Implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is a significant milestone for any business. Whether you're upgrading from QuickBooks or transitioning to a new ERP solution, the process of selecting, implementing, and utilizing an ERP can transform your business operations.

Choosing the right ERP and partnering with a reliable implementation team can dramatically increase your productivity and enable your business to reach new heights. However, finding the best ERP solution requires thorough research.

In this guide, we’ll compare Odoo and Acumatica Cloud ERP to help you narrow down your options and create a shortlist for your ERP selection process.

Overview: Odoo vs. Acumatica

At first glance, Odoo and Acumatica may seem similar, making it challenging to choose between them. Since businesses often rely on their ERP systems for over a decade, it's crucial to ensure you're selecting the right product and vendor. A deep dive into each ERP vendor is essential to make an informed decision.

Odoo, originally named OpenERP, was established in 2005 in Belgium. As of March 2021, Odoo boasted approximately 16,000 paying customers, with the majority (70%) located in Europe and the Middle East. Odoo offers a wide range of modules, including Financials, CRM, eCommerce, HR, and Payroll.

Acumatica, the world’s fastest-growing Cloud ERP company, was founded in 2008 in Seattle, Washington. As of November 2020, Acumatica served over 6,500 customers worldwide. Acumatica excels in providing comprehensive modules for Financials, Retail and eCommerce, Field Services, Construction, Distribution, Manufacturing, Professional Services, and regulated industries. Acumatica has been recognized as the Best Cloud ERP Software, and both Gartner and G2 have rated it highly for customer satisfaction and usability.

Target Audience: Who Uses Odoo vs. Acumatica?

Although both Odoo and   Acumatica cloud-based ERP solutions   ,they cater to different user bases due to varying strengths and capabilities.

Odoo primarily targets smaller businesses in the lower end of the SMB market. It is ideal for companies with fewer than 50 employees and less than $5 million in revenue. Odoo’s clients generally have stable operations with slow growth rates and predictable, repetitive processes. Odoo is popular among eCommerce and retail businesses as well as equipment rental companies, which form the bulk of its customer base. However, Odoo's "lite" features and costly integration requirements make it a poor fit for warehousing, manufacturing, and regulated industries.

Acumatica, on the other hand, serves businesses of all sizes, with customers ranging from those with fewer than 50 employees to those with over 1,000. Acumatica's clients tend to have, fast-growing operations that require agility and constantly evolving processes. Acumatica offers specialized industry editions for Retail and eCommerce, Construction, Distribution, Manufacturing, and Field Services, with robust features for Professional Services, regulated industries, Nonprofits, and Travel/Hospitality.

Pricing: Odoo vs. Acumatica

While the initial pricing of Odoo and Acumatica might appear similar, the long-term costs and value differ significantly.

Odoo offers both a free version (Community) and a paid version (Enterprise). However, the free version has limited functionality and minimal customization options. Odoo often moves key features from the free version to the paid version, forcing users to upgrade. Once a user upgrades to the paid version, they cannot revert to the free version. Odoo charges per user on a monthly basis, along with additional fees for each module. There are also hidden costs, such as high charges for online connectors to platforms like eBay and Amazon, and monthly fees for shipping app integrations with key carriers.

Implementation costs can be steep, and hosting on Odoo requires additional investments in development, staging, storage, and customizations. Customization costs include an initial development fee and a recurring hourly fee, which is charged monthly.

Acumatica, in contrast, uses cloud resource-based pricing, meaning customers pay only for the resources they use, without any per-user fees. This model encourages growth by allowing customers to add unlimited users, including employees, customers, vendors, suppliers, and partners. Acumatica offers a wide range of capabilities to meet various industry needs, with competitive add-on pricing for products from the Acumatica Marketplace and affordable developer costs for customizations. Acumatica’s flexible pricing model also allows users to scale up or down as needed, making it an affordable and adaptable solution. Implementation costs are generally reasonable, and Acumatica is known for its low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

Key ERP Needs: Odoo vs. Acumatica

When businesses decide to migrate to a Cloud ERP, they typically seek solutions that address issues related to workflow, production speed, and efficiency. Below, we compare how Odoo and Acumatica meet these key ERP needs.

