Odoo 20 has just been released, with changes in practically every management area: sales, purchasing, inventory, human resources, accounting, point of sale, website, field service... Enough to genuinely simplify a company's daily work, provided you know what has really changed and what deserves your attention before migrating.
At ANOR, we took the time to verify each new feature directly in the code, module by module, rather than simply repeating a list of announcements: here is our complete overview, area by area.
How the Software Works in General
Even before the detail by business function, several cross-cutting changes alter the way the whole company uses the software day to day: security, documents, internal messaging.
- Access rights are simplified: a single screen now groups what used to allow viewing, editing or deleting information, where you previously had to juggle two separate screens. For a company that manages its own access rights, that is one less screen to know.
- On a user's record, the role choice (User / Administrator) now offers a third, intermediate level, "Light", which automatically limits the user to a restricted subset of functions: handy for giving limited, inexpensive access to an occasional collaborator.
- A new screen lists all of a user's active sessions (device, browser, country, city), making it easier to spot a suspicious login and cut it off remotely if needed.
- Bank accounts display, in addition to the usual IBAN, a "clearing number" specific to certain countries (useful for paying a vendor in Australia, Canada, Chile or Japan). This field already existed: what changes is that it is now better supported and automatically validated according to the country.
- Documents printed or sent as PDF (quotes, invoices) change slightly in appearance, with new layout styles to choose from, and a new setting lets you choose the look of line tables separately. Note: the option that let you place a watermark or custom background image behind reports disappears with no replacement.
- The document layout configuration screen (logo, colors, contact details, VAT, QR code) is not new in itself. What changes: the preview shown now displays your actual invoice being created rather than a generic example; and a simple Accounting user (without administrator rights) can now also configure it when creating their first invoice.
- A new internal print engine coexists with the old one: check your custom document templates before migrating, to make sure nothing shifts when printing.
- Internal messaging (Discuss) is enriched: polls in conversations, listening to call recordings, and access now opened to external customers via the portal.
- Artificial intelligence is very broadly developed on the Enterprise side, with dozens of new assistants able to act directly in the software from a simple question asked in everyday language. It is a project in its own right, which would deserve its own article.
The home screen and the complete list of installed apps, in French
Sales
The sales process gains precision, from drafting the quote through to delivery follow-up.
- If a delivery exceeds what was ordered, this surplus can now be spotted and invoiced to the customer at the company's discretion, instead of being ignored by default as before: useful when a driver rounds a quantity up.
- The text displayed on the quote can now be customized without touching the product's technical description in the catalog: handy for adapting the sales pitch without changing the product record for everyone.
- Any existing order can be turned into a reusable quotation template in one click, for sales managers: a time saver for duplicating an offer that comes up often.
- A new setting makes it possible to require that an item always be linked to a quote line (no selling "into the void"): to be enabled if you notice poorly filled-in quote lines.
- A subscription can now be closed on a date scheduled in advance, rather than being stopped immediately on the day of the request: useful for respecting a contractual notice period without having to think about it at the last minute.
- Note: the setting that let you enable or disable quotation templates from the settings disappears. Quotation templates remain usable as normal, but the dedicated toggle and the company-level default template can no longer be configured in the same place.
The display of the Incoterm on the quote and the delivery status badge already exist as soon as the Inventory app is installed (which is the case for the vast majority of customers): nothing changes on screen on these two points between version 19 and version 20.
The mechanism for converting a lead into a customer (CRM) is simplified rather than enriched: automatic linking to an existing customer replaces a manual choice that already existed in version 19. Point of caution: the former detailed wizard, useful for ambiguous cases, disappears completely — only a bulk conversion remains, less precise on this particular point.
The list of quotes and orders, with invoicing indicators at the top of the screen
Purchase
On the purchasing side, tracking of vendor orders becomes more reliable and more complete, from the request for quotation through to invoicing.
- A new wizard precisely calculates what has been received but not yet invoiced and what has been invoiced but not yet received, line by line: a real time saver at month-end for the purchase accounting close.
- A promised delivery date, frozen as soon as the order is confirmed, makes it possible to compute a reliable vendor on-time rate: unlike before, pushing back a late delivery date no longer artificially skews the vendor's statistic.
- Purchase orders can now also be displayed excluding or including taxes, like sales quotes: handy for a purchase intended for mixed business/personal use.
