ERP Glossary
ERP & Odoo terminology, explained plainly
No jargon wrapped in more jargon. Every term defined as if you're explaining it to a smart person who hasn't spent their career in ERP.
A
- API (Application Programming Interface)
- A defined contract allowing two software systems to communicate. Odoo's JSON-RPC API lets external tools read or write ERP records programmatically.
- Audit Trail
- A time-stamped record of who changed what, and when. Odoo's chatter and log notes provide built-in audit trails on every business document.
B
- Bill of Materials (BOM)
- A structured list of raw materials and components needed to manufacture a product. Central to Odoo Manufacturing and MRP.
- Blueprint
- A detailed functional specification produced during discovery, mapping business processes to Odoo configurations and custom developments required.
C
- Chatter
- Odoo's built-in communication thread on every record — log notes, messages, scheduled activities, and field change history all in one place.
- CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
- Software managing the full customer lifecycle from lead to close. Odoo CRM tracks pipeline stages, activities, and revenue forecasts in one interface.
D
- Data Migration
- Extracting data from legacy systems, transforming it to fit Odoo's schema, and loading it without losing accuracy or historical records.
- DevOps
- The practice of combining software development and IT operations to enable faster, more reliable deployments through CI/CD pipelines, monitoring, and infrastructure-as-code.
E
- ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)
- Software that integrates core business functions — finance, inventory, manufacturing, HR, sales — into a single database and interface.
- ETL (Extract, Transform, Load)
- The technical pipeline used in data migrations: extract data from source systems, transform it into the target schema, load it into the new system.
F
- Functional Specification
- A document describing what the system must do, written in business language. Agreed before development begins to prevent scope creep.
G
- Go-Live
- The moment an Odoo implementation moves from staging to production. Usually preceded by a hypercare period for rapid issue resolution.
H
- Hypercare
- An intensive support window (typically 2–4 weeks) right after go-live, where the implementation team is on-call to fix issues fast.
I
- Implementation Partner
- A certified company that configures, customises, and deploys Odoo for end clients. Anvexis Stack is an official Odoo implementation partner.
J
- JSON-RPC
- The primary API protocol used by Odoo. External systems call Odoo methods using JSON-formatted requests over HTTP, enabling clean integrations.
K
- KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
- A measurable value used to track business performance. Odoo dashboards and reporting modules surface KPIs in real time.
L
- Ledger
- In accounting, the complete record of all financial transactions. Odoo's General Ledger provides a full audit trail of every debit and credit entry.
M
- Module
- A self-contained unit of Odoo functionality. Standard modules include Sales, Inventory, Accounting, and HR. Custom modules extend this behaviour.
- MRP (Material Requirements Planning)
- A system calculating what materials are needed, in what quantities, and by when — based on sales forecasts and current stock levels.
- Multi-tenancy
- Architecture where one application instance serves multiple clients with isolated data. Essential in SaaS products built on Odoo or adjacent stacks.
N
- n8n
- An open-source workflow automation tool used to build integration pipelines between Odoo and external services without custom sync code.
O
- OCA (Odoo Community Association)
- A non-profit governing a library of open-source Odoo modules. OCA-compatible code follows community standards and is easier to maintain long-term.
- ORM (Object-Relational Mapper)
- Odoo's layer that maps Python model definitions to PostgreSQL tables. Developers interact with data through Python classes, not raw SQL.
- OWL (Odoo Web Library)
- The modern JavaScript framework Odoo uses for frontend components, introduced in Odoo 14. Component-based, similar in concept to React.
P
- PostgreSQL
- The open-source relational database powering Odoo. All ERP data — transactions, documents, configurations — lives in PostgreSQL tables.
Q
- QA (Quality Assurance)
- Testing software before go-live: unit tests, user acceptance testing, performance testing, and regression checks after any change.
R
- RBAC (Role-Based Access Control)
- A security model where permissions are assigned by role, not individually. Odoo implements RBAC through user groups and access rights.
S
- SaaS (Software as a Service)
- A software delivery model where the application is hosted by the provider and accessed via a browser. Odoo offers a SaaS version; Anvexis Stack deploys dedicated cloud instances.
- Scoping
- The discovery phase where requirements are documented, effort estimated, and a fixed-price spec agreed before development starts.
- Sprint
- A fixed-length development cycle (typically 2 weeks) used in Agile delivery. Anvexis Stack runs bi-weekly sprints with client demos after each one.
T
- Technical Specification
- A developer-facing document describing how a feature will be built — data models, API endpoints, dependencies, and edge cases.
U
- UAT (User Acceptance Testing)
- The final testing phase where end users validate the configured system meets business requirements before they sign off on go-live.
V
- Version Upgrade
- Migrating Odoo from one major version to another (e.g. v14 → v17). Requires custom module porting, data transformation, and full regression testing.
W
- Webhook
- An HTTP callback sent by one system to notify another of an event in real time — used heavily for Shopify, Stripe, and other platform integrations.
- WMS (Warehouse Management System)
- A system for tracking inventory movements, storage locations, and fulfilment. Odoo's Inventory module includes native WMS capabilities with barcode scanning.
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