Imagine you run an online store.
So of course, you have daily duties – orders come in, you pack them, ship them… and suddenly you remember that you didn’t issue the invoices. So, you sit down in the evening and start: browsing orders, searching for data, copying them into the system, correcting mistakes, printing or sending PDFs by email. An hour lost. Every day.
And now imagine another situation.
The order is processed, and the invoice issues itself. The client gets it by email, you have everything posted, and if they don’t pay on time – the system will automatically send a reminder. Without your involvement.
Sounds better? This is exactly how invoicing in Odoo can work.
In this article I will show you how it looks in practice and which elements can be automated, so you can decide for yourself whether invoicing in Odoo is for you.
What in invoicing can you automate in Odoo?
● After the order is paid by the client the invoice can be created automatically — in online sales after enabling the Automatic Invoice option.
● In the case of subscriptions Odoo generates invoices cyclically, according to the schedule and — if you assign an email template — can send them automatically. This is an ideal solution for recurring services – you set it once, and the invoices “make themselves.”
● Advance and final invoices you can issue through the “down payment” option (by amount or percentage). Thanks to this you easily handle stage payments, e.g. in larger projects or made-to-order production.
● The system can also send reminders about overdue payments if you enable the “follow-up” rules. You don’t have to manually track payments – Odoo will remind the client, and you will get a notification if something is delayed.
● All documents are connected – the invoice refers to the order, delivery and payment. You have full clarity and quick access to all data in one place, without manually searching through different systems.
Invoicing in Odoo can be connected with other areas in the company. This is one of the main advantages of Odoo for which many companies decide on this system.
How in practice can invoicing in Odoo connect with other areas in the company?
Sales
You create a sales order – after it is confirmed the system can immediately issue an invoice. You don’t have to copy or re-enter anything. Everything is arranged in one process.
Purchases and costs
Odoo also allows receiving and registering supplier invoices in the system. The system can automatically assign them to purchase orders and settlements and supports 3-way matching (order ↔ receipt ↔ invoice).
Payments and bank
When the client pays, the system after reconciling the payment (online payment, manual registration or automatic bank statement matching) marks the invoice as paid. You have a view of the current receivables status without logging into the bank.
Accounting
All invoices (sales and supplier) go automatically into accounting. You don’t have to export or re-enter them manually. Accounting entries are created when the invoice is posted; in some processes (e.g. subscriptions) this can be done fully automatically.
Summing up: Is invoicing in Odoo for you?
Yes, if:
- you issue more than a few invoices per month and want to save time,
- you run online sales and don’t want to re-enter data manually,
- you have subscriptions or recurring services and need cyclic invoices,
- you want the system to remind clients about payments,
- you care about invoices being linked with inventory, accounting and sales
Do you want to learn more about how the sales module in Odoo looks? Check our webinar on the topic.
Odoo is a great system for companies that want to keep order in invoices and not waste time on manual tasks. Thanks to automation, you can focus on sales and customer service instead of repetitive data entry.
You don’t have to implement the whole system right away, you can start with the invoicing module and see how it works in your case.
If you are wondering if it makes sense in your company – contact us. We will show you how it looks in practice and help you make a decision.
Do you want to learn more about Odoo? Read more about Odoo implementation or check the article about the total cost of ownership of Odoo ERP.