Scalability

Businesses invest in an ERP solution to manage growth and gain insights for faster decision-making.

Odoo is better suited for smaller companies with fewer than 50 employees. As transaction volumes increase, Odoo’s performance may suffer, leading to slow performance, corrupted transactions, and conflicts between concurrent users. Additionally, Odoo’s per-user pricing model can hinder growth by penalizing companies that need to hire more employees. Odoo also limits emails to 100 per day, further restricting scalability. Reporting capabilities are limited, with fewer than 50 canned reports and dashboards that are not customizable. Creating customized reports requires the Studio tool, which incurs an additional monthly fee and often requires skilled developer assistance.

Acumatica, on the other hand, supports growth with its resource-based pricing, allowing for unlimited users. Built on the cutting-edge Acumatica Cloud xRP platform, the ERP system handles high transaction volumes with ease and provides access from any device. Acumatica’s robust reporting capabilities include 250+ built-in reports and dashboards that are easily customizable in-house. The platform’s no-code/low-code customization options make it easy to create custom reports and dashboards, while seamless integration with tools like Excel, Power BI, and Tableau enables deeper insights.

Customization

One of the key frustrations with non-ERP accounting solutions is the need for time-consuming workarounds. A good ERP solution should eliminate these workarounds by offering flexible customization options.

Odoo offers off-the-shelf customizations and connections to third-party add-ons, but these integrations often lack governance and oversight, leading to issues with compatibility and functionality. Most third-party add-ons for Odoo are designed for the on-premises version and may not work with the cloud product. The Enterprise edition offers a customization tool (Studio) for an additional fee, but the tool can be difficult to use, and the documentation is limited. Customizations frequently break with new updates, and Odoo only supports the core product, not customizations. Customization fees are steep, and customers may end up paying for a project that becomes obsolete after an update.

Acumatica provides a wide range of off-the-shelf customization add-ons through the Acumatica Marketplace, backed by strong governance and oversight to ensure compatibility with ERP updates. Acumatica’s Cloud xRP platform offers no-code/low-code customization capabilities, making it easy for non-technical users to create their own customizations. Acumatica developers are also affordable and can ensure that customizations are fully integrated into the system. Acumatica provides comprehensive help documentation, accessible through the Acumatica Open University and the Help Portal, and users can join the active Acumatica Community for additional support.

Support

Reliable support is essential for businesses that operate around the clock. There are significant differences in the support offered by Odoo and Acumatica.

Odoo’s consultants are primarily technical experts focused on implementation and development rather than ongoing support and system optimization. Odoo Gold Tier partners, the highest tier, are only required to have three certified employees on at least one of the last three Odoo versions. Corporate support from Odoo is available, but the pricing is aggressive and has been criticized for nickel-and-diming customers. Additionally, Odoo does not offer weekend support, and service level agreements (SLAs) are limited, making it difficult to resolve critical issues promptly.

Acumatica’s consultants are both technical and business experts, and their award-winning partner program is designed to provide ongoing support and optimization. Acumatica partners pride themselves on being long-term business partners, and strict certification requirements ensure that customers receive top-notch service. Acumatica support is available 24/7, with defined SLAs, a deep commitment to customer service (as outlined in their Customer Bill of Rights), and extensive on-demand e-learning resources through the Acumatica Open University, Help Portal, and Acumatica Community. As a result, Acumatica enjoys a 97% support satisfaction rating.

By thoroughly evaluating your business needs and comparing these key aspects, you can make an informed decision between Odoo and Acumatica for your  Acumatica Cloud ERP solution. Both systems have their strengths, but understanding how they align with your specific requirements will help you choose the ERP that will best support your business’s growth and success.