- Comparing several competing vendor offers remains possible, but the mechanics change: it is no longer reserved for blanket orders, it is now an independent setting ("Purchase Alternatives") that lets you link and compare simple requests for quotation with each other, whatever the context.
The receipt status badge (Not Received / Partially Received / Fully Received) on the purchase order already existed identically in version 19: it is not a new feature.
A vendor purchase order: tax-excluded/tax-included toggle (boxed), expected arrival and receipt confirmation
Inventory and Warehouse
Inventory and shipping management are simplified in several respects, without upsetting existing habits.
- Batch transfers (by batch, by wave) remain a simple checkbox in the Inventory settings, exactly as before. What changes is invisible on screen: ticking the box no longer installs a module along the way, as the feature is already built into the core of the software — a gain in technical reliability, not a new gesture for the user.
- Scrapping a product changes its internal mechanics (a standard stock move rather than a separate operation), but the combinable reasons and the "to replenish" option already existed: these are the same settings, just placed differently.
- Returning goods is now done in one click directly from the original transfer, without opening a separate wizard as before.
- A new wizard automatically calculates minimum and maximum replenishment quantities from sales history, where this calculation previously had to be done by hand.
- To add a carrier (DHL, FedEx, UPS, Chronopost and others), a button opens the complete list of available connectors. This button already existed in version 19 alongside the checkboxes; what changes is that the individual checkboxes per carrier disappear and this button becomes the only entry point.
- For stores equipped with electronic shelf labels (Pricer), their update can now also be driven from Inventory and no longer only from the checkout.
The Inventory dashboard, with receipts, deliveries and manufacturing orders to process
Sales settings, Shipping section: the button for accessing carriers (boxed), now the only entry point
The complete list of carrier connectors offered in one click: DHL, FedEx, UPS, USPS, bpost and many more
Project
Project management evolves in depth, with a fundamental change on field interventions, which migrate to another app.
- Sharing a project with internal collaborators is rethought, with renamed and clearer portal access levels for an external customer (View / Edit / Advanced Edit): easier to explain to a customer who asks "what exactly can I do on this project?".
- The project form is redesigned: an integrated map directly locates the customer, in addition to the existing profitability button, which gets its own place at the top of the form.
- A project's profitability dashboard is reorganized: invoicing, margin and linked order figures are now spread across dedicated tabs rather than in a single side panel.
- A new assistant can automatically track an employee's office activity (emails, calls, meetings) to suggest timesheet lines to validate: a real saving in data entry, but a point to approach with caution on the privacy side before presenting it to a customer.
- Management of on-site customer interventions (Field Service) is no longer part of the Project app: it now relies on the Planning app (see below). This is not a simple name change: any company using field interventions will have to review its organization and retrain its teams.
The "stagnation" indicator, which visually alerts when a task or project stays too long without progress, is not new in version 20: this mechanism already exists identically in version 19.
The list of ongoing projects, with progress, tasks and deadlines visible at a glance
Manufacturing
In manufacturing, the changes remain targeted but useful for day-to-day work on the shop floor.
- Scrapping in manufacturing follows the same simplified logic as inventory: a standard stock move rather than a separate record.
- Bills of materials gain a continuous production option and a note field displayed directly on the shop floor (Shop Floor). Two other options sometimes cited as new (fixed batch size, dependencies between steps) actually already existed in version 19.
- The tablet screen used in the production workshop evolves, with better separation between the work center view and the operator view: easier to follow on a large shop floor screen.
- Note: tracking of the expiration date directly on a work order disappears from this version. If your production tracks expiration dates at the work center, this point needs to be checked before any migration.
Work orders in card view (already available in version 19, screenshot provided for illustration)
Human Resources
Human Resources gain rigor, notably on working time tracking and hardware integrations — but one major point of caution concerns French companies.
Major point of caution for France: French payroll management (contribution rules, CSG) disappears entirely from this version, with no replacement solution identified to date. Any company using Odoo payroll must check this point as an absolute priority before considering a migration.
- An employee's departure becomes a real process tracked over time (notice period, then actual departure date), rather than a simple click that archived everything immediately: more faithful to the reality of a notice period of several weeks.
- The company org chart and the tracking of a position's hourly cost are now built in by default, with no additional app to install: one less module for the IT team to manage.
