In most companies, particularly those dealing in B2B sales, there is a need to have proper data access control. The salespeople must not view all the customers in the system, but only those with whom they are working. It is not merely about keeping it tidy. It is also an aspect of guarding business information and privacy.
Odoo, being a strong ERP solution, provides a flexible means of controlling user permissions. With proper configuration or custom modules, you can limit the salespeople to view, modify, and work only with their respective customers. In this blog, we'll show you how to set this up and explain the different access modes you can assign to sales users.
Why Restrict Salesperson Access?
Let's understand the need first. Imagine a company with a sales team of 10 people. Each person has a list of clients. If all sales reps can view or edit each other's customer data, it can:
- This leads to confusion in ownership
- Increase the chances of errors
- Risk client data confidentiality
- Causes conflict in sales reporting and accountability
By restricting access, each salesperson will only deal with their customers and stay focused, and the system becomes cleaner and more secure.
How Odoo Helps You Manage Salesperson Access
Odoo doesn't give restricted access to salespersons by default. Every salesperson, if not limited, can view all customers in the system. To solve this, you can use a module like Salesperson Own Customer access control. This tool allows you to control what each salesperson can see and do based on their access level.
Below are the access modes you can configure:
1. Own Customer Only – Can See Only Their Customers
With this level of access, the salesperson is able to see only customers that are allocated to them.
Example:
If Salesperson A is both Customer X and Y's salesperson, they will only be able to view these two customers in the Contacts and Sales modules. All other customer records will be invisible to them.
Use Case:
This is beneficial for businesses which prefer to have tight ownership of customers and prevent any such internal competition or conflict.
2. Own Customer Only – Cannot Create New Customers
In addition to limiting access to assigned customers, this setting also removes the ability to create new customers.
How it Works:
The salesperson can work with only those customers assigned by an admin or manager. They cannot click the "Create” button or use the import option to add a new contact.
Benefit:
It avoids duplicate or poorly entered customer records. Only authorized users (like sales managers or admins) can create new customers and assign them accordingly.
3. Allow Salesperson – Can See Assigned Customers
This access level gives a salesperson permission to view a wider set of customers, but only those that are allocated to them.
Example:
Let's say two salespeople jointly manage a customer. With this setting, both assigned users will be able to view and manage the customer profile and related sales orders.
Benefit:
This is ideal when your company works with a team-based sales approach or account-sharing model. It ensures collaboration without opening up access to all records.
4. All Customer – Can See All Customers
This is the full-access setting. Salespersons with this level can view all customers in the system, whether they are assigned or not.
Example:
Sales Manager or Team Leader roles typically use this setting to monitor performance, assist team members, or reassign customers when needed.
Benefit:
It is suitable for supervisors and admins who need complete visibility over all customers and sales operations.
Additional Features of the Salesperson Access Control Module
Along with customer access control, these features also enhance user management:
- Hide Create Button on contact and customer forms (for restricted users)
- Limit Sales Orders view to assigned customers only
- Restrict CRM Leads and opportunities to own customer pipeline
- Separate User Groups to assign specific access rights
- Multi-salesperson assignment to a single customer
How to Set It Up in Odoo
Here's a simple guide to configuring the module (manual setup or using a module From Odoo App Store):
Step 1: Install the “Salesperson Own Customer Access” module
You can find this type of module in the Odoo App Store. Choose one that supports your Odoo version (e.g., 14, 15, 16, 17, or 18).
Step 2: Go to User Settings
Navigate to Settings → Users & Companies → Users
Select the user you want to configure.
Step 3: Assign Access Level
In the user form, look for a field like “Customer Access Type” and choose from:
- Own Customers Only
- Own Customers (No Create)
- Allow Salesperson
- All Customers
Click Save.
Step 4: Assign Salesperson to Customers
Go to Contacts → Customers, open the customer record, and assign a salesperson in the “Salesperson” field.
Once assigned, only that user (or users) can access this customer, depending on their access mode.
Final Thoughts
Managing sales data access is essential for every growing business. By restricting each salesperson to view only their assigned customers in Odoo, you can protect sensitive information, reduce confusion, and keep your system clean.
Whether you want full access for sales managers, limited access for sales reps, or shared access for team members, Odoo gives you the flexibility to set it up your way.
This useful feature is available on the Odoo App Store, developed by Devintellecs to help you manage customer access more effectively and securely.
