The Real Cost of Falling Behind on Odoo Versions

If your business is still running Odoo 16 or an earlier version, there is now another reason to start thinking seriously about your upgrade plan.

Odoo's current Enterprise subscription terms allow for an additional fee of 25% of the annualised subscription price when a database is running a version that falls outside Odoo's covered versions.

At present, Odoo 17, 18 and 19 fall within the three-version support window. Businesses still running Odoo 16 or earlier therefore need to understand what staying on an older version could mean financially.

But the 25% fee is only part of the story.

From our experience working with Odoo environments, the bigger issue is often what happens when an upgrade is delayed for too long.

How Odoo's Version Support Works

Odoo works on a rolling support cycle covering its three most recent major versions.

With Odoo 19 being the current major release, the covered versions are currently Odoo 17, Odoo 18 and Odoo 19.

As new major versions are released, that window moves forward.

This is important because an Odoo version that is supported today will not remain within the standard support window indefinitely.

Under Odoo's current Enterprise Subscription Agreement, an older database that falls outside the covered versions may attract an additional annual fee equal to 25% of the annualised subscription price.

The agreement provides for this additional fee to be charged once per year and no earlier than six months after the release of a new major version.

For businesses running older Odoo versions, this changes the upgrade discussion. Staying on an old version may now have a direct cost attached to it.

What Does 25% Mean in Practice?

The numbers can become significant fairly quickly.

Take a business with an annual Odoo Enterprise subscription of R200,000.

A 25% additional fee would represent another R50,000.

That R50,000 hasn't added another warehouse, another group of users or new functionality to the system. It is an additional cost associated with remaining on an older version under the applicable Odoo policy.

This is why we believe businesses should look at the issue before an older version becomes a problem.

The question shouldn't simply be, “Can we stay on our current version?”

A better question is:

“What will it cost us to stay where we are compared with upgrading?”

The Licence Fee Isn't Always the Biggest Issue

When we assess an older Odoo environment, the version number itself is usually only the starting point.

What matters just as much is what has happened to that database since it was originally implemented.

A business may have added custom reports, changed workflows, developed specialised modules or connected Odoo to other systems over several years.

Those changes don't necessarily create a problem. Good customisation can deliver substantial business value.

But every custom component needs to be considered when planning an upgrade.

A company that has remained relatively close to standard Odoo may have a straightforward migration path even with a large number of users.

Another business with fewer users but extensive custom development could require considerably more work.

That is why we don't believe an Odoo upgrade should be estimated based purely on the number of users or the version number.

You need to understand the database.

Integrations Are Often Where the Work Sits

This is particularly relevant in South Africa, where many Odoo installations connect to local or industry-specific systems.

We increasingly see Odoo environments connected to platforms such as Takealot, Amazon, Shopify and WooCommerce, as well as courier, payment, banking, EDI and business intelligence solutions.

An upgrade therefore isn't finished simply because the Odoo database opens successfully on the new version.

The important question is whether the processes around it still work.

Can orders still flow into Odoo correctly?

Are courier labels and waybills being generated?

Are payment transactions processing as expected?

Is an EDI customer still sending and receiving documents correctly?

Are custom reports producing the same information?

These are the areas that need proper testing.

In our experience, integrations and custom modules can account for a significant portion of the work involved in moving an established Odoo environment to a newer version.

The Longer You Wait, the Bigger the Jump

There is a practical difference between moving forward one or two Odoo versions and trying to catch up after several years.

The longer an environment remains unchanged, the more opportunity there is for custom code, integrations and business processes to move away from the current Odoo architecture.

Functionality can also change between releases. A customisation that was necessary four years ago may no longer be required because Odoo now handles the process as standard.

This is actually one of the areas where an upgrade can deliver unexpected value.

Instead of automatically migrating every custom module, we prefer to ask whether that development is still necessary.

If newer standard Odoo functionality can replace it, removing the customisation can simplify the database and potentially make future upgrades easier.

Don't Upgrade Just Because There's a Surcharge

We also wouldn't recommend upgrading purely because there is a 25% fee.

An ERP upgrade affects real business processes. It needs to make operational and financial sense.

Newer Odoo versions have introduced changes across accounting, inventory, manufacturing, CRM, point of sale, eCommerce, reporting, automation and AI.

Some of those improvements may have considerable value to one business and very little value to another.

A manufacturing company, for example, should look carefully at what has changed in production, inventory, quality and shop-floor processes.

A distribution company may be more interested in improvements to purchasing, warehousing, barcode operations and logistics.

The upgrade discussion should therefore consider three things together:

the cost of remaining on the old version, the cost of upgrading, and the operational value the newer version could provide.

That gives management a much better basis for making a decision.

What Should You Do If You're Still on Odoo 16 or Earlier?

Start by finding out exactly where you stand.

Confirm the Odoo version running in production and understand the support position that applies to your Enterprise subscription and hosting arrangement.

Then look at the database itself.

What has been customised?

Which third-party modules are installed?

What external systems connect to Odoo?

Which processes would stop the business from operating if they failed after an upgrade?

Once you know that, an upgrade can be scoped properly.

For a relatively standard database, the path forward may be simpler than expected.

For a heavily customised environment, it may make more sense to plan the migration in stages and allow sufficient time for development and testing.

Either way, it is better to know the answer now than to discover it when the upgrade has become urgent.

What About Businesses on Odoo 17?

If you're running Odoo 17, there is no reason to panic.

But there is a reason to plan.

Odoo's support window moves forward as new major versions are released. Being within the three covered versions today doesn't mean a business can forget about upgrades indefinitely.

We believe the better approach is to include Odoo upgrades in the company's normal IT and ERP planning.

That doesn't necessarily mean upgrading every year.

It means knowing where your version sits in the Odoo lifecycle, understanding your customisation footprint and having a realistic idea of how much work the next migration is likely to involve.

A Better Way to Look at Odoo Upgrades

For many years, businesses could look at an older ERP version and say:

“It's working. Why change it?”

That question is becoming less useful.

A system can still be working perfectly well while gradually becoming more expensive and more difficult to upgrade.

The better approach is to treat ERP versions in the same way as any other important business infrastructure.

Know what you are running.

Know when support changes.

Know what has been customised.

And know roughly what the next upgrade will involve.

Then the business can choose when to upgrade rather than having the timing dictated by cost, support or an operational problem.

The Bottom Line

The 25% additional fee brings the cost of running an older Odoo version into much sharper focus, particularly for businesses still operating Odoo 16 or earlier.

But we wouldn't look at the surcharge in isolation.

The real cost of falling behind can also include an increasingly complicated migration, ageing custom development, outdated integrations and missed improvements available in newer Odoo releases.

For businesses already on Odoo 17, 18 or 19, now is a good opportunity to make version planning part of the longer-term ERP strategy rather than waiting until the current version falls outside the covered window.

For businesses on older versions, the first step doesn't have to be an upgrade.

It should be an assessment.

At AP Systems, we work with South African Odoo users to review existing environments, identify custom modules and integrations, assess the upgrade path and establish what is actually involved before a migration decision is made.

That gives management a clear view of the cost and risk of upgrading — and, just as importantly, the cost of doing nothing.