- Remote work and work location (a default location for each day of the week, with occasional exceptions) are now handled natively in the HR core rather than by a separate app to install.
- Check-in/check-out can now require approval by a manager before being definitively recorded (automatic, manual, or only when a tolerance is exceeded): a fundamental change for any company that until now let checked-in hours be recorded without control.
- Kiosk check-in can now take a photo at the moment the employee badges in, for visual checking after the fact.
- Biometric or RFID badge readers from several brands can now connect directly to the Attendances app, without custom development.
- A new wizard automatically proposes the list of statutory public holidays for the year, country by country: no more manual entry at the start of the year for each location.
- For payroll, a new wizard makes it possible to generate salary attachments for several employees at once in a single operation, where they previously had to be entered one by one.
The employee form: contract, payroll and attendance accessible directly from a single screen
Maintenance and Repair
Maintenance and repair become more flexible, with better support for teamwork and the vehicle fleet.
- A maintenance request can now be assigned to several technicians at the same time, rather than to just one: handy for an intervention requiring several trades.
- An equipment item can now be linked to a fleet vehicle, which becomes trackable as a full maintenance equipment item (preventive maintenance plan, repair requests...), with a new planning view by equipment.
- For repair orders, a new screen warns if the parts actually used differ from what was planned, with the possibility of realigning quantities in one click.
- A repair order can now include a labor or service flat-fee line, in addition to parts: the invoice (parts + labor) is generated in a single document.
- On a repair order, a quality manager can now override a pending quality check to close the file, while other users remain blocked as before.
Accounting and Invoicing
Accounting is one of the most enriched areas of this version, with several welcome automations for accountants and accounting firms alike.
- Each invoice can now display its amount excluding or including taxes as desired, independently of the company's general setting: useful for a single customer who receives business invoices at times, mixed ones at others.
- Partially recoverable VAT, for example on a mixed-use vehicle, is now handled directly line by line on the invoice, without workarounds.
- The chart of accounts gains a true parent/child account hierarchy, displayed as a readable path (for example "Expenses / Purchases / Goods").
- The accounting dashboard displays new key indicators at the top of the screen and its main chart changes from a weekly view to a monthly view over a rolling twelve months.
- Bank reconciliation can now be done automatically for a good share of transactions, on request: a real time saver for the accountant who matches statements.
- Fixed assets can rely on reusable depreciation models, with a real fixed asset ledger.
- Unpaid invoice follow-ups are brought together in a single settings screen, with a bulk send possible in one click from the invoice list.
- A company not subject to VAT (micro-enterprise, association) can now simply declare this in the settings, which automatically hides irrelevant sales taxes.
- Checking an intra-community VAT number with the European VIES service can now be done automatically, by ticking a simple box.
- For accounting firms managing several client files, a new mechanism makes it possible to have the lead accountant review any entry made by a collaborator with limited rights.
- Electronic signature gains a paid option for a signature with reinforced legal value, equivalent to a handwritten signature in the European Union.
- Note: two points need to be checked case by case before any migration: the Belgian accounting import (Winbooks) disappears with no replacement and the VAT closing accounts leave the standard (Community) version — a successor exists, but only in the Enterprise version.
The accounting dashboard: key indicators at the top (boxed), monthly chart over twelve months
Customer Relations: Sales, Marketing and Events
Customer relations, marketing and event management gain in fluidity and automation.
- Converting a lead into a customer is done in one click, without systematically opening a wizard as before.
- A mailing can now be saved as a reusable template and each contact directly displays its own open and click statistics.
- Sending an SMS can now be scheduled in advance, as is already the case for emails.
- Automated marketing campaigns become a true visual journey to build step by step, with more ways of triggering a contact's entry into a campaign (date, birthday, webhook...).
- An event ticket can now cover several admissions, handy for family or group tickets.
The sales pipeline in columns, with amounts and probabilities per stage
Checkout (Point of Sale)
The point of sale adapts to all kinds of shops, not just restaurants, with more autonomy on hardware.
- The tip can now be adjusted after the customer has paid, with three automatically suggested percentages that can be set per establishment, available for all points of sale and no longer only restaurants.
- A single receipt can display the contact details specific to a given shop, useful for chains with several points of sale.
- In restaurants, service is organized by named courses (starter, main, dessert), linked directly to product categories.
