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Industry

Construction Trades - Painting & Specialty Contractors

Project Type

ERP System Implementation

Location

USA

Timeline

6 Months

Team Size

7

Executive Summary

A regional painting contractor with 45 employees and $3.2M annual revenue struggled with manual estimation, fragmented crew scheduling, and poor job profitability visibility. By implementing Odoo ERP with integrated Field Service, Project, and Accounting modules, the contractor achieved a 50% reduction in estimate creation time, improved job costing accuracy to 95%, and increased project profit margins by 8-12% within the first six months. The cloud-based platform unified field crews, operations, and finance teams, enabling real-time profitability tracking and sustainable growth.

Business Challenges

  • Manual painting estimation process consumed 3-4 hours per job, preventing quick quote turnarounds and losing time-sensitive bid opportunities to faster competitors.
  • Spreadsheet-based crew scheduling and crew assignment conflicts created constant double bookings, inefficient travel routes, and reduced billable hours per crew member, directly impacting revenue and increasing fuel costs.
  • No real-time job costing visibility or project profitability tracking left management unable to identify unprofitable projects until months after completion, causing systematic margin erosion.
  • Payroll and timesheets managed separately from project data and field service operations, creating data silos, reconciliation delays, and 6-8 hour weekly payroll processing cycles.
  • Disconnected field service workflows between mobile crews, office staff, and accounting resulted in missed change orders, delayed job site documentation, and extended Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) from 45 to 65+ days, straining cash flow.

Objective

  • Accelerate estimate creation and painting job quote delivery to within 24-48 hours to win more competitive bids.
  • Centralize crew scheduling, crew assignment, and GPS tracking to optimize travel time and improve crew utilization.
  • Implement real-time job profitability dashboards and budget overrun alerts for proactive cost control.
  • Automate timesheet-to-payroll sync to reduce manual payroll processing by 80% and eliminate reconciliation errors.
  • Improve cash flow by reducing Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) through automated job-based invoicing and accounts receivable (AR) management.
  • Establish a mobile-first field service platform for crews to access job details, capture job site documentation, and submit time entries.
  • Enable real-time profitability analytics and KPI tracking for operations and finance leadership.

Key Modules Implemented

  • Odoo Field Service: Mobile-first field service management enabling crew assignment, GPS tracking, real-time job tracking, and job site documentation with checklists, before/after photos, and status updates.
  • Odoo Project: Manage painting project phases, milestones, material lists (paints, primers, supplies), change orders, and track project budgets against actual spend with cost control alerts.
  • Odoo Accounting: Automate job-based invoicing, enable job profitability analysis, track labor costs and material costs per project, manage accounts receivable (AR) aging reports, and reduce Days Sales Outstanding (DSO).
  • Odoo Timesheets: Capture crew hours on mobile devices in real time; link timesheets directly to payroll and project costing for labor cost accuracy and productivity tracking.
  • Odoo Inventory: Track paint stocks, consumables, and material allocations per job to prevent stockouts, minimize waste, and optimize material cost management.
  • Odoo Purchase: Manage vendor RFQs, purchase orders, and material deliveries tied to specific projects and material cost budgets.
  • Odoo CRM: Log customer interactions, manage leads, link estimates to sales opportunities, and track sales pipeline through quote-to-close cycle.

Solution Overview

  • Cloud Infrastructure: Cloud-based Odoo ERP platform deployed on AWS with automatic backups, redundancy, and 99.9% uptime SLA for uninterrupted field service operations and crew communication.
  • Mobile Field Operations: Mobile-first field service app enables crews to access job details, capture job site documentation (photos, punch lists), log time in real time, and sync data instantly without internet dependency (offline mode for field operations).
  • Smart Estimating: Integrated painting estimation module pre-populated with labor rates, material costs (paint, primer, consumables), overhead allocations, profit margin templates, and surface area calculators; reduces estimate creation time from 3-4 hours to under 1 hour.
  • Real-Time Dashboards: Real-time profitability dashboards and budget tracking notify management of budget overruns, schedule conflicts, crew utilization, and payment delays as they occur, enabling proactive cost control.
  • Automated Invoicing: Automated job-based invoicing and AR workflow links job completion and supervisor sign-off to invoice generation, reducing manual invoice creation by 90%, accelerating cash collection, and lowering Days Sales Outstanding (DSO).

