Odoo 20: Field Service Is Now Part of Planning

If you run field teams on Odoo, this is the Odoo 20 change that needs the most attention. The Field Service app has been discontinued, and its features now live inside Planning. Most capabilities carry over, and some improve. But menus, workflows and training material all change.

What moved into Planning

According to the release notes, these Field Service features now sit in Planning:

• Worksheets, for capturing work done on site
• Field service reports
• Auto plan, for assigning jobs automatically
• Live map and map view
• Routing preferences
• Travel fees
• Customer equipment and customer history tracking
• Customer ratings
• Intervention confirmation emails
• Website form for job requests
• Product barcodes for parts used on site

What's new in Planning itself

• Travel times in the Gantt view, so schedules reflect real driving time
• Link shifts to tasks
• Multiple resource assignment on one shift
• Priority shifts
• Employee-specific materials
• Schedule shifts from a side panel
• Send shifts via WhatsApp

Travel times in the Gantt view are a real improvement. Schedules that ignore driving time are one of the most common complaints from technicians.

Offline mode helps field teams

Odoo 20's general offline mode lets users create, edit and delete records and rerun previous searches without a connection, syncing when they're back online. For technicians in basements, rural sites or plant rooms, that matters. Test it with your real devices and your real worksheets before promising it to the team.

Related changes to watch

• Payroll work entries were removed, along with the Planning–Payroll integration. If you used planning to drive payroll, that link needs replacing.
• Timesheets gained new options, including logging from anywhere and assistant rules, which may help fill the gap.
• Project adds project roles, portal task assignment and projects from opportunities.

How to plan the switch

1. List your Field Service workflows. Job creation, assignment, worksheets, parts, sign-off, invoicing.
2. Map each one to Planning in a test database upgraded to Odoo 20.
3. Check custom worksheets and reports. Anything custom built on Field Service models needs reviewing and possibly porting.
4. Check integrations, such as booking forms, customer portals and routing tools.
5. Rewrite training material. Menus and screens are different.
6. Pilot with one team for a couple of weeks before switching everyone.
7. Decide what replaces the Planning–Payroll link, if you used it.

Is it worth upgrading for?

If your field operation is simple and stable on an older version, there's no rush. Odoo supports each version for three years. If you've been waiting for travel times, better routing or offline work, Odoo 20 is a good reason to plan the move.

Our field service solution page explains how we set up service businesses on Odoo. For the rest of the release, see Odoo 20: what's new and the Odoo 20 upgrade checklist.