Odoo Project Management Guide: Tasks, Gantt, Timesheets and Margins

Most teams open the Odoo Project app, create a board and stop there. The value comes later, when tasks carry hours, hours carry cost, and cost meets revenue in one report. Our Odoo implementation services set up that full chain, not just the board.

Related service: Odoo implementation services — projects, timesheets and billing wired into one flow.

This guide is for operations leads, PMO heads and project managers in any sector who are rolling out or tidying up Project. If you run a consulting or agency firm and mainly need rate cards, read our Odoo 20 for professional services guide next.

What does Odoo project management cover in Odoo 19 and 20?

Odoo project management covers planning, task tracking, time recording, billing and margin reporting across four linked apps. Project is the hub; Timesheets, Planning and Sales each add one layer.

Odoo's documentation describes the method plainly: Project "uses the Kanban project management system", so all projects are broken down into tasks on a board. Everything else in this guide hangs off that task record.

How do you set up a project in the Odoo Project app?

You set up a project in the Odoo Project app by creating it, adding stages, choosing visibility, and switching on the task features you need. A clean first project takes minutes; the choices below decide how well it scales.

1. Create the project: open Project, click New, name it, and set the customer, project manager, planned dates and allocated hours.
2. Add stages: Odoo ships no default stages, so type your own, such as Backlog, In Progress, Review and Done.
3. Set visibility: pick invited internal users, all internal users, or invited portal users plus all internal users.
4. Turn on task features: in the Settings tab, enable Milestones, Task Dependencies and Recurring Tasks as needed.
5. Turn on Timesheets: enable it under Time management, or nobody can log hours on the project.
6. Add a task intake: set an email alias so each incoming email becomes a task, or link a website form.
7. Build the top bar: pin timesheets, sales orders, invoices, documents and the dashboard above the board.

The intake step is underused. Per Odoo's task creation guide, an email to the alias becomes a task with the sender as customer, the subject as title and the body as description. That gives small teams a simple request queue.

How does Odoo task management work with stages and statuses?

Odoo task management separates where a task sits (its stage) from how it is doing (its status). Stages are yours to design; statuses are fixed by Odoo.

The task stages and statuses documentation lists five statuses that cannot be customized: In Progress, Changes Requested, Approved, Canceled and Done. Done and Canceled close the task, whatever stage it sits in.

Two details save time. Stages can send an email or SMS template to the customer when a task arrives. Quick-create shortcuts also work in the task title, so "Prepare workshop 5h #school @Audrey !" sets hours, tag, assignee and priority in one line.

Sub-tasks roll up to the parent. The parent shows its own allocated time next to the time given to sub-tasks, and its Timesheets tab breaks down hours spent on each. For stage-based alerts, see our guide to Odoo automation rules.

How do task dependencies and the Odoo Gantt chart work?

Task dependencies block a task until its predecessors finish, and the Odoo Gantt chart shows those links as arrows on a timeline. Together they turn a board into a schedule.

Per Odoo's task dependencies guide, you add predecessors in a task's Blocked by tab or drag a dot between two bars in the Gantt view. The successor gets a Waiting status until its predecessors are Approved, Canceled or Done.

• Use dependencies for: handoffs between teams, approvals, and work that needs a physical step first.
• Skip them for: loose backlogs, where they add clicks without adding control.
• Print the plan: Odoo 20 Enterprise adds a Print action that exports the Gantt as a PDF task schedule.
• Plan people, not just tasks: Odoo Planning books shifts per person, and in Odoo 20 a shift can point to a specific task again.

Keep the roles clear. Project answers "what must be done and in what order". Planning answers "who is booked on which day". Our Odoo 20 Planning release notes list all 20 changes, including the task link on shifts.

How do an Odoo project template and recurring tasks save setup time?

An Odoo project template copies stages, tasks, sub-tasks and roles into each new project, and recurring tasks recreate routine work on a schedule. Both remove repeat setup.

Odoo's project templates documentation explains that you convert an existing project into a template. Converting archives the original, so duplicate the project first if it is still in use.

Templates can also schedule. Give each template task a planned start date, and Odoo places tasks on a new project by their offset from the project start. End dates follow allocated time, dependencies, working schedules, time off and public holidays.

Project roles speed up staffing. A template task names a role, such as Project Manager or Electrician, and you pick people per role when creating the project. In Odoo 20, each role holds a Team Members list, and Enterprise fills assignees in automatically.

Recurring tasks suit weekly reviews and monthly reports. Per the recurring tasks guide, the next task is created when the previous one is marked Done or Canceled. Name, assignees and tags are copied; timesheets, sub-tasks and milestones are not.

How do Odoo project milestones and project updates track progress?

Odoo project milestones mark the key steps of a project, and project updates record a dated snapshot of its status. Use milestones for the plan and updates for the weekly review.

Per the project milestones documentation, you link tasks to a milestone, and it is marked as reached once all linked tasks are Done or Canceled. In the Gantt view a milestone shows as a diamond, in red if its deadline has passed.

Milestones can drive invoices too. Each one can hold a Quantity (%) of a sales order item, which is posted to the order when the milestone is reached. Milestones turn on automatically for projects created from a service invoiced by milestone.

The project dashboard holds the rest: tasks completed against total, hours logged, hours planned in Planning, a burndown chart and the list of project updates. Write one update per review cycle, so steering meetings compare like with like.

How do Odoo timesheets connect to projects and tasks?

Odoo timesheets connect to projects through the task: each entry records an employee, a task, a date and a duration. That one record feeds progress, cost and invoicing.

