A customer who receives a delivery every week: that looks like a subscription. So many companies reach for the standard subscriptions module in Odoo. Logical, the name says it all. But in practice, a subscription and a recurring order are two fundamentally different things.
Where does the subscriptions module fall short?
The subscriptions module in Odoo is designed for fixed, predictable services: a monthly software license, an annual subscription to a platform, a maintenance contract. The system creates an invoice at fixed intervals, always for the same amount and the same products. You can cancel or pause, but adjust per delivery? That is not in the module's DNA.
That is exactly where it pinches for companies that deliver physical products on a recurring basis. Think of weekly fruit baskets, fresh meals or coffee for offices. In reality, no two weeks are the same:
- An office is closed for the holidays and wants to skip a week
- An event is coming up and they want to order double
- They want to try a different product temporarily
- The team has grown and they need more on a permanent basis
- The budget has changed and they want a little less for a while
With a classic subscription, you intervene manually for each of those scenarios: pause or adjust the subscription, and then set it back afterwards. That is error-prone, time-consuming, and it does not scale.
A different approach: recurring orders
That is why we at Abstractive built our own Odoo module for recurring orders. We build as much as possible in standard Odoo and only opt for custom development when it really pays off. This is one of those cases. Instead of a subscription that invoices automatically, the system automatically generates quotations. The difference is crucial:
- A subscription assumes that everything stays the same until you change it
- A recurring order assumes that every delivery can be different, with a smart template as the starting point
In concrete terms: you set up a template per customer with the standard products and quantities. The system automatically generates quotations for the coming weeks, each time on the right delivery day or days. Your customer sees those quotations in the customer portal and adjusts them where needed: add or remove products, change quantities, or simply skip a week.
Automatic confirmation with a safety net
You do not want every customer to have to confirm manually every week. That is why the system includes automatic confirmation: if the customer changes nothing, the quotation is confirmed automatically, a configurable number of days before the delivery date. So your customer has plenty of time to make changes, but does not have to do anything if everything is correct.
The best of both worlds: the efficiency of automation with the flexibility of manual ordering.
Flexible in rhythm
Not every customer wants the same frequency. The system supports flexible recurrence patterns:
- Every week on Monday and Thursday
- Every two weeks on Wednesday
- Every week on all weekdays
- Every three weeks on Friday
You set the rhythm per template and the system calculates the right delivery days itself. No manual planning, no forgotten deliveries.
Optional products as natural upselling
A smart detail: all products from the template also appear as optional products on the quotation. A customer who normally orders three products easily adds a fourth from a familiar list. No phone call, no email, just a click in the portal. That makes upselling natural and easy.
Transparency in the customer portal
In their portal, customers see a clear overview of all planned deliveries, with the delivery date and the moment the quotation is confirmed automatically. That prevents surprises and saves support questions. Your customer feels in control without extra effort.
When is a subscription the right choice?
The standard subscriptions module is perfect for what it was designed for: fixed, digital or contractual services whose content does not change from period to period. Think of software licenses, maintenance contracts or fixed monthly fees. If your customer always gets the same thing at the same price, a subscription is exactly right.
But if you deal with variable quantities, seasonal products, customers who want to skip or order extra, or simply the reality of physical deliveries, you need something else. Something that is automatic enough not to slow down your operation, and flexible enough to follow reality.
The right tool for the right job
The difference between a subscription and a recurring order seems small, but the impact on your daily operations is big. Our recurring orders module is fully integrated in Odoo and works seamlessly with the customer portal, the sales flow and invoicing. That way you avoid manual work, prevent errors and give customers the flexibility they expect, without extra work for your team.
We make this trade-off, standard where possible and custom development where it pays off, in every implementation. And when we do build something custom, we deliberately keep it upgradable, so that it moves along smoothly with a migration to a new Odoo version. You can read how Odoo itself keeps getting better at handling the reality of physical deliveries in our post on returnable packaging and PEPPOL.
Torn between the subscriptions module and recurring orders?
Schedule a no-obligation thirty-minute introductory call. No sales pitch, just concrete answers to your situation. Or call us at +32 53 89 50 21.
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