Table of Contents
Introduction
Managing customer relationships in a multiplying digital age is daunting. As an entrepreneur, you need a robust customer relationship management (CRM) module like Odoo in your business setup to ensure end-to-end management. Odoo, a prolific open-source business management software, is making its way to the top CRM league with its vast features. This year, Odoo, in its most anticipated event, “Odoo Experience 2024,” which was held in Belgium, announced the potential features of its latest version, Odoo 18.
In this guide, we will explore the latest Odoo 18 feature segments and provide valuable insights to help you understand their use cases and benefits for your business.
Latest Odoo 18 CRM Features Overview
Modernize User Interface
As an Odoo user, when you upgrade the platform to its latest version, Odoo 18, you will find a freshness in its user interface. With simplified URLs, the community has enabled precise and more structured layouts, which has made navigation smoother. The primary objective behind this UI revamping is to give users a seamless experience while doubling productivity.
The integration of the new feature “Company Switcher” ensures a quick and effortless switch between businesses irrespective of the device (desktop, smartphone, or tablet) you work in. Moreover, you will get to use Project Top Bar, which is your assistant. It will keep track of all your project details, helping you get a clearer view of your project progress, deadline, and status at will.
Intuitive Website Builder
Your website is your business identity, and Odoo has decided to make it more intuitive with its website builder feature. With Odoo 18’s latest website feature, you can quickly import your existing site with a single click and revamp it to make it more organized.
The new font preview makes it easy to give it a fresh look for better web presence and engagement. Plus, it allows you to customize it with new building blocks and previews. It has also added a quick translation tool, allowing you to include multiple languages to make it convenient for a global audience.
Innovative Inventory Management
Inventory management is essential for a business that manages large-spectrum physical products. Proper inventory management ensures a fine balance between stock availability and movement. Odoo 18 introduces broad inventory management features like push/pull rules, which ensure stock flow. It also allows businesses to reorder out-of-stock products, avoiding potential supply chain disorder.
Another feature, valuation by lot or serial number, adds a detailed layer to inventory tracking, ensuring smooth operation. The new dispatch management feature/shipping tool lets you manage product delivery like a pro, giving you total control.
Enhanced ECommerce Features
The Odoo 18 feature update is incomplete without eCommerce modules. The latest open-source business management software version has brought many updates in the eCommerce segment. One of the primary updates is improving the product filtering system, which has eased consumer product browsing. In Odoo 18, you will also get many improved payment gateway options. Businesses that operate in multiple regions will significantly benefit from these updates.
The new Odoo 18 features update for eCommerce includes advanced tools for personalizing the shopping experience. Businesses can now deliver tailored product recommendations based on customer behavior, significantly boosting opportunities for cross-selling and upselling.
Advanced Invoicing & Accounting
Managing accounting and invoicing can be daunting in a continuously evolving business landscape. It often gets messy and leads to chaos. However, with Oddo 18’s latest invoice editing feature, accountants can quickly catch duplicates and generate flawless invoices. As an advanced security measure, the business management software has also introduced “hashing on send” to prevent unwanted threats.
Another significant feature Oddo has added in this segment is reconciliation quick create, which significantly balances the account books more accurately. In addition, the lock dates revamp gives you control over your financial periods. Moreover, you can harness the improved data selection and new budget features tools to manage your finances better and with finesse.
Smart HR and Employee Management
Human resource management is, in reality, one of the most complex jobs. However, Odoo 18 feature updates have prioritized this business segment and brought some intuitive updates. The HR models, with a new suite of performance appraisal systems, let managers set daily tasks and project goals, track their progress, and conduct reviews.
Payroll management has also been updated in the scanner. It now seamlessly automates many processes, including calculation and payment distribution, significantly reducing errors and effort. Leave management has been enhanced with new features, simplifying the process for employees to request time off for particular days and for managers to approve or deny these requests.
Improved Sales and CRM
Understanding the vitality of customer relationship management (CRM) in business operations, Odoo 18 brings many advanced features that make relationship management more efficient. With the improved lead scoring algorithm, sales can focus entirely on promising leads. It will help them go into crucial details, analyze their performance, and close deals conveniently.
Odoo 18 offers flexible quotation templates for quickly creating customized quotes. Accepted quotes can be easily converted into orders, streamlining the sales process and speeding up deal finalization. Moreover, the sales management pipeline update provides sales managers with a clear overview of all deals. It gives them an upper hand in identifying the closer deals.
Effortless Online Appointment Scheduling
Setting an appointment with the latest Odoo 18 is no longer tedious. The advanced quick-start feature has simplified appointment scheduling and real-time status updates. Now, there is no hassle or confusion between you and your clients, as you both are on the same page with this ultra-modern Odoo 18 feature.
Refined Point of Sale (POS)
You don’t want your consumer to undergo a clumsy checkout process and have a bad shopping experience. Odoo 18’s Point of Sale (POS) system revolutionizes checkout, delivering a seamless and efficient experience. Its intuitive interface, accessible on desktop and mobile devices, empowers your team to navigate effortlessly.
It lets you create products directly from the POS interface without leaving it. You only have to add the product name, sales price (exclusive of taxes), customer taxes, POS category, etc. The refined product variant selection and integrated barcode lookup further optimize operations, accelerating transactions and ensuring customer satisfaction.
Revamped Project Management
Odoo 18 has introduced many new tools to streamline project management. One of the highlight features is the Gantt Chart. It provides a precise visual presentation of the project timeline and task dependencies. The Gantt Chart is a flagship offering, making it easy for project managers to monitor development progress within a quick and secure environment.
It has also taken care of the large project segment. In Odoo 18, you will harness the full potential of the task dependency management system to prepare a result-driven roadmap of large, complex projects. They can also link tasks so the new one can’t begin until the first one is completed. Odoo 18 has improved time tracking. It allows team members to log hours easily and managers to review and approve timesheets directly in the platform.
Final Thought
It’s a warp from our side regarding the Oddo 18 CRM feature exploration. We covered every crucial feature we believe is vital for business and will become the center of attraction of this business management software. Odoo has done a significant job in its latest version. It offers a broad spectrum of new features and improvements to take a stand for the business setup in the evolving digital landscape.
Whether you’re a long-term user or a newbie considering Oddo implementation, this is your best chance to get into the world of Odoo CRM. Enhance the latest Odoo 18 feature offerings to enhance business operations, productivity, deliverables, and revenue. Hire Odoo developers from a reliable Odoo development company like Metizsoft to ensure seamless implementation and execution of Odoo CRM in your business setup. Book an Odoo consultation session with our seasoned CRM consultants to harness the full potential of Odoo 18!
