Choosing an ERP implementation partner comes down to seven checks: proof in businesses like yours, how they handle the accounting, a track record you can verify, scoping before a price, a tested migration and go-live plan, discipline about customisation and upgrades, and real support after go-live. Get those right and the software choice gets much easier to live with.
This guide is for Australian businesses choosing a partner for Odoo or any other ERP. It covers what a partner actually does, the seven checks, the questions to ask in a first meeting, and the warning signs that tell you to keep looking.
Why the partner matters as much as the software
Two businesses can buy the same ERP and end up with very different results. One gets a single system where stock, sales, purchasing and the general ledger agree with each other. The other gets a system that looks fine in a demo, then needs months of clean-up because the month-end numbers do not reconcile.
The difference is rarely the software. It is the decisions made during the implementation: how the chart of accounts is designed, how stock is valued, how data is moved across, how much is customised, and how well the team is trained. Those decisions are made by your implementation partner, so the partner deserves at least as much scrutiny as the product.
What does an ERP implementation partner actually do?
The software vendor licenses the product. The implementation partner turns it into a working system for your business. In practice that means mapping how your business runs today, designing how it should run in the new system, configuring the modules, moving your data across, testing with your people, training them, and supporting you after go-live.
A good partner also pushes back. If a process only exists because your old software forced a workaround, the right partner will say so rather than rebuild the workaround in the new system. That is the line between a partner who designs your operation and one who simply installs software.
The seven checks
Use these seven checks to compare partners side by side. A partner can be strong on six and still cause problems on the seventh, so look for gaps rather than averages.
1. Proof in businesses like yours
ERP covers a lot of ground: inventory, manufacturing, wholesale and distribution, eCommerce, point of sale, projects and field service. A partner who has delivered in your kind of business will already know where the hard parts are, such as landed costs, bills of materials, multi-warehouse stock, trade pricing or job costing.
Ask for two or three references from businesses that run like yours, and ask which modules each one went live on. Then call them. Ask what went wrong during the project and how the partner handled it. A partner who cannot name comparable clients is asking you to fund their learning.
2. How they handle the accounting
Every module in an ERP ends up in the general ledger. Sales, purchases, stock movements, payroll and projects all post to it. If the accounting design is wrong, every report built on top of it is wrong too.
Ask who designs your chart of accounts and who signs off that the system reconciles before go-live. Ask how GST, BAS reporting, Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 and TPAR will be configured and tested. If the answer is that finance will be sorted out after go-live, expect rework. For Odoo specifically, our guide to Australian Odoo localisation explains what needs to be set up.
3. A track record you can verify
Claims on a partner's website are easy to make. A published track record is harder to fake. Many software vendors publish details of their partners, such as their partner tier, client references and certified staff. Odoo, for example, lists each partner's client references, certified experts and client satisfaction in its public partner directory.
Read those listings yourself, and look for independent recognition from the vendor or from customers. Then compare what the listing says with what the partner tells you in the sales meeting.
4. Scoping before a price
A quote written before anyone has mapped your processes is a guess, and guesses get corrected later through change requests. A better approach is a short, paid scoping stage that maps your processes, settles what is in and out of scope, and produces a plan with a detailed cost estimate.
Ask what you receive at the end of scoping and whether you can take it to another partner if you choose to. A partner who is confident in their delivery will not mind. At WAO, this is the job of the Odoo Success Blueprint.
5. Data migration and go-live
Moving data is where many projects lose time. Opening balances, open invoices, stock on hand, customer pricing and history all need to come across and be checked against the old system.
Ask how your data will be extracted from your current system, whether that is Xero, MYOB, Cin7 or spreadsheets, how it will be tested, and who signs off that the numbers match. Then ask for the cutover plan in detail. A.J. Wilson Wholesale Food Distributors took 12 weeks to build and one weekend to switch, because the switch was rehearsed before it happened.
6. Customisation discipline and upgrades
Most modern ERPs release new versions regularly. Odoo releases a major version every year. Every customisation is code that has to be checked, and often rewritten, at each upgrade.
Ask the partner what percentage of their recent projects used standard features only, and how they decide when a customisation is worth it. Ask how they handle version upgrades for existing clients and what an upgrade typically involves. A partner who says yes to every customisation request is building you a harder upgrade later. Our page on Odoo upgrades covers what to plan for.
7. Support after go-live
Go-live is the start of using the system, not the end of the project. The first month-end, the first BAS period and the first busy season will all raise questions.
Ask who answers when something breaks, during which hours, and how quickly. Ask whether support is handled by people who know your system or by a general helpdesk. Ask what training is available for new staff who join after go-live. See how we approach this on our Odoo support page.
Not Sure If Odoo is Right For Your Business?
If you want a second opinion on whether Odoo fits your business before you talk to any partner, we can help.
Questions to ask in the first meeting
Take these questions into every partner meeting and compare the answers side by side.
- Which clients like us have you delivered for? Ask for names, the modules they use, and permission to call them.
- Who designs our chart of accounts? And who signs off that the system reconciles before go-live?
- What do we get from scoping? Ask for a sample scoping document and what happens to it if you do not proceed.
- How will our data be migrated and checked? Ask who is responsible for matching balances between the old and new systems.
- How much of a typical project is custom code? Ask how they decide when a customisation is justified.
- How do upgrades work for existing clients? Ask for a recent example and how long it took.
- Who supports us after go-live, and when? Ask about hours, response times and who you will actually speak to.
Warning signs to watch for
- A quote before any scoping. A detailed price for a project nobody has mapped yet is a sales number, not a plan.
- No pushback on requirements. A partner who agrees to everything is not thinking about your business. Good partners question processes that only exist because of your old software.
- Features before outcomes. If the meeting is mostly about screens and features rather than how your month-end, stock control or order flow will improve, the partner is thinking like an installer.
- Finance left until later. Any suggestion that the accounting can be tidied up after go-live should worry you.
- No clear owner for data migration. If nobody can tell you who checks that the balances match, nobody will.
- Vague support terms. If support hours, response times and costs are not written down, assume they will be a problem.
Choosing on price alone
The cheapest proposal is often the most expensive project. Low quotes usually leave things out, such as data migration, testing, training or upgrade planning, and those costs come back later as change requests or rework.
Compare proposals on the whole cost of owning the system: implementation, licences, support, training for new staff and future upgrades. Ask each partner to break those costs out so you can compare like with like. A partner who is open about these costs early is more likely to be open when something goes wrong during the project.
If you have already chosen Odoo
If Odoo is on your shortlist, the same seven checks apply, with one addition: look at how the partner handles Australian accounting and compliance inside Odoo, because that is where generic implementations most often fall short. We have put a shorter, Odoo-specific version of this checklist on our Odoo partner Australia page.
WAO Group is an accounting-led Odoo partner, which means accounting is the lens we apply to every module, from inventory and manufacturing to eCommerce and field service. In 2026 we won the Customer Choice award at Odoo ANZ Partner Day, and were also shortlisted for Best Partner, Enterprise Scaler and Landmark Deal. Not sure if your business is ready for an ERP yet? Take the free ERP Readiness Scorecard first.
Frequently asked questions
Check seven things: references from businesses like yours, how they design and test the accounting, a track record you can verify, a scoping stage before a price, a tested data migration and go-live plan, discipline about customisation and upgrades, and clear support after go-live.
Shortlist the software first so you know which partners to talk to, then choose the partner carefully. A strong partner will also tell you honestly if the software on your shortlist is not a good fit for your business.
Allow enough time to compare two or three partners properly, including reference calls with their clients and a scoping discussion. Rushing this step usually costs more time later in the project.
Ask which comparable clients they have delivered for, who designs your chart of accounts, what scoping produces, how data will be migrated and checked, how much custom code a typical project uses, how upgrades work, and who supports you after go-live.
A partner who works in Australian business hours and knows GST, BAS reporting, Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 and TPAR will usually get the compliance set-up right the first time. Remote delivery can work well, as long as support hours and compliance knowledge are local.
The information and tips shared on this blog are meant to be used as learning and personal development tools as you launch, run and grow your business. While a good place to start, these articles should not take the place of personalised advice from professionals. As our lawyers would say: “All content on WAO’s blog is intended for informational purposes only. It should not be considered legal or financial advice.” Additionally, WAO is the legal copyright holder of all materials on the blog, and others cannot re-use or publish it without our written consent.
