Duration: 24:45
PART 1 — Analytical Summary 💼
Context and why it matters
In this French-language session, Grégory Bellmont (Odoo) explores how the accountant’s role is evolving from a historical “compliance expert” to a real-time, trusted advisor. The central thesis: collaboration on a shared, integrated platform like Odoo turns accounting from after-the-fact reporting into continuous guidance. This matters because firms want fewer emails and manual steps, better data quality, and faster closings—so accountants can spend more time on analysis and advice.
What was shown (narrative walkthrough) ⚙️
Bellmont works end-to-end in a client’s file to illustrate how Odoo unifies workflows. In Odoo Documents, he uploads files and lets AI/OCR classify them into the right folders (e.g., Purchases, Insurance) and even create draft vendor bills automatically. Moving to Odoo Accounting, he validates those vendor bills with help from AI: it detects a first-time supplier, proposes the right expense account with descriptions, and narrows tax choices to intra‑EU taxes when the supplier is intracommunity. He refines line splits by selecting values directly on the PDF, and handles partial non-deductibility (e.g., electricity with a 65% professional use) using built-in percentage logic that auto-posts the non-deductible portion.
He processes an electronic invoice (XML) that arrived automatically and uses a one-click option to strip zero-value lines, keeping the ledger neat. On the sales side, invoices created by the client are queued “to review,” and Odoo links the accountant to the full 360° business context—sales order, project, tasks, timesheets, and delivery—right from the invoice.
For banks, a redesigned reconciliation flow uses AI-assisted matching. It suggests open items, tracks the balancing amount in real time, and learns from prior postings to propose the right accounts. He demonstrates how a payment gateway settlement with a gross amount and commission can be split according to a configured rule (e.g., clearing account plus fee expense) with one click.
On compliance, a new VAT workflow centralizes fiscal tasks. The accountant reviews anomalies (e.g., documents missing attachments), requests missing files in-app from the client, locks the VAT period, downloads the XML, follows a direct portal link to submit, and sends the resulting payment QR code to the client.
For review and controls, a working file shows moved balances for mass “reviewed” marking. Preconfigured checks (e.g., new fixed assets) help auditors drill into postings, open source documents instantly, and certify in bulk. The audit trail allows filtering by user actions—useful to track what the client changed. Finally, by calling Odoo’s AI from the main command bar, he asks the system to build a custom Profit & Loss report (months as columns, accounts as rows) for a chosen year—generated automatically in seconds and ready for analysis or export to spreadsheets.
New apps for multi-client oversight 🧠
Bellmont introduces a dedicated Database app that gives accounting firms a central cockpit across all client databases—Odoo Online, Odoo.sh, and on-premise—showing pending items (e.g., vendor bills, audits, compliance tasks) and offering direct-login links to each client’s system. He also demonstrates Equity, a cap table/ownership view that centralizes shareholders, rights, and transactions per client. From Database, he kicks off a UBO registry request by emailing the client a form to fill out—tightening the loop on statutory tasks.
Community, enablement, and momentum 🚀
To make adoption smoother, Odoo Academy offers free training globally (in-person and online) for invoicing and accounting—cited figures include training roughly 200 entrepreneurs weekly and 500 accountants monthly. More than 2,000 accounting firms in 130 countries already use Odoo. A dedicated accountants’ community provides a monthly newsletter with tips and product news, specialized support, and free access to clients’ databases.
Impact and takeaways 💬
The demo underscores a shift from encoding to advising. A shared, real-time platform reduces back-and-forth emails, cuts administrative load, and raises data quality. AI and automation do the heavy lifting: document sorting, OCR extraction, tax context awareness, bank recognition, anomaly detection, and on-demand reporting. Compliance becomes orchestrated with locking, XML export, and payment instructions in one flow. For firms managing many clients, the new Database and Equity apps centralize oversight of operational and statutory work, turning scattered tasks into a portfolio-level command center. The result: faster month-ends, clearer responsibilities, and more time for proactive financial counsel.
Notes from the Q&A (highlights) 🧠
- On OCR/AI linking a document to a contact: possible via extensible AI actions; not confirmed out of the box—best tested per use case.
- Migration of an accountant’s portfolio: bulk Excel imports for opening balances, customers/suppliers, and other data.
- Database app availability: positioned for Odoo 19, connecting to Online via DB name/user and to Odoo.sh/on-premise via API key; designed to manage even v18 client DBs.
- Bulk changes across all dossiers: depends on what you change; activities are dossier-specific and often set per client.
- Tracking document origin: use audit trail and the side panel in Documents to see creator and email source.
- GDPR: Odoo’s AI in this context is stateless; it doesn’t retain prompts or history.
- Access control: Users need permission to use AI; AI cannot perform actions in apps the user can’t access.
- Quality review frameworks: not standard as a packaged checklist, but can be configured via the working file checks.
PART 2 — Viewpoint: Odoo Perspective
Disclaimer: AI-generated creative perspective inspired by Odoo's vision.
Accountants have always been the guardians of financial truth. What’s changing is the tempo: with a shared platform and real-time data, advisory becomes continuous. Our job at Odoo is to remove every friction—classification, reconciliation, reporting—so accountants can focus on judgment, not keystrokes.
Integration is our compass. If an invoice connects to a project and timesheets, the accountant sees the whole story, not just the ledger line. And for firms with dozens of clients, unified oversight is non-negotiable—that’s exactly why Database and Equity exist. Simplicity scales when you design the whole system as one, for the community, and with the community.
PART 3 — Viewpoint: Competitors (SAP / Microsoft / Others)
Disclaimer: AI-generated fictional commentary. Not an official corporate statement.
Odoo’s push toward an advisor-centric workflow is smart. The blend of AI-assisted accounting, real-time collaboration, and a 360° view of operations is compelling for SMBs and midmarket firms. The Database and Equity apps, plus VAT orchestration, address real pain points in multi-entity oversight and compliance task management.
The challenge will be depth at enterprise scale: stringent multi-country compliance, complex segregation of duties, and advanced control frameworks. Odoo’s UX strength is clear; maintaining that simplicity while meeting high-end auditability, regulated industry needs, and massive data volumes is where established enterprise ERPs differentiate. Still, the direction is right—especially if Odoo keeps investing in governance, scalability, and region-specific compliance packs.
Disclaimer: This article contains AI-generated summaries and fictionalized commentaries for illustrative purposes. Viewpoints labeled as "Odoo Perspective" or "Competitors" are simulated and do not represent any real statements or positions. All product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners.