Key takeaways
- Odoo shows no overall total: clear the filters in the list views for journal items, invoices and sales orders as an administrator, read each count and add them, working on any edition.
- A database backup is the only way to get every app's data and attachments together; on Odoo Online use the database manager's Manage > Download Backup, and on Odoo.sh the production branch's Backups tab.
- Odoo.sh keeps seven daily, four weekly and three monthly production backups, each with the database dump and filestore; list exports to CSV or Excel can time out on large sets.
- You don't need to export anything to apply: have your record count, years of history and internal user count ready, and the data vendor anonymizes the records before any AI lab sees them.
01
What is Odoo data, and why do AI labs and data vendors buy it?
The short answer
Odoo data is the operating record of a company that runs its sales, inventory, manufacturing and accounting in Odoo's business software, kept together in one database. AI labs (companies that build and train AI models) and data vendors (companies that anonymize business records and package them for those labs) buy a copy because an order in Odoo links to its delivery, its invoice and its payment, and the notes staff wrote along the way explain what happened.
What an Odoo database records
Odoo is an ERP system, which stands for enterprise resource planning: one program that holds a company's day-to-day operations in a single database. Each area, such as Sales or Accounting, is an app inside Odoo, and all of the apps read and write the same records.
- Sales order
- A confirmed customer order, listing what was sold, to whom and at what price.
- Invoice
- The bill sent to the customer for that order, linked back to it.
- Journal item
- One line in the accounting books, such as a debit or a credit, which together record where the money went.
- Chatter note
- A message or internal note that staff log on a record, such as a question about a delivery or a reason for a discount.
Why connected business records teach an AI model something
An AI model learns by studying a very large number of examples and finding the patterns in them, and those examples are called training data. Because Odoo keeps sales, inventory, manufacturing and accounting in one place, a single order can be followed from the quote through the delivery and the invoice to the payment. The notes on each record add the reasoning that the numbers alone leave out.
AI labs now want to train AI agents, software that carries out a job step by step, and processing an order from start to finish is a job an agent could learn. A data vendor can turn anonymized order chains into worked examples that an agent studies like an answer key. The full mechanism is in AI training data: why AI companies want your company's data.
How Odoo fits into a dataset
Odoo is usually one app among several in a company's dataset, alongside email, documents and chat. Companies are paid $100K to $2M or more per dataset, according to micro1, the data vendor we typically refer companies to. The price covers the whole dataset, not each app on its own, and what your data is worth explains what moves it.
02
Where does Odoo show how much data you have?
The short answer
Odoo has no single total, but every list view shows how many records match the filters you have applied. Strip the filters from the lists of journal items, invoices and sales orders, read the count each one shows, and report the sum as records. This works in any Odoo edition, and an administrator account gives the complete numbers.
How to count your records
The steps below produce one record count from the lists Odoo already has. A list view is Odoo's table of records, which you open from the list icon at the top right of an app.
- Sign in as an administrator, open an app you want to count, such as Accounting or Sales, and switch it to list view.
- Remove the default filters, which often hide older or closed records, so that every record shows. Note the record count the list displays.
- Repeat the count for journal items, invoices and sales orders, and add the three numbers together.
What your role decides
A list view shows only the records your access rights allow, so a count made from a restricted account is lower than the truth. Use an administrator account, which can see every record. The count itself works on every edition of Odoo.
Why the count can fall short
The three lists cover the heart of the business, but Odoo holds more, including inventory moves, manufacturing orders, contacts and the notes on every record. If the company relies heavily on one of those apps, count its main list as well and say what you included. The count also ignores attachments, the files attached to records, which sit outside the lists.
03
What should you know about your Odoo data before you apply?
The short answer
Have three facts ready: your combined record count, the years of history and the number of internal users with a login. They go into the data manifest, the written summary of which apps hold your records, how many years each covers and roughly how much. Applying shares no data, and you don't need to run an export first.
The record count
The unit for Odoo is records, and the number is the combined count of journal items, invoices and sales orders from your list views. Mention any other app whose records you added.
The years of history
The years of history run from the date of the oldest journal entry in the accounting app, since accounting is usually the first part of Odoo a company starts using.
The number of seats
Count the internal users who have a login. Portal users, such as customers who sign in to view their own orders and invoices, are not part of this count.
What you don't need to do first
You don't need to export anything to apply, and you don't need to clean or scrub an export. The data vendor anonymizes the records before anyone else sees them, and nothing moves until a lawyer-reviewed license is signed. The application, the intro call and each later step are laid out in how to sell your company's data.
04
How do you export your full Odoo history?
