Mastering the Planning Module in Odoo
Smarter Schedules, Happier Teams
Managing schedules across teams, roles, and resources can get messy fast, especially when everything’s tracked manually or spread out across emails and spreadsheets. That’s where Odoo’s Planning module steps in. Designed for simplicity and control, it lets you schedule shifts, assign roles, manage material resources, track availability, and keep workloads balanced—all in one place.
Whether you're coordinating a small team or multiple departments, it helps you plan smarter, respond faster, and keep everyone on the same page.
In this article, we’ll walk through everything you need to know to get started with Odoo Planning—from the first setup steps to managing shifts, automating assignments, and even handling last-minute changes. By the end, you'll have a clear picture of how to use Planning to bring structure and flexibility to your scheduling.
Getting Started
Before we dive into scheduling, it’s worth taking a moment to set things up properly. A clear setup now means fewer headaches later. Your shifts, roles, and team availability will all line up smoothly.
Enable the Planning Module
- Go to the Apps and install Planning.
- Once installed, it will appear on your main dashboard alongside your other apps.
Configure Roles and Resources
Shifts in Odoo are assigned to Roles, not just employees. Think of roles as job functions like Cashier, Project Manager, or Consultant. You can create and manage them under:
Planning > Configuration > Roles
Roles aren’t limited to employees. You can also create and manage material resources, like equipment or machinery (e.g., forklifts, cranes), which can be assigned shifts just like employees.
Once roles and resources are set up, you can assign them when building your schedule.
Assign Employees to Roles
- Go to Employees and open an employee profile.
- Under the Work Information tab, assign default and additional roles.
You can view each employee’s schedule via the Planning smart button on their record. This gives you a clear view of their shifts, making it easy to manage their availability and workload directly from their profile.
Planning Shifts
Once roles and resources are ready, you can begin creating shifts.
Create a Shift
- Navigate to
Planning > Schedule(By Resource or By Role). - Click New to open the shift form.
- Fill in the details:
- Resource – Who’s working the shift?
- Role – What function is scheduled?
- Start & End Time – Define working hours. Use Repeat for recurring shifts.
- Project / Task – (Optional) Link to specific work.
💡 Tip: Odoo alerts you if there's a scheduling conflict (overlap or time off).
- Click Save to add the shift to the planning grid.
You can edit or move a shift in the Gantt view. Use Duplicate to assign the same shift to others.
Shift Templates
To save time on recurring shifts:
- Go to
Planning > Configuration > Shift Templates - Set default shifts, roles, and resources for reuse.
Gantt View: Visual Scheduling
The Gantt view in Planning isn’t just about dates and blocks, it also gives you quick visual feedback on the status of each shift. Once you get familiar with these visual elements, reading the schedule becomes effortless.
Here’s what each element means:
- Full color: Planned, published, and confirmed.
- Diagonal stripes: Draft (planned but not published).
- Grayed-out: Employee is on time off.
- Progress bar: Shift is in progress (linked to a timesheet).
- Orange triangle: Shift modified after publishing.
- Red triangle: Conflict (e.g., overlapping shift or time off).
Publishing and Sending Schedules
Once your shifts are planned, it’s time to share them with your team. Odoo gives you the option to publish and send the shifts directly to employees.
- Click Publish on the planning screen.
- Select the period to publish and whether to include open shifts.
- Choose employees to notify.
Keep in mind, shifts must be published before employees can view them in their My Planning section.
If you need to make changes after publishing, simply update the shift. Odoo will notify you to re-publish it so that any affected employees are notified of the changes.
Auto Planning
Auto planning is a super helpful feature in Odoo, designed to save you time by automatically assigning open shifts to available resources. The Auto Plan button allows you to quickly fill shifts that haven’t been assigned yet (open shifts).
- Here’s what the auto-planning feature considers before assigning shifts:
- Roles – Odoo will only assign open shifts to employees or materials who have the right role assigned. If an employee doesn’t have a role, they won’t be included in the auto planning.
- Default Roles – If an employee has multiple roles, the system will prioritize the default role when assigning shifts.
- Time Off – Employees’ time off and public holidays are always taken into account, so Odoo won’t assign shifts on their off days.
- Working Hours – The system will consider the working hours set up for each employee, making sure shifts are assigned according to their availability.
- Contracts – Ignores shifts outside contract period.
Once the auto-planning is done, you can hit Publish to finalize everything. This will notify the employees of their new schedule and send it to them via email, so they’re always informed.
Switching Shifts and Unassignment
Even with the best planning, unexpected events happen. People get sick, plans change, or something unexpected comes up. Odoo’s Planning module makes it easy for employees to handle these situations without causing chaos for managers or the rest of the team.
Switching Shifts
Once published:
- Employees can click their shift and select "Ask to switch."
- The shift remains assigned but is flagged.
- Other employees with the same role will see and can claim the shift with "I take it."
Unassigning Shifts
If you want to let employees unassign themselves from a shift:
- Go to
Planning > Configuration > Settings - Enable Allow Unassignment
- Define how far in advance employees can unassign.
When this feature is enabled, employees will see an "I am unavailable" button on their scheduled shift emails or in the schedule. Clicking that will free up the shift, making it available for others to take or for managers to reassign later. Again, unassignments are only possible for shifts that match the employee’s roles and haven’t started yet.
⚠️ You can't use both switching and unassignment simultaneously.
Enabling Allow Unassignment disables the default switch feature.
Conclusion
The Planning module in Odoo helps you:
- Organize shifts and roles
- Avoid scheduling conflicts
- Communicate changes quickly
- Automate repetitive planning tasks
With features like auto-planning, shift templates, and visual scheduling, you can reduce errors, improve flexibility, and save time—leading to better team coordination and less stress for managers.
Happy planning with Odoo!
Official Odoo Partner
