Odoo is an open-source ERP platform that covers accounting, quoting, sales orders, invoicing, employee management, and dozens of other operational modules in one integrated environment. It's a popular choice for growing service businesses because it consolidates what would otherwise be five or six separate subscriptions into a single system, and it scales without enterprise licensing complexity.

For Green Genie, Odoo replaced a stack that had grown out of the business (Timely for scheduling, separate accounting software, disconnected employee management, WhatsApp for driver communication). The consolidated platform gave the office team one source of truth and freed the admin team from daily reconciliation.

A well-designed field services app carries the driver's whole day: today's jobs, SWMS and compliance documents, progress updates with photos and video, timesheet logging, incident and vehicle issue reporting, and project-aware chat. All in one interface, designed for the reality of using a phone on a job site.

For Green Genie, Maui does exactly this. Drivers open the app to three primary actions (Today's Projects, Scheduled Projects, Vehicle / Machine Issues), tap into a job, complete the workflow, and move on. Timesheets sync back to Odoo automatically. Nothing gets lost in a group chat. Every action leaves an audit trail. See how custom mobile app development can transform your field operation.

Per-user ERP licensing (Odoo charges around $50 per seat) can become a significant cost when a business needs every driver, technician, or field worker in the ERP. The workaround is to build a companion application that connects to the ERP via API but authenticates against the organisation's employee records, not against individual ERP accounts.

For Green Genie, Dapth built Maui as the companion. The office team runs on Odoo seats. Every driver runs on Maui. Data flows into Odoo through the API. No per-driver ERP licensing cost, no compromise on data integrity, no separate administrative overhead. It's an intelligent licensing pattern that works across any field services operation with a large mobile workforce.

Most Odoo implementations take weeks, not months, when the business is mapped properly first. A website and CRM typically takes 2–4 weeks. A base ERP for a startup takes 4–5 weeks. End-to-end eCommerce, stock and POS takes 6–8 weeks. Timelines depend on the modules involved and the state of your data.

Green Genie ran in two phases: Odoo first, then the Maui driver app once the ERP was stable. If you're weighing up Odoo, get in touch for a Solution Strategy session.

Yes. The pattern (an ERP backbone for head office, a purpose-built companion app for field staff) transfers to any service business where the office runs on an ERP and the field workforce needs its own tool. Air-conditioning installation and service, electrical contracting, facilities management and asset maintenance, transport and logistics operations, and any operation where head-office tooling doesn't match field reality.

It's also a commercially intelligent licensing pattern. The companion app sidesteps per-seat ERP costs for a large field workforce while keeping a single source of truth in the ERP itself. Explore how custom business applications could translate this pattern to your operation.