More than most owners plan for. Odoo’s own implementation guide asked customers for a project lead available at least 2 full days a week. One ERP vendor’s project manager puts the internal project lead at about 70% of their working time, and key users at about 50% during the build. Block that time before you sign.
This is a follow-up to How Long Does an Odoo Implementation Take? The calendar date depends heavily on one thing your partner cannot supply: your own people’s time.
Who on my team needs to be involved?
Most Odoo projects need three groups from your side. Small businesses often combine roles, but none of them can be skipped.
- Project lead (single point of contact): makes decisions, chases answers internally and signs off each stage. Odoo’s guide says this person should have authority to decide on their own.
- Key users: one per area, such as sales, stock, purchasing and accounts. They explain how work really happens, test the setup and later train colleagues.
- End users: everyone who will use Odoo daily. They need time to practise their own tasks before go-live.
- Owner or senior manager: settles disputes between departments and approves scope changes.
How much time does each role need?
Published figures vary by project size and vendor, so treat these as planning guides, not fixed rules.
| Role | When | Published estimate | Main work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project lead | Whole project | At least 2 full days a week (Odoo); about 70% of working time (APplus) | Decisions, coordination, sign-offs |
| Key users | Build and testing | About 50% of working time (APplus) | Workshops, testing, feedback |
| Key users | Go-live period | About 70% of working time (APplus) | Training colleagues, support, acceptance |
| End users | Before go-live | No standard figure; plan practice time per person | Training on their own tasks |
Odoo’s guide also puts the customer in charge of exporting data from the old system and training its own users once the system works. Those tasks land on your staff, not the partner.
Where does my team’s time actually go?
- Discovery workshops: explaining current processes, exceptions and approval rules.
- Decisions: agreeing how one process should work when departments disagree.
- Data preparation: exporting, cleaning and checking customers, products, stock and opening balances.
- Testing: running real transactions in a test copy and recording what breaks.
- Training: learning the system, then teaching colleagues.
- Go-live and the weeks after: checking the first real invoices, stock moves and bank entries.
What happens if my team can’t give that time?
The project waits. A partner can configure Odoo quickly, but it cannot decide your approval rules, clean your product list or accept test results for you. That waiting time is one of the main reasons Odoo implementations run over schedule.
- Questions sit unanswered, so configuration stalls.
- Testing is rushed, so problems appear after go-live.
- Staff are not trained, so they return to Excel. See how to get staff to use a new ERP instead of Excel.
APplus also notes that companies often underestimate the internal time required. A date set without counting it is a guess.
How do I free up time without stopping the business?
- Name the project lead and key users before kick-off, and tell them in writing what share of their week goes to the project.
- Move part of their routine work to others, or hire temporary help, for the busiest weeks.
- Avoid peak periods such as month-end, year-end closing or your busiest sales season for testing and go-live.
- Ask your partner for a calendar of workshops, test cycles and training sessions, with the people needed for each.
- Phase the rollout so one team carries the heavy load at a time.
- Review progress weekly and adjust the plan if your team’s availability changes.
Plan the people side before you fix a go-live date
We map your operations, list who is needed for each step and build a schedule your team can actually keep, so your business keeps running while it moves onto Odoo.
FAQ
Can my Odoo partner do this work instead of my staff?
A partner can take on configuration, data imports and much of the training. It cannot make your business decisions or confirm that results match how you operate. Those need someone from your side with authority.
Does a small business need less staff time?
Fewer people are involved, but each one usually carries more roles. In a small company the owner is often the project lead and a key user at once, so protect that time carefully.
When is my team’s workload highest?
Usually during testing and the weeks around go-live. APplus estimates key users rise from about 50% to about 70% of their time when the system goes live, because they train and support colleagues.
Related service: Odoo Implementation
Sources: Odoo – Odoo Online Implementation guide, APplus (Asseco) – How long does an ERP implementation really take?
