A common comment upon discovering Odoo is that accounting management can only be done with the installation of Odoo Enterprise. We believe this is a good time to analyze this assertion in detail.
When we install Odoo Community, accounting management doesn't appear anywhere, nor are there available groups at first sight that allow us to create it. Therefore, it makes us think that this information is not available. However, if we analyze it in depth, we can see that the accounting information is there, but hidden. We realize this when entering developer mode, where a new group called Show full accounting features appears. This group allows us to visualize all the entries and also shows us an important part of the existing information, such as the accounting accounts or the real detail of the movement in the case of invoices.
Nevertheless, the Odoo Community Association (OCA) itself proposes a module to simplify this discovery, enabling various menus that will streamline our work. Additionally, within the OCA, we can find many modules that will be necessary if we want to use accounting from Odoo Community.
Bank Reconciliation
Another part that we won't have access to is bank reconciliation. Fortunately, we have two options depending on the Odoo version. In version 15 and earlier, the original Odoo module was migrated, although starting from version 16, it has been improved by updating the technology after a complete refactoring.
Payment Management
The OCA also offers a payment file management system that has been in operation for over ten years. During this period, multiple improvements have been made, both visually and in terms of performance, to adapt it to the new versions of Odoo. In any case, it is one of the best-maintained modules in the community.
It allows exportation in the usual bank files (SEPA standard), so we only need to proceed to send these files to our usual bank for processing. This allows us to minimize possible errors when entering data.
Importing Bank Files
Every good ERP should strive to improve processes and automate those that provide little value to companies. Entering banking data is usually a manual, cumbersome process with possible errors that we need to minimize. From the OCA, automatic importation of usual bank files is allowed, which input all the data for us. Then we only have to reconcile the created elements. To do this, we just need to consider what the usual format we will use is and install the corresponding module. For example, in Spain, it is common to use the 43 standard for bank files. Additionally, it also allows direct integration with specific entities, such as Ponto or GoCardLess.
Financial Reports
In previous entries, we have already discussed the virtues of MIS Builder, which allows us to generate complete and high-quality financial reports for our company. These types of reports have nothing to envy to other solutions.
Additionally, there are also a set of modules that allow us to generate basic financial reports, such as the general ledger or tax tables.
Tax File Generation
Finally, in the Spanish localization, we have multiple reports that allow us to consult the tax obligations of the company and also allow us to generate the files to be sent to the Tax Agency. This allows us to anticipate and also minimize the risk of incorrectly entered data.
In summary, although it may not seem like it, we can use Odoo Community to manage our company if we wish. It is possible that with Odoo Community alone, the goal may be complex, but if we combine it with the modules of the Odoo Community Association, we can obtain a completely effective solution.