Odoo ERP NHS Finance Edition

Owner

Odoo NHS Finance Edition has been developed by OpusVL in partnership with Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

With an Open Core model, Odoo’s Community version is published under the GNU Lesser General Public Licence, Version 3 (LGPLv3) while its subscription-based Enterprise version contains proprietary functions and services, including cloud hosting. Open source code for Odoo is managed by the Belgium-based Odoo S.A.

LGPLv3 allows free use of the components it covers for modification, distribution, patent use, private use and commercial use.

Background

In 2019 The Royal Marsden set up a wholly owned subsidiary (RM Medicines) to run pharmaceutical services internally - but there are only around 6 pharmacies like this in the NHS. An effective service also required the deployment of a comprehensive Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system: to handle accounting, procurement, tax compliance, and supply chain operations.

Situation

With limited exemplars to draw on the Royal Marsden needed an efficient and cost effective system that could handle continuous usage, complex financial challenges and the ability to accommodate change. That ERP would need to include financial modules to handle general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, fixed assets and cash management functions: as well as a reliable data-transfer process with the Trust’s pharmacy procurement system, and HMRC integration and compliance. With a focus on value for investment, neither vendor lock-in or ongoing licence costs were an attractive proposition, despite a short timeline to create and implement a solution supporting the subsidiary.

Aspiration

• Rapid digital transformation
• A fully-featured ERP solution to support the RM Medicines subsidiary
• Increased staff productivity through automation of standardised operational and system processes
• Avoid human error through repetitive manual administration.
• Integration with essential banking, HMRC and existing operational systems.
• A future-proofed solution that could support growth needs.

Solution and impact

Royal Marsden stakeholders were aware of open source approaches, knew they aligned with NHS values, and believed them to be better suited to meeting their business needs.

Patrick Highland, Finance Manager, Systems and Reporting, Royal Marsden.

As a result, the Trust adopted and customised Odoo, an off the shelf open source product that includes an accounting / ERP system with real-time views of financial and purchasing data. A fully open source solution helped the OpusVL team tailor each component to the specific needs of the Royal Marsden, including integration with both Wellsky and Making Tax Digital requirements. Patrick has said that "it certainly helped us facilitate the 2-3 month turnaround for the ERP".

Odoo adoption has enabled an increase in productivity thanks to the automation of administrative process, has supplied the integration the Trust requires, and is projected to deliver a £200,000 cost saving by avoiding proprietary licence fees. Developed through OpusVL’s Open Digital Approach, the Trust has full control and perpetual use of their ERP system. This project has since been recognised by the OneNHS Finance Innovation Forum, and is now available for other health and social care organisations to adopt and further develop as needed.

Functionality

The Odoo ERP system has been run in-house by the Royal Marsden since Autumn 2020, with 24/7 support from a supplier. The system provides:

• Holistic and real-time management of financial operations
• Automated processes that save staff time on administration, analysis and reporting
• Integration with existing operational systems, banking and HMRC
• Flexible development in response to need

In this instance OpusVL also produced training videos to make on-boarding easier for Finance Team staff.

Capabilities

• The Royal Marsden’s “off the shelf” open source system can be supported by any vendor of their choosing, avoiding lock-in.
• A substantial product user-community provides opportunities to benefit from further developments, whether sponsored by the NHS or other organisations

Scope

Odoo’s community edition is an internationally recognised business solution deployed in multiple countries and sectors, with more than 5 million users.

• This case study can be repeated for managing the financial operation of any other NHS wholly owned subsidiary.
• About 30 Official Modules exist, but thousands of community modules have been developed: creating a marketplace of freely distributable add-ons that can increase functionality without substantial investment.
• Further development and deployment of modules for health and social care is well within scope.

Digital equalities

This system is not patient-facing, and has little impact on staffing equality.

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Page last updated: September 2022