Odoo’s New User Licensing Structure: What Businesses Need to Know

Not every employee who interacts with Odoo needs the same level of access and that distinction could significantly affect how businesses plan their Odoo subscription.

As an Odoo Partner, one of the first things we tell businesses planning their Odoo implementation is simple:

Don't start by count your employees, start by asking what each person actually needs to do in Odoo.

We often see businesses assume that every employee who interacts with Odoo needs a full paid user. That isn't necessarily the case.

Odoo has different levels of access, and understanding the difference between POS employees, Light Users, Regular Users and Portal Users can help you build a licensing structure that matches how your business actually operates.

First, Let's Clear Up the Pricing Types

1. One App Free 

Use one Odoo application for unlimited users at no licence cost. It is suitable for businesses that only need a single application and are comfortable with Odoo Online.

2. Standard 

Provides access to all Odoo applications on Odoo Online at US$24.90 per user/month when billed annually. It is suited to businesses that need multiple Odoo applications without advanced customisation or hosting requirements.

3. Custom 

Includes all Odoo applications plus advanced options such as Odoo Studio, multi-company, external API access, Odoo.sh and on-premise deployment. It is designed for businesses that require greater customisation, integrations or control over their Odoo environment.

There is also a Light User option currently listed at US$8.90 per user/month.

But when we discuss licensing with our clients, we don't start with the price.

We start with the person's role, workflow and required access.

There are four situations you need to understand:

1. Employees who don't need an Odoo login

2. Employees who only need POS access

3. Light Users who need limited Odoo functionality

4. Regular Users who need access to core business applications,

Customers and suppliers using the portal are another category and are treated differently from internal users.

1. POS Employees: Your Cashiers May Not Need Paid Users

This is particularly important for businesses with multiple cashiers or sales attendants.

Let's say you operate a supermarket with 30 sales attendants.

Do all 30 need paid Odoo backend accounts? Not necessarily.

If their job is simply to:

1. Process sales

2. Select customers

3. Process permitted refunds

4. Apply permitted discounts

5. Print receipts

6. Identify themselves at the POS

7. Complete their POS activities

they can be configured as employees and use Odoo's employee-based POS access.

Odoo allows businesses to enable “Log in with Employees”, allowing employees to access the POS using a PIN or employee badge and giving them appropriate POS permissions.

There are different POS access levels, including Minimal, Basic and Advanced access.

The important thing is to match the employee's POS permissions to their actual responsibility.

For example:

A cashier may only need to process sales.

A supervisor may need to handle refunds and other POS operations.

A POS manager may need broader operational or backend access.

These are different access requirements.

Being able to use a POS does not automatically mean an employee needs a paid backend user ​account.

So, if you have one POS administrator and ten sales attendants who only require employee-based POS access, you should not automatically assume that you need eleven paid backend users.

2. Light Users: A New Odoo User Category Businesses Need to Understand

This is one of the important changes businesses need to be aware of in Odoo's current licensing structure.

As an Odoo Partner, we believe businesses should understand this change because it gives you another way to structure access for employees who need to interact with Odoo but do not require the full access available to a regular user.

In simple terms, the Light User sits between an employee who does not require a paid Odoo user account and a regular user who needs access to Odoo's core business applications.

The key point is: A Light User is a paid user, but does not require the same level of access as a regular Odoo user.

What can a Light User do?

Light Users are intended for employees who need access to selected employee-oriented functions.

Depending on the applicable configuration, this can include:

• Personal profile

• Leave requests

• Expense reports

• Referrals

• Appraisals

• Meal tracking

• Attendance

• Planning

• Viewing planning information

• Managing worksheets

• Connecting as an employee in a POS session

• Read-only access to Knowledge

• Barcode scanning operations

This makes the Light User particularly relevant for employees who need to interact with Odoo as part of their day-to-day work but do not need access to the company's core operational applications.

For example, an employee who needs to submit leave requests, record expenses, manage attendance or participate in planning may not need the same access as an accountant, salesperson or procurement officer.

What a Light User does not have access to

This distinction is just as important.

Light Users do not have access to core applications such as:

• Sales

• Purchases

• Projects

• Accounting

So, if an employee needs to create quotations, manage sales orders, process accounting transactions or work extensively within these core applications, they would generally require regular paid user access.

This is why we advise businesses not to simply classify everyone who uses Odoo as a regular user.

Instead, look at what the employee actually needs to do.

A Light User is not the same as a free employee using Odoo's employee-based POS access.

For example, a cashier whose only responsibility is to process sales through the POS may be able to use employee-based POS access without requiring a paid backend user.

A different employee may need to submit expenses, request leave, manage attendance or access other Light User functions.

That employee falls into a different category.

So, when we assess an Odoo implementation, we may have:

This is one of the reasons the introduction of Light Users is important.

It gives businesses another level of access to consider when designing their Odoo environment and subscription.

Why businesses should pay attention

If your business already uses Odoo, or you are planning a new implementation, we recommend reviewing your current user structure.

The reason may show that some employees need no Odoo login, some only need POS access, some fit the new Light User category and others require regular access to core business applications.

That is where the Light User category can make a real difference to how you plan your Odoo environment.

It is not simply another pricing option. It is a new way to think about user access.

3. Regular Users: People Working in Your Core Business Applications

Then there are the employees who actively work within your core business processes.

These users typically require regular paid Odoo access because they use Odoo to perform their day-to-day responsibilities.

For example:

The principle is straightforward:

If someone needs to work extensively in Odoo's core business applications, they will generally require regular paid access.

The Standard plan provides access to Odoo's applications for relevant paid users, while the Custom plan offers additional capabilities such as Odoo Studio, multi-company functionality, external API access, and Odoo.sh or on-premise deployment options.

So, Who Actually Needs a Paid User?

This is one of the simplest ways to explain Odoo user licensing to a business:

The important point is that not everyone who appears in your Odoo database is necessarily a paid user.

For example, you can create an employee record containing a person's name, department, job position and other details without giving that person a backend Odoo login.

Similarly, customers and suppliers can access relevant information through the Odoo portal without being treated as internal paid users.

The exact licensing treatment should always be confirmed based on your specific Odoo subscription and configuration.

How We Recommend You Plan Your Odoo Licences

When helping a business plan its Odoo implementation, we don't recommend starting with:

"We have 100 employees, so how many Odoo users do we need?"

Instead, we ask:

"What does each person actually need to do in Odoo?"

We then map each role to the relevant workflows, applications and permissions.

For example:

This process is what we call user-access mapping.

Before purchasing your Odoo licences, we recommend answering eight basic questions for every role:

1. Does this person actually need an Odoo login?

2. What processes will they perform in Odoo?

3. Do they only need POS access?

4. Do they need employee self-service functions?

5. Which Odoo applications do they need?

6. Do they need backend access?

7. What can they view, create, edit or approve?

8. What level of licence matches those requirements?

Once these requirements are clearly mapped, you can determine the appropriate Odoo user structure and subscription for your business.

Don't Just Count Employees

Odoo licensing is not simply a matter of counting employees.

A cashier is not an accountant.

A staff member submitting leave and expenses is not the same as a procurement officer.

A customer checking an invoice through the portal is not the same as an internal finance user.

Their roles are different. Their workflows are different. Their access requirements are different. And their licensing may therefore be different.

So, before purchasing your Odoo subscription, look beyond your headcount.

Look at what each person actually needs to do in Odoo.

Map the role. Map the workflow. Map the access. Then map the licence.

That is the approach we recommend at OPS29 when helping businesses design an Odoo environment that works for their people, their processes and their business.