Hiring an Odoo Development Company: 7 Red Flags & Must-Haves

• Posted by Serpent Consulting Services December 4, 2025 Filed in Technology #OdooDevelopmentCompany  #OdooDevelopment  #OdooExpert  #OdooIntegration  37 views
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  Choosing the right Odoo development company can make or break your ERP project. A great partner will deliver a clean, scalable, and future-proof solution that grows with your business. A bad one? You’ll end up with buggy modules, endless delays, and a system that costs more to fix than to build from scratch.

  After helping dozens of companies select (and sometimes rescue) their Odoo implementations, I’ve seen the same warning signs appear again and again. Here are the 7 red flags you must watch for — plus the must-have qualities that separate average agencies from true Odoo experts.

  7 Red Flags When Hiring an Odoo Development Company

  1. They don’t have official Odoo partner status (or can’t prove experience) Anyone can download Odoo and call themselves a developer. Real expertise shows in an Official Odoo Partner badge (Silver, Gold, or Ready) or a long list of verifiable community contributions and client references. If they hesitate to share their Odoo partner profile or case studies, walk away.
     
     
  2. They quote a fixed price without a proper discovery phase A trustworthy Odoo development company will never give you an accurate quote after a 15-minute call. Odoo projects are highly customizable — quoting without understanding your workflows, data migration needs, and third-party integrations is a recipe for scope creep and budget overruns.
     
     
  3. Their portfolio is full of “template” websites, not real Odoo projects Look closely at their case studies. If you only see generic WordPress-style sites or basic Odoo Community installations with zero customization, they probably lack deep ERP experience. You need a team that has built complex accounting rules, warehouse automations, multi-company setups, or custom manufacturing flows.
     
     
  4. They outsource everything to freelancers without in-house senior developers Many agencies act as middlemen. Ask directly: “Who will actually write the code and lead the architecture?” If the answer is vague or they admit everything goes to an offshore freelancer network, expect communication gaps and inconsistent quality.
  5. No clear methodology or project management tools Professional Odoo implementations follow structured phases: Discovery → Gap Analysis → Development → Testing → Training → Go-live → Support. If they can’t explain their process (Scrum, Agile, or Odoo’s own SHAPE methodology) and show you tools like Odoo.sh, GitHub, or Jira, that’s a major red flag.
     
     
  6. They promise “100% custom code” instead of leveraging existing Odoo apps Ironically, the opposite is also dangerous. Some companies reinvent the wheel instead of using proven apps from the Odoo App Store. The best Odoo development company know exactly when to extend existing modules and when to build from scratch — saving you time and money.
     
     
  7. Zero focus on post-launch support and training Your Odoo system will evolve. If the contract ends the moment they click “Go-Live” and they don’t offer SLA-based support, version upgrades, or user training, you’ll be stuck when Odoo 19 rolls out next year.

  Must-Have Qualities of a Top-Tier Odoo Development Company

  Now that you know what to avoid, here’s what to look for:

  • Certified Odoo developers (at least 3–5 years of exclusive Odoo experience)
  • Proven track record with businesses in your industry (manufacturing, retail, services, etc.)
  • Transparent pricing after a paid or free discovery workshop
  • In-house functional consultants — not just coders
  • Active contributors to Odoo GitHub or regular speakers at Odoo Experience/Open Days
  • Long-term support packages and upgrade assistance
  • Excellent communication in your language and time zone (or overlapping hours)
  • References you can actually call (and recent ones!)

  Final Advice Before You Sign

  Take your time. Schedule demo calls with 3–4 shortlisted companies. Ask them to walk you through one of their recent projects — from initial requirements to the final solution. The way they explain complex topics will tell you everything about how smooth (or painful) your project will be.

  Investing in the right Odoo development company today will save you tens of thousands in fixes and lost productivity tomorrow.

  Ready to start your Odoo journey the right way? Drop your requirements below or contact us for a free 30-minute consultation — no sales pressure, just honest advice from people who live and breathe Odoo every day.