder:

1. Navigate to Timesheets > Configuration > Settings > Timesheets Control​.
2. Enable the Employee Reminder​ setting.
3. Choose the frequency for sending the reminder. You have two options:
   • Weekly: Send the reminder a specified number of days after the end of the week.
   • Monthly: Send the reminder a specified number of days after the end of the month.

The reminder will be sent to employees who have logged at least one timesheet entry in the past three months but have recorded fewer hours than their scheduled working hours for the selected period.

The reminder is sent using the “Timesheets: Employee Reminder” email template. You can modify this template from the Email Templates list under Settings > Technical > Email > Email Templates​. Developer Mode must be enabled to access the Technical menu.

In Odoo, external shipping providers like DHL and FedEx offer different ways to calculate shipping costs on sales orders. This is controlled by the Invoicing Policy​, which is available when the Integration Level​ is set to “Get Rate and Create Shipment.” The policy provides two options:

• Estimated Cost
• Real Cost

With Estimated Cost, the shipping price is calculated based on the product’s weight set in the system and is shown to the customer before the order is confirmed. Since this is an estimate, it may be a good idea to add a margin to cover any potential additional costs.

On the other hand, Real Cost calculates the actual shipping cost, but the final price cannot be determined until the product is sent. This means the customer will not know the final shipping cost until the product is shipped. While this ensures the correct cost is invoiced, it can be less convenient for customers since they do not get the price upfront.

Which option to choose depends on your business model. For eCommerce, Estimated Cost is typically the best choice, as it provides the shipping cost before the order is confirmed. For B2B, Real Cost may be more suitable, often with an estimate provided upfront.

In Odoo, inventory is tracked only for storable products. Once a product has been used in a transaction, its configuration cannot be changed to storable. Therefore, it is crucial to set up products correctly from the start.

Here is how to set up a product as storable:

• In Odoo 17 and earlier versions, a product is storable if its Product Type​ is set to "Storable."
• In Odoo 18, a product is storable if:
  1. The Product Type​ is set to "Goods."
  2. The Track Inventory​ option is enabled.

Without the Track Inventory​ option enabled, the product will be treated as Consumable, and inventory tracking will not be possible.

Important: Ensure that products are configured properly to avoid issues later in your inventory process.

In Odoo, the timing of when you can invoice for a service depends on the Invoicing Policy​ set for the product. Here is a breakdown of the four available options for service products:

1. Prepaid/Fixed Price
   • The entire amount can be invoiced immediately after the sale is confirmed.
   • Commonly used for prepaid services, such as when clients purchase hours or services to be used later.
2. Based on Timesheets
   • You can invoice only for the hours already worked and tracked via timesheets linked to the relevant task.
   • Depending on your configuration, the invoice can include either all recorded timesheets or only validated ones. The configuration for this can be found at Timesheets > Configuration > Settings > Billing > Invoicing Policy​.
3. Based on Milestones
   • Invoices are generated when specific milestones are reached.
   • To use this option, milestones must be enabled in the project. Each milestone should have an associated sales order line and a percentage of the amount to be invoiced. Only one sales order line can be linked to each milestone.
4. Based on Delivered Quantity (Manual)
   • Invoices are created upon service delivery, based on the quantity delivered rather than the quantity ordered.
   • Suitable for invoicing the total time spent once the work is completed.

Each policy is designed to support different ways of working and invoicing for services. Which one to use depends on your company's processes.

In Odoo, the Invoicing Policy​ is configured at the product level. This setting is located under the General tab of each product.

Depending on the product type, different invoicing options are available. For physical products, you can choose between two options:

• Ordered quantities: The invoice can be generated as soon as the order is confirmed, and all products with this policy are included in the invoice.
• Delivered quantities: The invoice can be generated only after the related delivery order is marked as Done.

The default invoicing policy for physical products can be set in the Sales or Website module by navigating to: Sales (or Website) > Settings > Configuration > Invoicing​.

Important to Consider:

• Changing the default setting only applies to newly created products. Existing products will retain their current invoicing policy.
• If Automatic Invoicing is enabled on your website, the system will automatically apply the "Invoice what is ordered" policy, overriding the setting configured on individual products.

Do you need to restrict checkout to signed-in users only? You can easily do that in Odoo.

The setup requires just a few steps:

1. Go to Website > Settings > Configuration > Shop - Checkout Process​.
2. Find the setting: Sign in/up at checkout​.
3. Select the option that is appropriate for your eShop.

There are three available options:

1. Optional: Allows users to check out as guests, but they have the option to sign in during the checkout process.
2. Disabled: Users can check out as guests without any sign-in option during checkout.
3. Mandatory: Users must log in to start the checkout process.

The order confirmation page includes a Sign Up button for the first two options. This allows users to register after placing the order. When the user clicks the button, their email and name are automatically filled from the order information, and they only need to set a password.