Why Odoo is ideal for buy-and-build growth strategies

Buy-and-build needs a flexible system like Odoo 

The idea behind buy-and-build is simple in theory: acquire, add, and consolidate.

Every acquisition adds systems, processes, and complexity. The challenge is to connect it all fast, without freezing the business or inflating costs.

That’s where Odoo fits.

It’s a modular ERP system that supports growth from day one. 

You can roll out core apps early, connect companies gradually, and define exactly what each user sees and does. Standard processes, custom workflows, and cross-entity reporting all work side by side.

Odoo helps you:

• Avoid tool zoos with a system that replaces scattered apps
• Roll out fast using standard modules, then add customisations later
• Give teams access to their company, tools, and responsibilities only
• Track group-wide performance with consolidated reports
• Stay flexible at exit with full data ownership and easy carve-outs
• Keep operational costs low, no matter how many companies you add.

Buy-and-build strategies are complex to implement. Odoo makes them executable.

5 reasons why Odoo is made for buy-and-build

Odoo is a good choice for buy-and-build because it’s modular.

You don’t need to roll out everything at once. 

You don’t need to centralise from day one. 

And you don’t need to treat integration as a prerequisite for value creation.

Here are five ways Odoo fits the realities of acquisition-led growth across different teams, tools, and timelines.

1. Odoo avoids digital complexity & tool zoos

Acquisition goes hand in hand with tool zoos. 

One company uses Excel. Another runs an ageing on-premise system. A third patched together cloud apps with no integration.

Each company is used to working in isolation until it joins a portfolio.

Odoo adapts to that reality. It supports separate or shared databases. Multi-company flows work out of the box across entities. Teams can use the same set of apps or entirely different ones, all within the same system.

Odoo covers all key areas with standard apps, such as:

• Accounting
• CRM & Sales
• Inventory
• Purchasing
• Subscriptions
• HR Management
• Expenses.

You don’t need to separate or clean everything up before you start. The system handles variation and complexity from the outset.

2. Odoo goes live fast, customisations can be phased in later

With Odoo, fast rollout doesn’t require deep integration or custom development.

You can quickly launch core Odoo apps like Accounting, CRM, Sales or Inventory using only Odoo’s standard features. That gives each company a working setup from day one.

More advanced needs like custom workflows, integrations, or secondary apps can follow in later phases.

This phased approach means that companies can start working in Odoo early, while leaving room to adapt the system later.

3. Odoo gives users access to their own company, apps & tasks

In buy-and-build strategies, not every employee is allowed to work across the whole group. 

Roles and needed features vary, and permissions to access these need to follow suit.

Odoo lets you define exactly what each user can see and do based on their company, department, and responsibility.

This means that users can only access the apps they need. They only see the data from the company they work in. And they only execute the processes they’re responsible for.

These are some examples on how Odoo functions for different users across a multi-entity setup:

• Sales teams in acquired companies only see their own leads and customers
• Finance staff in the group HQ manage Accounting across all companies
• HR managers see employees, timesheets, and leaves, but only in their own entity
• Warehouse staff have access to Inventory and Purchasing and nothing else.

Each company uses what it needs and everything still fits together. This keeps the system clear for users, safe for the organisation, and sustains growth as more businesses are acquired.

Managing user accesses in a multi-company Odoo, from an Administrator view.

4. Odoo reporting gives you group-wide visibility from day one

Standardising processes takes time, but getting visibility over acquired companies shouldn’t.

Odoo gives portfolio managers and finance leads access to consistent reporting structures, even when companies use different apps.

You can track:

• Group revenue and margin by entity
• Operating costs across countries or verticals
• Intercompany flows
• Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable in one dashboard.

On top of that, consolidated reports are available out of the box. Group P&Ls and balance sheets pull data from all company instances. 

You can filter results by entity, compare across subsidiaries, or drill down into specific business units, all within the same report.

Reports can be seen within each Odoo app, custom-built in Odoo Dashboards, or exported to external BI tools. All without having to wait for full organisational consolidation.

Consolidated Balance Sheet report from a multi-company Odoo Accounting setup.

5. Odoo avoids vendor lock-in by default 

Buy-and-build strategies often involve a carve-out or sale.

Under EU merger regulations, companies typically have six months to complete divestments (e.g. carve-out) during the initial phase, with an optional additional three‑month trustee period if needed.

This makes it critical that companies have clear data separation, as buyers expect operational transparency when walking into a deal.

Odoo is open-source, which means the full database can be exported at any time. You retain full control over your data and workflows, without being tied to a proprietary system.

Depending on your setup, custom developments can be fully owned and documented, so no features or processes get lost during a handover. 

There’s no rigid licensing model and no artificial limits on companies, users, or apps.

This keeps the system flexible right through to the exit:

• Full data export is available at all times
• No proprietary architecture or black-box components
• Ownership of custom code (but beware of some partner conditions, as they may used locked files)
• Easy rebranding, spin-offs, and carve-outs.

With Odoo, your ERP doesn’t become a blocker during exit planning. It adds value by keeping everything transparent and easy to transfer.

6. Odoo keeps your operational costs low as you scale

Buy-and-build projects span over years, and so do ERP costs.

With Odoo, you avoid increased licensing fees that come with scaling and integration costs that come with legacy systems. 

New entities don’t add new price tiers. There’s no per-app vendor markup. And because the platform is modular, you only pay for what you use.

Over 10 years, Odoo keeps the total cost of ownership low:

• No extra costs for new subsidiaries or users
• One provider across finance, sales, and operations
• Fewer tools to license and connect
• Minimal maintenance and upgrade costs.

That translates into a clear ROI: lower operational spend, fewer hidden costs, and more value added across the lifecycle of your buy-and-build strategy

With Odoo, private equities with a buy-and-build strategy don’t just get faster rollout and better inter-company alignment. They get better margins, too.

Odoo grows with every new acquisition

Buy-and-build strategies rely on a legal and financial structure that needs to scale with each acquisition. That includes separate company entities, co-owned assets, and cross-company billing.

We’ve developed a system setup in Odoo to support this structure from day one.

Each company runs its own separate entity in the same Odoo instance. Configurations are based on local rules, and a shared cost centre structure allows group-wide reporting.

You can run:

• Accounting, sales, and subscription processes
• Intercompany re-invoicing
• Approval workflows and expense tracking.

Each company uses the apps it needs. New company instances can be created using templates and scripts. Localisation, tax rules, and journals can be pre-configured per instance.

The system stays modular, auditable, and easy to grow.

Odoo adapts fast, so you don’t have to slow down

Odoo is made for variation and built for scale. 

That’s why it works for buy-and-build strategies. You don’t have to wait to standardise. 

You don’t have to fix every tool. 

And you don’t have to slow down integration to start seeing results.

You can roll out fast, align gradually, and stay in control of what matters most for your business and its evolving standards.