Choose an ERP implementation partner by what they do before the price: they go through your processes, price a fixed scope including who migrates the data and tests the system, and say who keeps the system running when one person leaves. So compare the cheapest offer by which of these parts are missing from it. Panorama Consulting says more than a quarter of firms went over the project budget, most often because of additional technology needs. That is, because of things nobody counted at selection.
- Choose a partner by what they do before the price: a process analysis, a fixed scope, data migration, tests.
- Panorama Consulting says more than a quarter of firms went over the ERP project budget, but the source has an interest.
- Under Article 28 of the GDPR the processor contract must cover returning or deleting the data and audits.
- An hour after go-live costs 3,300 CZK at Lumenax, from 2,200 CZK for a larger scope.
An implementation partner is a firm or a consultant who sets up the ERP to fit your processes, migrates the data from the old system, connects the surrounding applications, trains people and keeps the system running after the start. You can buy the software anywhere. The result is made by the partner. Odoo counts a needs analysis, data import, custom changes, development and training of people as part of it in its price list. According to Odoo, firms under 50 employees usually work directly with Odoo, larger ones with a local partner.
Why a cheap offer often costs more
In its press release of 4 March 2026 on the 2026 ERP Report, Panorama Consulting writes that more than a quarter of organisations went over the project budget and that the main cause was additional technology needs. Its manager Chris Devault adds that firms often find a fundamental misfit late in the project and then reach for more technology, widen the scope and have custom changes made. Panorama sells ERP consulting, so this is an interested source. We couldn't find the exact share because the report itself sits behind a form.
Ask what is missing from the price: a process analysis, data migration with a check of the balances, tests on your data, a written description of how the system is built. What isn't in the offer, the firm then pays for by the hour.
What a project you can keep watch over looks like
This is how Lumenax describes the project for xOffice on its own pages. Take it as one example, not a yardstick, because we are one of the parties.
- Fit-gap analysis. The partner goes through your processes and writes next to each whether the system covers it by configuration, by a change or not at all. You keep the result.
- Preparing the system and the data. The partner sets up modules and roles, migrates the data from the old system and prepares a copy for testing.
- Test run. Key people work in the copy for testing with their own data and the partner fixes things until it fits.
- Start and operation. You switch over in a quiet period and the partner keeps looking after it according to the chosen package.
According to the pages the whole thing takes four to twelve weeks depending on scope, and the partner confirms the date after the analysis. The fixed price comes after the fit-gap analysis, not before it. What such a project costs with Odoo is shown in the overview of Odoo costs in 2026. What a move from another ERP looks like is described in Moving from ABRA.
- Fit-gap analysisThe partner goes through the processes and writes next to each whether the system covers it by configuration, by a change or not at all.
- Preparing the system and the dataModules and roles are set up, data is migrated and a copy for testing is made.
- Test runKey people work in the copy with their own data until it fits.
- Start and operationSwitching over in a quiet period and care according to the chosen package.
Eight questions for every candidate
The questions are our method, not a rule. Put them to everyone in the same way and a good partner answers concretely.
- What will you do before you give us a price? Look for a process analysis, not a price after the first phone call.
- What exactly is in the price? Ask for a list: what gets configured, who migrates the data, what gets connected, who tests the system, who trains people and what support is there after the start.
- Who will work on the project? Names and roles, and also who stands in for a person who falls ill or leaves.
- Who migrates the data and checks the balances? How many years of history and who answers for the numbers.
- Who owns the custom changes you write for us? Ask for it in the contract, with access to the source code of the changes.
- How much does support cost after go-live? A flat fee with hours, the response time for a critical error and the price of an extra hour.
- Can we talk to your customer? Ideally a firm of a similar size and sector.
- Will you sign a contract with a data processor? A partner with access to your data is a processor under Article 28 of the GDPR.
On the last question: Article 28(3) of the GDPR asks for a contract under which the processor, after the services end, deletes all personal data or returns it to the controller (point g), lets the controller carry out audits including inspections (point h) and binds its staff to keep the data confidential (point b). Under paragraph 2 it may not bring in another processor without the controller's written consent. Check that the contract says so.
On the fifth question: the LGPL-3 licence of Odoo Community governs the Odoo code. Who owns the modules someone writes for you is, by our reading, decided by the contract, not by the licence. So ask for it in writing.
What an hour costs after go-live
The hourly rate is the biggest unknown after the start. For its Podpora package Lumenax states a price from 11,900 CZK a month with 4 hours of changes, unused hours do not carry over, and a response to a critical error within 4 working hours. An hour above the package costs 3,300 CZK, from 2,200 CZK for a larger scope of work. A firm that needs 10 hours of changes a month therefore pays, by our price list, 11,900 CZK plus 6 hours at 3,300 CZK, that is 31,700 CZK. All 10 hours without the package would come to 33,000 CZK. The figures are from the page on ERP on Odoo of 25 October 2026 and will differ with the partner you choose. Ask how hours you don't use are counted.
Warning signs during the project
Even a well-chosen partner is no guarantee. These are signals from our projects, not from research. When you see them, stop and go through the scope, the date and the price again.
- You don't have a copy for testing a month before the start. People then see the system for the first time on the day of the switch.
- Data migration is put off to the end. A trial migration belongs in the first half of the project.
- Extra work piles up every week. Either the analysis wasn't deep enough, or what you want keeps changing. Deal with either one out loud.
- Only one person keeps answering the questions. When they fall ill, the project stops.
Common questions
What is a fit-gap analysis?
The partner compares your processes with what the system can do. Lumenax describes it as writing next to each process whether the system covers it by configuration, by a change or not at all. The price is worked out only from it.
Is an implementation firm or an independent consultant better?
It depends on the scope. Odoo says firms under 50 employees usually work directly with it and larger ones with a partner. With a consultant, ask about a stand-in and about who keeps the system running if they leave.
Why do ERP projects go over budget?
Panorama Consulting says more than a quarter of firms went over the project budget, most often because of additional technology needs. It is an interested source and the figure is from the press release of 4 March 2026.
Who owns the changes the partner writes?
By our reading, the contract decides. Ask in it for ownership or the right to use the changes with another partner, and for access to the source code.
What should the data processing contract with a partner contain?
Under Article 28(3) of the GDPR, among other things, that the processor deletes or returns the data after the services end, lets the controller audit it and that the people who work with the data keep it confidential.
Sources
- Panorama Consulting Group, press release on the 2026 ERP Report, 4 Mar 2026: https://www.panorama-consulting.com/panorama-consulting-group-releases-latest-study-of-erp-implementation-outcomes-across-the-globe/
- Odoo, pricing, viewed 25 Oct 2026: https://www.odoo.com/pricing
- Odoo, LGPL-3 licence, 19.0: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/odoo/odoo/19.0/LICENSE
- Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Article 28, EUR-Lex, viewed 25 Oct 2026: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32016R0679
- Lumenax, ERP on open source Odoo, viewed 25 Oct 2026: https://www.lumenax.cz/odoo-erp
- Lumenax, ERP calculator, viewed 25 Oct 2026: https://www.lumenax.cz/kalkulacka-erp
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