Choose the partner whose senior consultant will run your workshops and stay until go-live, who writes a fixed scope after discovery, who has already set up Kuwaiti payroll and Arabic documents on Odoo, and who puts response times, ownership and upgrades in the contract. The partner level on odoo.com tells you how much Odoo Enterprise a company has sold. It does not answer those four questions, so ask them directly and get the answers in writing.
What the partner titles on odoo.com mean
Every Odoo partner signs Odoo’s partnership agreement, which Odoo publishes in its documentation. It gives partners access to the Enterprise source code, Odoo.sh, Odoo’s training and certification exams, and a contact at Odoo. Partners that sell Enterprise subscriptions are ranked Ready, Silver or Gold; Odoo reviews the level every quarter against the number of Enterprise users sold, certified staff and customer retention.
| Level | Minimum net new Enterprise users sold in 12 months | Minimum certified employees | Minimum customer retention | Listed on odoo.com |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Learning Partner | 0 | 0 | None | No |
| Official: Ready | 10 | 1 | None | Yes |
| Official: Silver | 75 | 3 | 70% | Yes |
| Official: Gold | 300 | 6 | 80% | Yes |
The figures come from version 11 of the agreement (May 2023), as published in Odoo’s documentation in October 2026. Certified employees must hold Odoo’s certification for one of the last three versions.
Two things follow. The level is mostly a measure of sales: a Gold partner has sold many Enterprise users, which tells you it has run many projects, not who will run yours. And the partner earns a commission from Odoo on the subscription it sells you. That is normal, and it should not decide which edition or how many users they recommend.
Ask the partner what its agreement with Odoo covers, which of its people hold Odoo certifications and for which version, and which customers it can name. Then check those answers against the partner’s profile on odoo.com, its certificates or its references before the first meeting.
Eight questions to ask before you sign
The people on your project
Ask for the names of the consultants who will run your workshops, configure the system and train your users, and how many other projects they carry at the same time. A senior consultant at the sales meeting and a junior one on the project is a common reason projects drift. Put the names in the contract, with a rule for replacing them.
A fixed scope
A partner cannot fix a price for work it has not studied. Expect discovery workshops first, then a written scope: the apps, the processes, the reports, the data to migrate, the custom modules, and what is out of scope. Ask how changes are priced after you sign.
Kuwaiti payroll and Arabic documents
Odoo’s documented payroll localizations include Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Egypt and Jordan, but not Kuwait, so Kuwaiti payroll is work the partner configures or builds on the Payroll app. Ask to see a payslip and a bank salary file produced in Odoo for a Kuwaiti company, with PIFSS for Kuwaiti staff and end-of-service indemnity. Ask for an Arabic invoice and an Arabic statement of account too.
References you can call
Ask for two clients in Kuwait or the Gulf that run the apps you plan to use, and call them. Ask how long go-live took against the plan, who answers when something breaks, and whether they would hire the partner again.
Support with response times
Get the support terms before you sign the implementation: response times by priority, the hours they apply, who answers, what is included and how extra hours are charged. Odoo’s helpdesk covers standard Enterprise features. Your configuration, custom modules and integrations are your partner’s to support.
Who owns the code and the database
The Enterprise subscription, the database and the main administrator login should be in your company’s name. On Odoo Online you can download a backup of the database at any time. On Odoo.sh the code sits in a GitHub repository, which should belong to your company, with the partner added to it. For custom modules, the contract should say who owns the source code and what license you hold if the partner keeps it.
Upgrades
Odoo upgrades the standard part of an Enterprise database free of charge, including changes made with Studio. Modules written by a partner are not covered unless they are under a maintenance-of-customizations subscription, and the database cannot be upgraded until they are ready. Ask who ports your custom modules, how it is priced, and how often they plan to move you to a new version. Each major version has three years of standard support.
Hosting
Odoo Online is the simplest option but takes no custom modules. Odoo.sh and your own servers take custom modules; on your own servers someone has to run backups, monitoring and security updates. Ask which option the partner recommends for your scope, why, and who runs it.
Red flags
- A fixed price before anyone has looked at your processes.
- An offer to run Odoo Enterprise without a subscription during the implementation. Odoo’s partner agreement does not allow it.
- No named consultants, or a team you meet only after signing.
- Custom development quoted for things standard Odoo already does.
- Support terms that say “best effort” and give no response times.
- The database, the code repository or the administrator login held in the partner’s name.
- No client in Kuwait or the Gulf you can call.
The checklist
Take this table to each partner meeting and note which column each answer falls into.
| Question | A good answer | Worry if you hear |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs our workshops and configures the system? | Named senior consultants, the same people from workshop to go-live | “We assign a team after signing” |
| How is the scope fixed? | Discovery workshops, then a written scope that lists what is out of it | A price after one demo |
| Have you done Kuwaiti payroll on Odoo? | A sample payslip with PIFSS and indemnity, and a bank salary file | “Odoo already has Kuwaiti payroll” |
| Can we call two of your clients? | Names and phone numbers in Kuwait or the Gulf | Logos only |
| What are the support response times? | By priority, in the contract, in your working hours | “We always answer quickly” |
| Who owns the code and the database? | Your company owns the database and admin login; code ownership is in writing | Repository and admin login with the partner |
| How do upgrades work? | Who ports custom modules, at what cost, how often | “Odoo upgrades everything” |
| Where will it be hosted? | Odoo Online, Odoo.sh or your servers, with a reason | Hosting chosen without asking about custom modules |
What is different in Kuwait
Most of these questions apply anywhere. In Kuwait three of them carry more weight. Payroll comes first: Odoo has no Kuwait payroll localization, so the partner’s own work on PIFSS, indemnity and leave settlement is what you are buying. Arabic comes second: Odoo’s GCC invoice module prints Arabic beside English on invoices and vendor bills, and other documents in Arabic, such as statements, payslips and delivery notes, need their layouts checked or rebuilt. The third is the group: Kuwait has no VAT as of October 2026, but if you have companies in Saudi Arabia or the UAE, ask whether the partner has set up VAT and Saudi e-invoicing there.
How IT Horizon works
IT Horizon is an Odoo partner in Salmiya, Kuwait, with more than 10 years of Odoo work and 50+ clients across the GCC. The senior consultant who runs your workshops configures the system and stays through go-live, and the scope is fixed in writing after discovery. We configure Kuwaiti payroll on Odoo Payroll, set up invoices, payslips and reports in Arabic and English, and support Odoo after go-live on plans with response times in the agreement, set out on our support page. Our Odoo partner page covers the rest. Use the checklist above on us too.
What to do next
- Shortlist three partners and read the odoo.com profile of each Official Partner among them.
- Send each one the same page describing your company, the apps you want and the number of users, and ask the eight questions in writing.
- Book a consultation with us and go through the checklist in the meeting.