Key Takeaways
- Kanban, Gantt, calendar, and list views give every team member their preferred task visualization
- Timesheet tracking integrates with payroll for cost analysis and with invoicing for billable time billing
- Project profitability dashboards track revenue, labor costs, and expenses in real time
- Customer portal sharing provides clients visibility into project progress without system access
- Sales integration auto-creates projects and tasks from confirmed quotations
Task Management and Kanban Workflows
Odoo Project uses customizable Kanban boards as the primary task management interface. Define stages that match your workflow (e.g., New, In Progress, Review, Done), drag tasks between stages, and use color-coded priorities to highlight urgent items. Subtasks break complex work into manageable pieces.
- Custom Kanban stages per project type (development, marketing, consulting)
- Task dependencies preventing work from starting until prerequisites complete
- Recurring tasks for weekly, monthly, or periodic activities
- Tags and custom fields for filtering and categorization
- Email integration: create tasks from incoming emails
- Checklists within tasks for step-by-step tracking
Configure automated actions on stage transitions: send notifications when tasks move to 'Review', auto-assign QA checks when tasks reach 'Testing', or update external systems when tasks are marked 'Done'.
Gantt Planning and Resource Allocation
The Gantt view visualizes project timelines with drag-and-drop scheduling. Set task start and end dates, define dependencies (finish-to-start, start-to-start), and see the critical path highlighted. Resource allocation views show team member workloads across all projects, preventing over-commitment.
| View | Best For | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Kanban | Daily task management | Drag-and-drop stage transitions |
| Gantt | Timeline planning | Dependencies and critical path |
| Calendar | Deadline tracking | Date-based task overview |
| List | Bulk operations | Sorting, filtering, mass updates |
| Pivot | Analytics | Cross-dimensional analysis |
Capacity planning in the Gantt view highlights when team members are over-allocated. Red indicators show scheduling conflicts, enabling project managers to redistribute work or adjust timelines before bottlenecks cause delays.
Timesheet Tracking and Project Billing
Team members log time against tasks using the timesheet module. Entries can be made from the task form, a dedicated timesheet view, or the mobile app. Logged hours feed into two systems: payroll (labor cost tracking) and invoicing (billable time billing to clients).
| Billing Model | Setup | Invoice Trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Time & Materials | Billable rate per employee or role | Timesheet approval |
| Fixed Price | Total project price on sales order | Milestone completion |
| Milestone-based | Price per deliverable | Milestone delivery |
| Retainer | Monthly hours allocation | Month-end reconciliation |
Enable analytic accounting on projects to track revenue minus labor costs minus expenses in real time. The profitability dashboard alerts managers when projects approach or exceed budget, enabling course corrections before margins erode.
Customer Portal and Communication
Share project progress with customers through the Odoo portal. Customers view task status, download deliverables, and communicate through the integrated messaging system without needing full Odoo access. Portal visibility is configurable per project and per task.
- Project overview with progress percentage and milestone tracking
- Task status updates visible to customers in real time
- File sharing for deliverables and review documents
- Threaded discussions per task for organized communication
- Customer satisfaction ratings on completed tasks
- Time and billing summaries for transparency
The portal reduces status update meetings and email threads by giving clients self-service access to project information. Teams using the portal report 30-40% fewer status inquiry emails and faster approval cycles.
Project Templates and Automation
Project templates capture repeatable project structures with pre-defined tasks, stages, and assignments. When creating a new project from a template, all tasks, subtasks, dependencies, and assignments copy over with relative date calculations.
- Template projects with complete task hierarchies and dependencies
- Relative date calculations adjust all deadlines from the project start date
- Automated actions on task creation, stage change, and deadline
- Email notifications to stakeholders at key project milestones
- Escalation rules for overdue tasks and blocked dependencies
Build a template library for your common project types (client onboarding, product launch, website redesign). Each template should include task estimates, standard checklists, and default assignments. Update templates quarterly based on project retrospective findings.
Frequently Asked Questions
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