Battlecard 3 of 3 · internal, not for prospects
Odoo,
up close.
Odoo is not really an accounting competitor. It is an ERP that happens to include accounting. The prospect is either dreaming of one system that does everything, or living with what that dream cost. Different conversations; find out which one you are in.
Open-source ERP, Belgium-origin
Modular: dozens of apps
Partner-led implementation
Community + enterprise editions
Accounting is one module of many
First, find out which
conversation you are in.
Ask one question early: "Are you evaluating Odoo, or already running it?" The play is different.
If they are evaluating
Sell time-to-value. An Odoo rollout is a project: a partner, configuration days, data migration, training, then upkeep. CrossVal is a bank connection and an import. They can have finance solved this month and still decide about ERP for operations later, with cleaner numbers to plan it on.
If they already run it
Tread gently; they own that decision. Ask how the accounting module is working, who prepares VAT out of it, and what the last upgrade cost. If finance is the sore spot, offer the surgical fix: keep Odoo for operations, let CrossVal run the books alongside it.
The one-line frame: "Odoo is a system you build. CrossVal is a result you switch on. For operations, building can be worth it. For the books and the FTA, you should not have to build anything."
Concede this honestly, it buys you credibility
- The breadth is real. Inventory, manufacturing, POS, ecommerce, HR in one place is a genuine draw.
- Customisation is real. With a good partner, Odoo can be shaped to unusual workflows.
- Open source keeps licence costs honest. The entry price is genuinely low.
- Right for some. A business whose core problem is operations, not finance, may belong on an ERP.
Where the job differs, and CrossVal wins
- Accounting is a side module. It exists to serve the ERP, not to run your finance function. CrossVal exists for exactly that.
- Nothing works until it is built. Partner days, configuration, migration, training. CrossVal is live in days, not quarters.
- FTA workflow is a configuration. Local VAT and CT need setting up and maintaining. CrossVal's agent files in FTA format out of the box.
- Every customisation is a liability. Each one must survive every upgrade, forever. CrossVal carries its own maintenance.
- Nobody is on call. Support is the partner retainer. CrossVal includes a certified accountant within four hours.
Objections you will hear,
and what to say back.
"Odoo does everything. Accounting comes included."
"Included, yes. Configured, localised, and filing your returns, no. Finance is the one function you cannot afford to have eighty percent right, because the remaining twenty percent is the FTA. Run operations on whatever fits; let the books be done by something built only for that."
"We want one system, not many tools."
"Fair goal, and the honest version of it is one system plus a finance function that runs itself. CrossVal sits at the bank and the books; it does not fight your ERP. What most owners actually want is not one login, it is one less job. That is the part we remove."
"Open source means it costs us almost nothing."
"The licence, sure. The cost of Odoo is the partner: implementation days, customisation, hosting, and the retainer for changes and upgrades. Ask what the last upgrade cost and how long it took. Our price is one line, and it includes the people."
"Our implementation partner can build anything we need."
"They probably can. The question is whether finance should be a build at all. Every custom screen is something to re-test at every upgrade. VAT rules change, Corporate Tax evolves, e-invoicing is coming. On CrossVal, keeping up with the FTA is our job, not a change request."
Do not say
Never mock a long or expensive ERP rollout; if they lived one, it is their scar and their money. And do not argue Odoo is bad software. The argument is narrower and stronger: finance and compliance should be an outcome you buy, not a module you build.
Discovery questions
that set the frame.
"How many partner days did the setup take, and what does the ongoing retainer cover?"Puts the real total cost next to the free licence.
"Who prepares and files your VAT and Corporate Tax out of Odoo today?"Usually a person plus Excel plus a tax agent. That is the CrossVal slot.
"What happened at your last version upgrade?"Surfaces the customisation tax in their own words.
"Of the modules you bought, which do you actually use every week?"Gently deflates the everything-in-one story; finance is often the weakest module in daily use.
Moving an Odoo shop
across.
Export GL + trial balance->
Import history + CoA->
Connect the bank->
Keep Odoo for operations if valued->
Finance runs itself
The coexistence story is the closer here. They do not have to unwind the ERP decision to fix finance. That removes the ego cost of saying yes.