Using Odoo to Build an ERP System

Application Scenario

Odoo is an open-source ERP/CRM software that integrates a comprehensive suite of applications for managing all aspects of your business, including procurement, inventory, finance and accounting, marketing, manufacturing, human resources management, service support, e-commerce, and website building, achieving fully automated service processes. Supported By FlexusL, the Odoo application image uses Ubuntu 22.04 and is deployed using Docker. The Nginx, pgAdmin, and Docker have been preconfigured in the image. This section describes how to use Odoo to build an ERP system.

Resource Planning and Costs

This practice uses the following resource planning as an example. You can adjust it as required.

Resource	Configuration	Description
Cloud server	vCPUs: 2 Memory: 2 GiB	Select appropriate instance specifications based on your service requirements.
Image	Odoo	Select the Odoo application image.
Security group	Inbound rule: Protocol/Application: TCP Port: 80,9001 Source: 0.0.0.0/0	80: Specifies the internal forwarding port of application images. 9000: Allows external access to the dashboard of the application preinstalled in the image. 9001: Allows external access to the application management page.
Domain name	wpwebsite.com	If the website is only used for personal development or testing, there is no need to add a domain name. If the website is open to the public, add and resolve a domain name for the cloud server.

Process

Procedure	Description
Step 1: Purchase a FlexusL Instance	Purchase a FlexusL instance and select the Odoo application image.
Step 2: Configure Security Groups	Add inbound security group rules to ensure that the application preinstalled in the image can be accessed.
Step 2: Initialize Odoo	Log in to Odoo and create databases.
Step 4: Deploy Odoo	On the dashboard, perform the following operations: Configure general settings Obtain administrator information and technical support Manage databases

Step 1: Purchase a FlexusL Instance

Specify required parameters for the FlexusL instance.

Parameter	Example	Description
Region	CN-Hong Kong	For low network latency and quick resource access, select the region nearest to your target users. After a FlexusL instance is created, the region cannot be changed. Exercise caution when selecting a region.
Application Images	Odoo	Select the Odoo application image.
Instance Specifications	2 vCPUs \| 2 GiB memory and 60 GiB system disk	Select instance specifications as needed.
Instance Name	Odoo-Example	Customize an instance name that is easy to identify, for example, Odoo-Example.
(Optional) Associated Services	Data disk: 10 GiB Host security Cloud backup vault: 70 GiB	You can bundle any of the services to your FlexusL instances as needed: EVS, HSS (basic edition), and CBR and set specifications as needed.
Required Duration	1 month	The minimum duration of a purchase is one month and the maximum duration is three years. Auto-renew is enabled by default, which means the purchased FlexusL instances will be automatically renewed before they expire. If you do not enable auto-renew during the purchase process, you can still enable it later after the instances are created. For more information about auto-renewal rules, see Auto-Renewal Rules.
Quantity	1	Set the number of FlexusL instances to be purchased.

Click Buy Now and complete the payment as prompted.
Go back to the FlexusL console and view the purchased FlexusL instance.

After a FlexusL instance is created using an application image, wait until the image with the pre-installed application is up and running. Then, you can perform operations such as restarting or stopping the instance, or resetting the password. Otherwise, the installation may fail and you cannot log in to the image application dashboard.

Step 2: Configure Security Groups

Add inbound security group rules to ensure that the application preinstalled in the image can be accessed.

Log in to the FlexusL console and click a resource card to go to the instance details page.
In the navigation pane on the left, choose Cloud Servers. Locate the server and click its name.

On the Security Groups tab, click Add Rule. In the displayed dialog box, add rules displayed in the following figure and click OK.

The following figure only displays common rules. You can add more rules as needed.

**Table 1** Security group rules
Priority	Action	Type	Protocol & Port	Source	Description
1	Allow	IPv4	TCP: 80	0.0.0.0/0	Specifies the internal forwarding port of application images
1	Allow	IPv4	TCP: 9001	0.0.0.0/0	Allows external access to the application dashboard.

Step 2: Initialize Odoo

The image application dashboard needs to be initialized only when you log in for the first time.

On the Overview page, click Access in the Dashboard field in the Image area.

If the dashboard of WordPress cannot be accessed, it may be because the port for accessing the dashboard is not allowed or the application has not been up and running. To solve this problem, see Why Can't I Open the Dashboard of the Application Pre-installed in the Application Image?

Configure the parameters and click Create database.

If you have had a backup database on your local device, click or restore a database.

**Table 2** Parameter descriptions
Parameter	Description
Master Password	The system automatically generates a database master password. You can change it but be sure to remember it. NOTE: The database master password will be asked for future operations on databases, so please keep it safe.
Database Name	Specifies a database name.
Email/Password	Specifies the email address and password for the administrator to log in to Odoo. Please keep it safe.
Phone number	Specifies the telephone number of the administrator.
Language	Specifies the language you want to use on the management console.
Country	Specifies the country or region where you are located.
Demo data	After this option is selected, data samples are automatically generated for the created database.

Enter the email address and password, and click Log in.
The management console is displayed.

Then, you have obtained an Odoo hosting server. You can start using Odoo or follow the steps in Step 4: Deploy Odoo to configure general settings, obtain administrator information and technical support, and manage databases.

Step 4: Deploy Odoo

This section describes some basic operations of Odoo. For more information, see Odoo Documentation.

Click in the upper left corner and choose Settings.
Add a user.
1. Click New in the upper left corner.
2. After the user is added, click the username to view or modify the username, email address, access permissions, and preferences.
  The email address must be unique. If you enter a name that already exists, the message indicating the operation cannot be completed because you cannot have two users with the same login will be displayed.
Add a company.
1. Choose User & Companies > Companies, click New, and enter the company name and general information.
2. Click New in the upper right corner.
  After the company is added, you can click the company name to view or modify the basic information about the company.

Click the administrator avatar in the upper right corner.

Click Documentation to obtain the official Odoo guide.
Click Support to go to the Odoo official website and learn more about Odoo products.
Press Shortcuts CTRL+K to set the shortcut key.
Click Preferences and set administrator preferences and account security information.
Click My Odoo.com account to go to the Odoo login page.

On the Odoo login page, click Manage Databases to access the Odoo database manager.

Click to enlarge

You can access the Odoo login page:

From the FlexusL management console. For details, see 1.
By selecting the administrator avatar in the upper right corner and clicking Log out, if you have logged in to Odoo.

(Optional) Set Master Password
If you did not change the database master password when initialing Odoo, you can reset a master password that is easy to remember. The master password is required when you create, delete, dump, or restore databases. Please keep it safe.
1. Click Set Master Password to set a new master password.
2. Click Continue to save the new master password.
Create Database
You can add multiple companies on Odoo. Each database means a company. Multiple companies can use Odoo with different accounts and do not interfere with each other.
1. Click Create Database and set basic information.
2. Click Continue.
3. Click Select, select Database2, and enter the email and password.
4. Click Log in to log in to the management page of Database2.
Backup Database
1. On the database management page, click Backup.
2. On the Backup Database page, enter the master password, select a backup format, and click Backup.
  After the backup is completed, the system will automatically download the database backup file.
Duplicate Database
The data of a company can be duplicated and used as the data of a new enterprise.
1. On the database management page, click Duplicate.
2. Enter the master password, set a new database name, and click Continue.
  After the duplication is successful, the duplicated database will be displayed in the database management column.
Restore Database
After a database is deleted, it can be restored using backup data.
1. Click Restore Database.
2. Enter the master password, select the backup file, set the database name, and click Continue.
  After the restoration is successful, the restored database will be displayed in the database management column.