The short answer
Download a database backup, which is the only way to get every app's data and its attachments together. On Odoo Online you do that from the database manager, and on Odoo.sh from the production branch's Backups tab. For spreadsheets of specific records, select them in a list view and use Export to get a CSV or Excel file.
Odoo Online: download a backup
Odoo Online is Odoo's own hosting. Odoo's page on Odoo Online describes the database manager, which you sign in to as the database administrator.
- Open the database manager at odoo.com/my/databases and select the database.
- Click Manage, then Download Backup.
- Save the
.zipfile that downloads.
A grayed-out Download Backup button means the database is too big for the manager to hand over. In that case, ask Odoo Support for a different way to obtain the file.
Odoo.sh: download from the Backups tab
Odoo.sh is Odoo's hosting for companies that run custom code. Odoo's page on Odoo.sh branches describes the backups.
- Open the production branch and go to the Backups tab.
- Choose a backup and use the Download Options button, making sure the filestore is included.
- Save the file.
Odoo.sh backs up production daily and keeps seven daily, four weekly and three monthly backups. Each backup holds the database dump, the filestore (the attachments and binary fields), logs and sessions. The production server itself keeps about a month, and the monthly ones sit on dedicated backup servers, so ask Odoo Support if you need one of those.
Any hosting: export selected records
A list export gives a spreadsheet of chosen records, and Odoo's page on exporting and importing data covers it.
- Open the list view of the records you want and tick the checkbox beside each one, or select them all.
- Click the gear icon, or the Action button, and choose Export.
- Pick the fields to export, then choose .csv or .xls as the format.
List exports can time out on very large sets, so export in smaller batches.
What each method captures
A backup and a list export cover different amounts of the same database. The diagram shows the same four kinds of content for each.
What Odoo's export leaves out
A list export leaves out the other apps and the attachments, so it is no substitute for a backup. A backup, in turn, contains the entire database, which means it holds more than the company may want to share.
Sources: Odoo documentation, Odoo Online, Odoo.sh branches and Export and import data. Steps checked against these pages in November 2026.
05
What stays private when Odoo data is licensed?
The short answer
The company chooses which apps and record types are shared, and the data vendor replaces names and other personal details with consistent stand-ins before an AI lab sees anything. The company keeps ownership of its data, and the license covers defined material for a defined use.
You choose what is in scope
A backup contains the whole database, but the company decides what goes forward and can hand over exports from just the apps and record types it is comfortable with. Records such as payroll or employee files can stay out.
Names are replaced before a lab sees them
Anonymization means replacing every detail that identifies a person, such as a name or an email address, with a stand-in that is the same every time it appears. In Odoo, the details are mainly customer and supplier names, staff names and the text of chatter notes. The order from quote to delivery to payment still reads in sequence, which is what a lab learns from. The method is in how company data is anonymized for AI training.
Ownership and payment
Licensing gives the buyer limited rights to a copy, while the company keeps ownership of the originals. The terms that matter, such as exclusivity, permitted use and deletion, are covered in data licensing. micro1 pays in full within 30 days of accepting the data, usually as a single payment.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Why is Download Backup grayed out in the Odoo database manager?
Odoo disables the button when a database is too big for the manager to hand over. Ask Odoo Support to arrange a different way to get the backup.
Does an Odoo.sh backup include attachments?
Yes, when the filestore is included. That folder holds the attachments and binary fields, and Odoo.sh puts it in each backup alongside the database dump.
How long does Odoo.sh keep backups?
Production keeps seven daily, four weekly and three monthly backups. The production server holds roughly one month of them, and Odoo Support has to supply the monthly ones from the dedicated backup servers.
How many records does our Odoo database hold?
Odoo shows no overall total, so you count. Sign in as an administrator, clear the filters in the list views for journal items, invoices and sales orders, read each list's record count and add the three.
Why does our Odoo list export stop partway?
Large exports can time out. Export the records in smaller batches, or download a database backup, which is the only route that brings every app's data and its attachments together.
Do we need to export Odoo before we apply?
No. The application takes about two minutes and shares no data. You only need your record count, your years of history and your internal user count for the intro call, and the export comes later, after you sign the license.
What is Odoo data worth to AI labs and data vendors?
Odoo records are priced as part of a whole dataset rather than on their own. Companies are paid $100K to $2M or more per dataset, according to micro1, and the price depends on the years of history and how completely the records show each job. What your data is worth explains the factors.
Bottom line
Know what is in Odoo, then see what it is worth
You don't need to export anything to apply. Apply in two minutes, describe your records on the intro call, and micro1, the data vendor we typically refer companies to, prices the whole dataset and sends an offer 1–2 days later.
Not legal, tax or financial advice. Figures come from micro1's published pages and public reporting as of November 2026.