This post details Odoo use cases specifically for service companies operating in time-and-materials mode, also known as technical assistance services.
Which types of companies are concerned?
Companies operating in time-and-materials mode (technical assistance)
These companies provide human resources (consultants, engineers, technicians) to their clients for a fixed or renewable period. Examples:
- IT services companies
- Engineering firms on client assignments
- IT consulting firms
- Freelance networks and umbrella employment companies
💡 Their model relies on fine-grained management of time, planning and contractual relationships. Profitability per FTE, service quality and reducing administrative tasks are critical issues.
Paradoxically, these companies are often very mature operationally... but equipped with fragmented tools. You frequently find:
- A CRM to track sales opportunities, sometimes in a silo.
- A tool or an Excel file for timesheet entry, often not connected to the rest.
- A separate invoicing tool, sometimes manual, with hours re-keyed by hand.
- An isolated accounting software, not integrated with upstream flows.
- One or more HR tools: for leave, appraisals, training, etc.
This fragmentation leads to repeated re-keying, errors, delays... and above all, entire FTEs tied up rebuilding data that is already known.
What concrete gains can you expect?
What if you could free up at least 2 FTEs... and redeploy them to grow your business?
Count on 1 employee freed for every 20 employees when everything is automated with Odoo. These freed resources let you absorb growth without hiring.
The automation and centralization provided by Odoo make it possible to greatly reduce the FTEs dedicated to administrative tasks, often tied up in re-keying, compiling or manual checks. Here are some orders of magnitude observed in the field:
- Company with 15 to 30 consultants: 1 to 2 FTEs saved (administration / sales administration)
- Company with 50 to 80 consultants: 2 to 4 FTEs saved (sales administration, invoicing, HR)
- Company with 100 to 200 consultants: 6 to 10 FTEs saved depending on complexity (multi-company, multi-country, varied profiles)
These gains are not only financial: they also make it possible to redeploy these resources to higher-value functions, or simply to absorb growth without hiring additional administrative support staff
Key business challenges
| Challenges | Time-and-materials service company |
|---|---|
| Planning | Long-term assignment by availability and skills |
| Time and activity reports | Daily/weekly entry, client validation |
| Invoicing | Monthly, per day worked, according to contract |
| Client follow-up | Renewals, multi-assignment management |
| Performance management | Utilization rate, profitability per consultant |
| Human resources | Skills, appraisals, staffing |
What Odoo concretely enables
1. CRM and sales
- Pipeline adapted to the B2B sales cycle
- Segmentation of customers and opportunities
- Smart quotations (automatic calculation, customizable templates)
- Electronic signature
2. Assignment management
- Gantt, Kanban, List or Calendar view
- Resource allocation based on skills and availability
- Tracking of starts, renewals and ends of assignments
- Direct integration with activity reports and invoicing
3. Time tracking (activity reports, timesheets)
- Entry on mobile, desktop or with a timer
- Multi-level validation (manager, client)
- Direct integration with invoicing and analytics
4. Invoicing
- Per day worked, according to contract, framework agreement or assignment
- Multi-company, multi-currency, internal re-invoicing
- Credit notes, down payments, automatic follow-ups
5. Accounting & analytics
- General, analytic and budget accounting
- Profitability tracking by consultant, client or business unit
- Group consolidation, custom reporting
6. HR and staffing
- Employee records with skills and preferences
- Tracking of appraisals, training, absences
- Optimized staffing with utilization forecasts
7. Customer portal and extranet
- Project or assignment portal (activity reports, invoices, documents)
- Real-time reporting shared with clients
- Centralized communication by assignment
8. Reporting and management
- Custom dashboards
- KPIs: utilization rate, profitability per FTE, client follow-up
- Odoo Spreadsheet or export to external BI tools
Conclusion: an ERP designed for time-and-materials
Time-and-materials service companies have long juggled Excel sheets, shared schedules, time-entry software and manual invoicing. The result: many FTEs tied up doing... re-keying.
With Odoo, all data flows automatically from one module to another: an opportunity to automate, make reliable and save time at every step.
Auguria supports you in this transformation with a methodology rooted in field reality and a detailed knowledge of time-and-materials models.
Control, transparency, predictability: Odoo gives you the keys.