- On self-service kiosks, a QR code mode specific to each order makes deferred payment easier, with a delivery option now possible, shipping costs included.
- Closing a register session can now be done automatically (manual or daily at a fixed time) and the receipt printer can be separate from the printer used in the kitchen/preparation area.
Networked checkout hardware (printer, cash drawer) could already connect directly from the browser without an intermediate box as of version 19. Version 20 extends this direct connection to a new printer brand and a new type of USB-connected device (an electronic scale).
The various configured points of sale, with the status of their register (including a self-service kiosk)
Website and Online Store
The website and the online store gain new tools to better convert visitors and retain customers.
- The library of layout blocks for building a site grows considerably, with many new ready-to-use styles.
- A visitor can ask to be notified when a sold-out product is available again, and an out-of-stock product page can now automatically unpublish itself from the store.
- A customer review email can now be sent automatically after a purchase.
- A customer withdrawal form is now provided natively (a European legal requirement, previously absent from the base software).
- For restaurants with delivery via a third-party platform (Uber Eats, Deliveroo...), a new single connector makes it possible to centralize these orders directly in the checkout.
- Note: delivery to Mondial Relay pickup points disappears from this version, with no replacement solution identified to date.
The wishlist and the product comparison are already installed automatically as of version 19, without any user action, as soon as an online store is activated: no perceptible change for your customers on this point between the two versions.
Field Service, Quality, Signature and Subscriptions
Field service changes its technical foundation, with new concrete capabilities in store for mobile teams.
- Management of on-site customer interventions now relies on the same tool as team planning, for a consistent overview across all the company's schedules.
- A single time slot can now be shared between several people or resources, where it previously accepted only one.
- Technicians can now be geolocated in real time during their working hours and tracking by equipment becomes possible.
- A customer can now book a field intervention themselves directly from the company's website.
- A technician can have their intervention signed on a tablet as normal. Selling an additional service on site, however, requires specific sales access, which is not granted by default.
- A vendor's quality rate now appears directly on its record, calculated automatically from the checks performed at receipt.
- A company can now use its own electronic signature certificate rather than the one provided by default by Odoo.
- Loyalty programs can now be applied automatically to subscription renewals.
The new resource planning: several people can now share the same slot
The electronic signature app, with the number of signatures in progress and already obtained per document
Documents, Knowledge Base, Customer Support and Telephony
Document management, customer support and telephony gain automations that save time for the whole company:
- Sharing a folder of documents with a whole team is done in a single operation, rather than person by person. A new settings screen lets you create and manage these sharing groups directly in the Documents app.
- For Human Resources, the automatic filing of an employee's documents in a dedicated folder becomes systematic, with a "Recruitment" folder that now also centralizes resumes and cover letters.
- A document requested from a third party is now tracked as a real pending document type, easier to spot in the filters.
- A link to an article in the internal knowledge base now displays a preview (image, summary) instead of a simple text link.
- Customer support (Helpdesk) now automatically follows up with the customer before an automatic closure, rather than silently closing the ticket as before.
- Telephony changes completely in nature: instead of a simple connector to an existing phone system, Odoo can now host a real call center itself (queues, virtual numbers, voice server). It is a paid and entirely new service.
Document management: folders, team sharing and automatic filing
An article in the internal knowledge base, with table of contents and shared workspaces in the left column
In Summary
Odoo 20 is not a mere cosmetic update. Several foundations change deeply (access rights, field management, telephony, artificial intelligence), while the day-to-day of each business function gains comfort without brutal upheaval. A few features disappear with no replacement identified to date: Mondial Relay delivery, the Belgian Winbooks accounting import, Belgian fiscal certification at the checkout and above all French payroll — to be checked before any migration if your business depends on them.
This analysis was double-checked directly in the source code of both versions: an accuracy check, then a systematic search for what might still be missing, in particular on the settings screens. That is the very principle of this approach: verified and complete information, rather than an impressive but approximate list.
Who Is ANOR?
ANOR is an Odoo consulting and integration firm founded by consultants, some of whom have more than 20 years of experience on Odoo, with team members across France. The firm supports French SMEs and mid-sized companies across the entire life cycle of an Odoo project: scoping, integration, custom development, training and support.
Article written by the ANOR team from a direct comparison of the Odoo 19 and Odoo 20 source code, Community and Enterprise.
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