Architecture & Implementation

#1: Discovery & Process Mapping

  • Conducted 2-week workshops with sales, estimators, field supervisors, crew leads, operations, and finance to map current workflows, crew scheduling pain points, job costing gaps, and desired state field service processes across the estimate-to-cash cycle.

#2: Data Cleansing & Migration

  • Extracted 8 years of historical customer records, labor rates, material cost tables, paint inventory, job templates, and open projects from legacy spreadsheets, QuickBooks, and field service tools; validated and imported into Odoo Accounting, CRM, Project, and Field Service modules.

#3: Odoo Configuration & Customization

  • Configured multi-company structure for regional offices; used Odoo Studio to create custom painting estimation templates with surface area calculators, paint-type and finish selectors, labor rate matrices by crew skill level; built Python automation for approval workflows, budget alerts, and cost overrun notifications.

#4: Integrations & Extensions

  • Integrated Google Maps for crew GPS tracking, route optimization, and arrival notifications; connected to Stripe for online payment processing and deposit captures; linked email and SMS notifications to alert crews and office staff of schedule changes, job updates, and payment reminders.

#5: User Access & Security

  • Established role-based access control (RBAC) for field crews (mobile-only), supervisors, estimators, operations, finance, and executives; enabled two-factor authentication (2FA) and encrypted mobile device management (MDM) for field devices.

#6: UAT & Parallel Testing

  • Conducted 4-week user acceptance testing with live job data, crew schedules, and historical projects; ran parallel operations (old system and Odoo Field Service) for 2 weeks to validate estimate accuracy, crew scheduling logic, job costing calculations, and timesheet-to-payroll sync.

#7: Training & Knowledge Transfer

  • Delivered role-based training for 45 staff across 3 regional locations; created video tutorials, quick-reference guides for field crews, and job aids for supervisors; trained 3 power users to serve as peer coaches, super-users, and first-line support for field operations.

#8: Go-Live & Hypercare

  • Executed cutover on a Monday morning with live monitoring of job assignments, crew GPS tracking, and mobile app performance; dedicated support team on-site at all 3 locations for first 2 weeks; daily standups tracked mobile adoption, resolved blockers, and logged enhancement requests.

Workflow

1

Lead to Estimate

CRM captures lead contact and sales opportunity; estimator pulls painting estimate template, inputs site measurements and surface area, selects paint type, primer, and finish preferences, assigns labor rates by crew skill level; Odoo auto-calculates material costs (paint, primer, consumables), labor hours, overhead, and profit margins; estimate is generated and emailed to customer within 1 hour for faster quote-to-close cycle.

2

Estimate to Job

Customer approves quote; sales rep converts sales opportunity to project in Odoo Project; system auto-creates project tasks for site prep, primer application, paint coats, final cleanup, and quality check with assigned crews, scheduled dates, and estimated material lists and labor costs.

3

Crew Scheduling & Mobile Job Management

Operations manager assigns crews to scheduled jobs using Odoo Field Service crew assignment and optimization engine; crews receive mobile job sheet 24 hours before start via mobile app; field crews check in at site using GPS; access job details, material lists, and customer notes on mobile job site documentation screen.

4

Job Execution & Field Service Operations

Field crews log task completion and time spent on mobile timesheets; capture before/after photos and job site documentation; note any change requests, material overages, or issues; sync data in real time; GPS tracking updates manager on crew location and travel time to next job.

5

Change Orders & Budget Tracking

Site supervisor approves minor painting changes (color adjustments, additional coats, material upgrades) on mobile app; Odoo flags significant cost overruns and alerts project manager; manager reviews and approves changes; system recalculates labor costs, material costs, profit margin, and sends updated invoice to customer for approval.

6

Timesheets & Payroll Automation

Field crews submit daily timesheets on mobile app (GPS-verified clock in/out times automatically captured from field service check-ins). Timesheets are linked to projects, tasks, and labor rates; payroll team approves in batch; Odoo syncs hours to payroll module for wage calculation, tax withholding, and check generation with no manual reconciliation.