Two settings must be right before anyone logs time. The Odoo Timesheets documentation says users must be registered as employees, and the project must have Timesheets enabled. Access has four levels, from no access to administrator.

Each task has an Allocated Time field, so logged hours show progress against the estimate. On the dashboard, the Timesheets and Planning report compares planned hours with hours worked. That is the earliest warning of an overrun.

Odoo 20 makes logging easier. Our Odoo 20 Timesheets release notes cover a top bar timer that logs time from any app, plus an assistant that suggests entries from local activity. All five changes are Enterprise only.

Check licences early. Timesheets are not on Odoo's Light User list, so staff who log project hours usually need a full user. Our Odoo 20 Light User guide shows what a Light User can and cannot do.

How does task billing work in Odoo project management?

Task billing works by linking each task to a sales order item, whose service product decides when the customer is invoiced. The project must be marked Billable for these fields to appear.

A sold service can also build the work for you. Set Create on Order to Project and Task on the product, pick a project template, and confirming the sales order creates the project with its tasks. Odoo 20 adds a second route: a Create Project action on a CRM opportunity.

Rates can follow the task, the project or the employee. We cover rate cards, overages and retainers in the professional services guide linked above, so this guide stays with the Project app itself.

How do you track Odoo project profitability?

You track Odoo project profitability through the project's analytic account, which collects revenue and cost from every linked record. Where you read the result depends on your version.

In Odoo 19, the project profitability documentation describes a panel on the project dashboard. It splits revenues and costs into Expected, To invoice or To bill, and Invoiced or Billed, and it only appears on billable projects.

In Odoo 20, that panel was removed. Margins and Forecast Margins reports under Project reporting replace it, with a project budget overview in Enterprise. Custom sections built on the old panel will not load after an upgrade.

Three setup points decide whether the numbers can be trusted:

• Employee cost: set an hourly cost on each employee, or timesheet cost shows as zero.
• Analytic links: vendor bills, expenses and purchases must carry the project's analytic account.
• All hours: log internal and rework time too, so cost is complete even where revenue is not.

What changed in Odoo project management in Odoo 20?

Odoo 20 changed eight things in Project, mostly around portal collaboration, project roles and margin reporting. Seven of the eight are in Community; the printable Gantt schedule is Enterprise only.

The portal changes matter most for client-facing teams. A customer can now be a collaborator with View, Edit or Advanced Edit access without following the project, so they stop receiving every notification. Our Odoo 20 Project release notes show each change with a screenshot.

Odoo 20 was released in September 2026. If you are on Odoo 19 with custom dashboard panels, list them before you upgrade, because they need a rewrite against the new reports.

Which industries use Odoo project management, and how?

Any business that runs repeatable jobs with a start, an end and a budget can use Odoo project management. The setup differs by what drives cost in each sector.

Construction teams usually need more than tasks. Our guide to Odoo for construction covers bills of quantities and progress billing on top of Project.

What does Odoo project management cost?

Odoo project management costs nothing extra as an app: on a paid plan, every app is included in one per-user price. Your real cost is users plus setup effort.

On the Odoo pricing page, the US price billed yearly is US$31.10 per user a month for Standard and US$61.00 for Custom. In India it is Rs 725 and Rs 1,350. One app is free for unlimited users, so a team can trial Project alone first.

Edition matters as much as price. Project itself is in Community, but the Gantt view, the Planning app and the Odoo 20 Timesheets features are Enterprise. Check that list against what your project managers expect on day one.

For setup, our published ranges for a small Odoo implementation are $3k to $9k over 4 to 8 weeks, depending on scope. A Project rollout with billing sits inside that kind of range for most small teams. For a quick number, try the Odoo project estimate tool.

How iVentureTeam helps with Odoo project management

iVentureTeam sets up Odoo project management as a working chain from task to margin, not as a stand-alone board. We have delivered 150+ ERP projects across 35+ countries with 40+ Odoo specialists over 13+ years.

• Process design: stages, statuses, templates and roles mapped to how your teams hand work over, through our Odoo consulting services.
• Billing links: service products, invoicing policies and sales order links tested on real jobs.
• Margin reporting: employee costs, analytic accounts and Odoo 20 margin reports checked against finance.
• Portal and intake: customer access levels, email aliases and website forms for requests.
• Rollout: training for project managers, with our project management software page showing the full scope.

Odoo project management case study: Enabl Health

An Australian health-tech company moved from manual time tracking to invoices built straight from timesheets. Enabl Health equips independent health professionals with tools for running their practices.

Invoices had to reflect different rates for weekdays, weekends and holidays. Work hours were tracked with manual start and stop times, and portal users could not edit timesheets or upload attachments.

We extended Odoo Timesheets, Payroll and Portal over a 10-week engagement. Timesheet entries are now classified by day type, which drives the billing rate, and start and stop timers calculate time from timestamps.

Three billing rate types are automated, and invoice lines map to day-type rates without manual lookups. Doctors and patients edit timesheets and upload documents on mobile. Read the Enabl Health timesheet billing case study.

The bottom line on Odoo project management

Odoo project management works best when the task is treated as the record that carries hours, cost and revenue, not just a card on a board. Set up stages and templates first, then timesheets, then billing and margins.

Start with one project type and one template. Turn on timesheets from day one, set employee costs, and review the margin report monthly. If you are moving to Odoo 20, plan for the new margin reports and the portal collaborator model.

Ready to set up Odoo project management properly?

Get a Project setup that links tasks, timesheets, billing and margins from the first week. Plan your Odoo Project rollout with our team, call +91-90235-15208, or email business@iventureteam.com.