Odoo is one of the fastest-growing business software products in the world – a ubiquitous digital Swiss army knife. But instead of cutting wire, Odoo cuts through paperwork and chaos in companies. Its strength? Partners. But what does “Odoo partner” actually mean, and why does it matter to you as a client? This article aims to clear up the confusion around Odoo partner status.
What does it mean to be an Odoo partner?
In short, a partner is a company that has signed a contract with Odoo SA from Belgium, which gives it the right to sell, implement and support Odoo software. The partner gets access to technical documentation, support, certification and lower licence prices. On paper, a serious matter. In practice? It can be complicated.
How are Odoo partners classified, and what does it mean for clients?
There are two groups of Odoo partners: learning partners (such as my company, Wolfinne d.o.o., at the moment) and official partners, who are further divided into Ready, Silver and Gold levels. It sounds like levels in a video game – and indeed, the competition and struggle between partners and Odoo SA itself sometimes really does resemble a video game.
Any company can become a learning partner – without any particular vetting process. It is enough to pay a certain amount, with no prior experience in developing or implementing Odoo. Odoo SA has a role called partner developer – sales representatives whose job is to sell as many learning partner contracts as possible to interested companies. These companies get access to the Odoo partnership portal, certain benefits for learning the platform – and a 10% commission on licences sold.
Becoming a Ready partner is relatively simple: you need to meet the formal requirements, pay an annual fee, complete projects in which at least 10 licences are sold and pass one certification. This means the status can be obtained without many completed projects, which can give clients the false impression that the Ready partner label automatically means high expertise and experience.
Ready partners are officially listed on the Odoo partner page and enjoy numerous benefits. Odoo SA sends them contacts of potential clients in the countries where they are registered. They also earn a 10% commission on licences sold.
On the other hand, there are also learning partners who have built up solid experience with Odoo over the years but were not formally part of the partner programme. This further complicates the picture of who is actually a reliable implementer.
A misunderstanding as a catalyst for cooperation – a dialogue between partners without help from Odoo SA
As managing director of Wolfinne d.o.o., I was convinced that we were an official partner too. That is how Odoo SA presented it to me. I was told that we were “just not listed” on the page odoo.com/partners. However, when I asked for confirmation, it turned out that learning partners are not official partners according to Odoo’s classification, which can be seen at this link, where it clearly states that a ready partner must have a certain level of experience.
And if you only look at the official Odoo SA website, it does not reflect the real situation – on the page for prospective partners, Learning Partner is shown on the same level as Ready, Silver and Gold partners, which is not a realistic picture. In practice, official partners have significantly more benefits. That page is really a marketing funnel for selling learning partner contracts.
I have to admit that I was convinced Inovado d.o.o. was not the only official partner in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as they had claimed in a LinkedIn post. I even said so confidently in one of our earlier communications. It turned out I was wrong. However, that misunderstanding led to a deeper discussion and an excellent start to an open dialogue. Mr Mirsad Selimović, director and owner of Inovado d.o.o., was very fair and withdrew the LinkedIn advertisement stating that they were the only official partner in Bosnia and Herzegovina – until we meet in person and talk about the Odoo situation in the country and possible cooperation.
Who actually came first?
The company Inovado d.o.o. from Bosnia and Herzegovina is indeed the first official Ready partner in the country, with genuine experience brought over from its company Techman Solutions in Qatar. Besides Wolfinne d.o.o., there are several other learning partners in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Some of us have more resources and experience, some less. Who will become the second official partner remains to be seen. The market race and the fierce competition already under way will decide.
Another challenge – Odoo SA communicating directly with clients
Our experience shows that clients previously educated by a partner about the potential of Odoo, especially larger companies, are often contacted directly by the Odoo SA sales team right after registering on Odoo.com. In these cases, Odoo SA may offer to sell the implementation and licences directly through its so-called “direct sale” model. The client can decline and choose to work with a local partner. This is particularly important in the local context.
Also, in later phases of the implementation – after the partner has already invested significant resources in analysing and configuring the system – the client may be contacted by an Odoo success manager. If the client expresses dissatisfaction or uncertainty, the success manager may suggest moving the project to a direct engagement with the Odoo team, which effectively bypasses the partner.
Although both situations fall within Odoo SA’s legitimate business practice, they sometimes leave partners feeling deprived of their rights and create uncertainty for the rest of the project. The client, on the other hand, may lose continuity and access to local knowledge, which is often key to a successful digital transformation.
Still, cooperation gives hope
Although the misunderstanding could have led to rivalry and distance, the opposite happened. Inovado d.o.o. and Wolfinne d.o.o. decided to sit down, talk and exchange views. The conclusion? There is great potential for cooperation. The two companies come with different approaches and experience, which turned out to be an excellent basis for working together. Each brings its own specific strengths and competencies to the partnership.
Our shared potential also comes from the fact that we bring Odoo knowledge gained abroad to Bosnia and Herzegovina – Wolfinne from the DACH region, Inovado from the Middle East. With this range of knowledge, we can cover a wide spectrum of industries and challenges faced by local businesses.
We are united in the mission to democratise business software solutions for the market in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Together, we want to lead Odoo’s global mission right here. Together, we can offer a rarely seen combination: real value and reliability in Odoo implementation for local companies.
Announcements about the next steps of our cooperation and individual activities towards the stated goals are still to come.
Community vs Enterprise and the market in Bosnia and Herzegovina
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are companies that offer solutions based on Odoo Community, the free edition of the software, and that often see no value in the Enterprise edition. They are entitled to their approach, but in my opinion both editions have their purpose and use – Community and Enterprise alike. The key is understanding the client’s needs. Some companies will work perfectly well on Community, while others will get considerably more value by moving to Enterprise – especially because of integrations, security, customer support and advanced features.
Still, I advise clients to be careful: always ask which version of Odoo the vendor is offering the solution on. I have information that systems based on version 12 are also being offered on the market, a version that is already outdated, technically unstable and less optimised. The current version is 18, which brings significant improvements and is a safer long-term investment.
The real picture behind the “Odoo partner” name
If you already use Odoo or are planning to, keep in mind that the title “partner” is not an automatic guarantee of quality. Ask questions, request references, demand concrete examples. Do not rely on marketing phrases alone. Ask for a demo instance, which you can also get for a month of testing. That instance should cover at least one core business process of your company. We offer this completely free of charge.
It is not always easy for us partners. Competition is brutal, the rules are often vague, and the fight for every client can be more diplomatic than technical. But when two companies that sincerely want to make a difference join forces, as Inovado and Wolfinne have, the market can only benefit.
A friend of mine, also a Ready partner, told me: “Who cares whether you are a partner or not – what matters is how well you can solve the client’s problem and how happy you can make them.”
So the next time someone tells you that an Odoo partner is always a safe choice, ask yourself: who is behind it, what do they offer and how well do they really know the needs of your business? Because a partnership on paper does not necessarily mean a partnership in reality.