7

Job-Based Invoicing & Accounts Receivable

Upon job completion and supervisor sign-off, Odoo auto-generates invoice with job details, labor hours, material costs, change orders, and retainage (if applicable); invoice is emailed to customer with online payment link; system tracks payment status and sends AR aging reminders at 15, 30, and 45 days past due.

8

Profitability Analytics & Reporting

Finance team runs daily project profitability reports and job costing dashboards; identifies jobs below target profit margins; operations team reviews crew utilization rates, material waste trends, and schedule efficiency; monthly exec dashboards track Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), gross margin by project, and revenue per crew member.

Outcome

  • 50% Faster Estimates: Reduced estimate creation from 3-4 hours to under 1 hour using pre-populated labor rates and surface area calculations. Sales team now responds to quote requests in 24 hours, winning 15% more competitive bids annually.
  • 95% Job Costing Accuracy: Improved from 70% historical accuracy to 95% through real-time labor cost tracking and material allocation. Enables accurate project costing and margin analysis across all jobs.
  • $240K-$380K Revenue Gain: Project profit margins increased 8-12% through optimized crew scheduling, material waste reduction, and identification of unprofitable project types. Annualized revenue impact: $240K-$380K for a $3.2M business.
  • 80% Less Payroll Processing: Reduced weekly payroll processing from 6-8 hours to under 1 hour via automated timesheet-to-payroll sync and GPS-verified time capture. Zero reconciliation errors on bi-weekly payroll.
  • DSO Reduced to 38 Days: Days Sales Outstanding decreased from 65+ to 38 days through automated job-based invoicing and payment reminders. Improved cash flow by 35% with $85K-$120K working capital freed up.
  • 18-22% Higher Crew Utilization: Field teams now spend 2-3 additional billable hours per week on customer sites through optimized crew scheduling and GPS-based route optimization, eliminating travel downtime.
  • 98% Mobile Adoption (60 Days): All 45 staff actively using Odoo Field Service app for job updates, timesheets, and photos. Exceeded adoption targets with minimal support requests, demonstrating effective change management.
  • 4.6/5 Customer Satisfaction: Customer satisfaction improved with faster estimates (24 hours vs. 3-5 days), real-time job tracking, and accurate invoicing. Achieved 12% increase in customer retention and positive reviews.

Tech Stack

ERP Platform

  • Odoo 17.0 Enterprise Edition

Odoo Modules

  • Field Service (mobile job management)
  • Project (crew scheduling and budget tracking)
  • Accounting (job-based invoicing and profitability)
  • Timesheets (labor cost tracking)
  • Inventory (material and paint management)
  • Purchase (vendor management), CRM (sales pipeline)

Mobile App

  • Odoo Field Service mobile app (iOS and Android) with offline-sync capability for field crews
  • GPS tracking, and real-time data sync

Cloud Hosting

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) – RDS for PostgreSQL (job data)
  • S3 for document storage (job site photos)
  • CloudFront CDN for mobile app asset delivery

Field Service Integrations

  • Google Maps API (GPS tracking, crew location, route optimization)
  • Stripe (online payments and deposits)
  • Nextcloud (field documentation collaboration)
  • Zapier (SMS and email notifications for crew scheduling)

Languages & Development

  • Python (server-side automation for approval workflows, budget alerts)
  • JavaScript / XML (client-side customizations via Odoo Studio for field forms)

Security & Compliance

  • SSL/TLS encryption
  • role-based access control (RBAC)
  • two-factor authentication (2FA)
  • GDPR-compliant data handling
  • encrypted mobile device management (MDM)

Database

  • PostgreSQL 13 with daily snapshots
  • 30-day retention
  • Automated backups for disaster recovery
  • Data integrity

Monitoring & Support

  • AWS CloudWatch for system health monitoring
  • Odoo audit trails for compliance
  • dedicated Slack channel for field support ticket escalation
  • real-time assistance

Team

  • Project Manager - 1
  • Business Analyst - 1
  • Functional Consultant - 1
  • Odoo Developers - 3
  • QA Specialist - 1

Our Clients

Client Testimonials

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United States

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United States

I brought Aglowid's team in to support a major digital transformation project for one of our clients. Their depth in data architecture and front-end engineering helped us accelerate delivery and exceed expectations. They don’t just execute - they think critically and offer valuable insights every step of the way.

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United States

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