In today’s evolving work environments, efficient employee presence management is vital for maintaining productivity and operational transparency. Whether employees work in offices, remotely, or on-site, organizations must have accurate visibility into who is present, absent, or on leave.
With the latest version, Odoo Implementation, presence control has been significantly enhanced, offering intelligent tracking and real-time monitoring to help businesses manage workforce attendance seamlessly. This article explores in detail how presence control is managed in Odoo 18 — from setup to advanced monitoring. (Keyword: odoo implementation)
Understanding Employee Presence Control in Odoo 18
Odoo 18’s presence management system provides an integrated view of employee activity through its intuitive Employee Dashboard. Each employee is represented by a card displaying their name, job title, and contact information, along with visual indicators that reflect their presence status.
Color-coded icons make it easy to interpret status at a glance:
- 🟢 Green: The employee is signed in and currently active.
- 🟡 Yellow: The employee is idle or inactive.
- ⚫ Gray: The employee is signed in but outside working hours.
Odoo 18 also uses additional symbols to reflect specific conditions:
- ✈️ Airplane Icon – The employee is on time off (vacation, sick leave, etc.).
- 🏠 House Icon – The employee is working remotely.
- 🏢 Office Icon – The employee is working on-site.
This color-coded, icon-based approach helps HR teams and managers instantly understand workforce distribution and availability without manual tracking.
Automation Behind Presence Tracking
What sets Odoo 18 apart is that presence statuses aren’t manually updated — they’re determined automatically based on system activity. The platform uses smart automation to calculate whether an employee is online, active, or away.
Behind the scenes, this process is driven by configurations within the Employee Settings, which define how presence data is collected and interpreted. These configurations ensure that the system can track presence accurately and align it with your company’s preferred monitoring method.
Step 1: Configuring Presence Settings
To begin setting up presence control in Odoo 18:
- Navigate to Configuration > Settings in the Employee module.
- Under the Presence Control section, you’ll find multiple tracking modes to choose from.
Odoo 18 offers two main options for presence tracking:
- Based on Attendance: Employees are marked as present only after checking in through the Attendance app.
- Based on User Status: Employees are shown as present when logged into Odoo and performing actions in the system — ideal for remote or hybrid teams.
Step 2: Advanced Presence Control Options
Beyond basic settings, Odoo 18 provides advanced methods to refine presence tracking for different work environments.
A. Based on Number of Emails Sent
When this option is enabled, Odoo counts how many emails an employee sends to determine presence.
A “Presence Condition” field appears, allowing you to specify the minimum number of emails per hour required to mark an employee as active.
This is particularly useful for office-based or administrative roles where communication is a key part of daily tasks.
B. Based on IP Address
For roles where employees are physically present at a worksite, tracking via IP address is more practical.
You can specify one or multiple IP addresses representing your office networks. If an employee logs in from one of these IPs, they’ll automatically be marked as present.
This feature helps ensure that on-site attendance is accurately captured without manual check-ins.
C. Remote Work Indicator
If remote work is allowed, enabling this feature displays a house icon on employee cards whenever they’re working from home. This small but valuable detail gives clarity to managers overseeing distributed teams.
Step 3: Using the Employee Dashboard
Once settings are configured, the Employee Dashboard becomes the central hub for viewing presence data.
It displays all employees and their current status in real time. HR managers can use built-in filters and group-by options to organize employees based on:
- Department
- Job Position
- Work Location
- Presence Status
This allows quick visibility into which departments have employees currently present or absent.
Step 4: Manual Presence Management
While Odoo 18’s automation handles most scenarios, there are instances when employees may need to be marked manually — for example, when working off-site or visiting clients.
From the Employee List View, managers can:
- Select one or more employees.
- Use the Presence Control button to mark them as Present or Absent.
This bulk update option simplifies attendance corrections and ensures records remain accurate.
Step 5: Employee Communication via SMS
Odoo 18 goes a step further by integrating presence management with communication tools.
The Send SMS feature allows managers to quickly message employees directly from the dashboard.
For example, if an employee hasn’t checked in or needs to be notified about shift changes, the manager can select their name, click Presence Control > Send SMS, and send a quick reminder or announcement.
A pop-up window appears to enter the message content, and it’s delivered instantly to all selected employees — making real-time communication easier and more efficient.
Step 6: Reporting and Analytics
Tracking employee presence is only part of the picture — analyzing it is equally crucial.
Odoo 18’s reporting features provide insights into:
- Employee attendance trends
- Idle vs. active time ratios
- Remote vs. on-site presence patterns
Managers can use these analytics to identify bottlenecks, optimize workforce allocation, and improve productivity.
Integrating these reports with Odoo’s other HR modules (like Time Off, Payroll, and Recruitment) ensures complete visibility into employee performance and availability.
Step 7: Integration with Other Odoo Apps
Employee presence control in Odoo 18 is not a standalone feature. It connects seamlessly with:
- Odoo Attendance for clock-in/clock-out tracking.
- Odoo Payroll to calculate compensation based on attendance data.
- Odoo Project Management to align presence data with task progress.
- Odoo HR Analytics for comprehensive workforce reporting.
This unified system ensures that all employee-related data — from attendance to payroll — flows seamlessly across the organization, supporting smarter decision-making and stronger HR management.
Step 8: Enhancing Productivity Through Presence Insights
By monitoring employee presence intelligently, Odoo 18 empowers organizations to:
- Detect absenteeism trends early.
- Manage workloads more effectively.
- Strengthen accountability.
- Improve communication and collaboration.
For instance, managers can quickly identify departments with high absence rates and take preventive measures such as adjusting schedules or offering remote work flexibility.
With odoo implementation, businesses can automate repetitive HR tasks, freeing up managers to focus on strategy rather than manual recordkeeping.
Conclusion
Odoo 18 brings a new level of intelligence to employee presence management. Its automation, configurability, and integration with other HR tools make it an all-in-one solution for organizations aiming to maintain transparency and operational efficiency.
From real-time dashboards and IP-based tracking to communication tools and advanced analytics, Odoo 18 ensures every employee’s presence data is accurate, actionable, and aligned with business goals.
For growing companies and HR teams looking to streamline attendance tracking, Odoo 18’s presence control system offers the perfect balance of flexibility, automation, and insight — a true asset in modern workforce management.