Installing BaseUp HR on Odoo 18

One module: baseup_human_resources. There are no companion modules to install and no ordering to get right.

Because the module is not flagged as an application, the default Apps filter hides it. Clear the filter before you search for it.

Odoo 18.0 Enterprise. Seven of the twenty-six dependencies are Enterprise-only modules, so the install fails outright on Community — there is no reduced mode.

Odoo module dependencies

All are declared in the manifest and resolved by Odoo automatically — you do not install them by hand. The split matters only for deciding whether your license can run this module at all.

Python packages

pip install requests geopy sentry-sdk

xlsxwriter and babel are imported too, but both are part of Odoo 18's own requirements and need nothing extra.

Server

• Python and PostgreSQL — whatever your Odoo 18 build requires (Odoo 18 needs Python 3.10 or later); this module adds no constraint of its own.
• Outbound HTTPS — required, not optional: the license is validated online at install and again during use. Chart.js, error reporting and reverse geocoding also reach out. See §6.
• Timezone — schedules and every payroll computation localise to Asia/Manila by default.

The module is distributed through the Odoo App Store. Buy it, download the archive, and unpack it somewhere outside the addons path before you go near odoo.conf.

1. Buy the module and download the archive from your Odoo account's purchases.
2. Unzip it somewhere outside the addons path first, and look at what came out. You should find a single directory, baseup_human_resources. The store metadata sets a limit of one installation per purchase, so check the entitlement before deploying to several databases.
3. Note the version in baseup_human_resources/__manifest__.py and check it matches what you expect (18.0.0.6 at the time of writing). An 18.0.* version only runs on Odoo 18.
4. Have the four license values from BaseUp to hand (§5). The install cannot proceed without them.

The single most common install failure. What goes in addons_path is the directory that contains baseup_human_resources — never the module directory itself, and never a level higher.

Correct layout

/opt/odoo/custom-addons/          # <- this path goes in odoo.conf
└── baseup_human_resources/
    ├── __manifest__.py          # Odoo looks for this one level down
    ├── models/  views/  data/
    ├── security/  reports/  wizard/
    └── controllers/  static/

Move baseup_human_resources out of the unpacked archive and into your custom addons directory, or symlink it there. The one thing that must be true is that Odoo sees a directory containing __manifest__.py exactly one level below a path entry.

[options]
addons_path = /opt/odoo/odoo/addons,/opt/odoo/enterprise,/opt/odoo/custom-addons
db_host = localhost
db_user = odoo
db_password = <set this>
admin_passwd = <set this>
data_dir = /var/lib/odoo
; the dashboard, kiosk and biometric screens are asset-heavy
limit_time_cpu = 600
limit_time_real = 1200
; several payroll reports build large PDFs
limit_memory_hard = 4294967296

chown -R odoo:odoo /opt/odoo/custom-addons
find /opt/odoo/custom-addons -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
find /opt/odoo/custom-addons -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

Set the license parameters first

The module's pre-install hook reads four system parameters and validates them against BaseUp's license server (https://odoo.baseup.co/api/license/validate), sending them with the server's IP address. If any parameter is missing, or the server says no, or it cannot be reached, the install stops with a License Key Required or License Validation Failed message before a single data file loads.

baseup_hr.license_key   # your license key
baseup_hr.fingerprint   # fingerprint issued with the license
baseup_hr.module_name   # module name issued with the license
baseup_hr.hostname      # this server's hostname

On a brand-new database, create it with -i base first, then set the parameters from developer mode, or from an Odoo shell:

sudo -u odoo /opt/odoo/venv/bin/python /opt/odoo/odoo-bin shell \
  -c /etc/odoo/odoo.conf -d <database>

>>> icp = env['ir.config_parameter']
>>> icp.set_param('baseup_hr.license_key', '<key>')
>>> icp.set_param('baseup_hr.fingerprint', '<fingerprint>')
>>> icp.set_param('baseup_hr.module_name', '<module name>')
>>> icp.set_param('baseup_hr.hostname', '<hostname>')
>>> env.cr.commit()

From the command line — preferred for a first install

You get the full traceback on stderr instead of a browser error, which matters for a module that loads this many data files.

sudo -u odoo /opt/odoo/venv/bin/python /opt/odoo/odoo-bin \
  -c /etc/odoo/odoo.conf \
  -d <database> \
  -i baseup_human_resources \
  --stop-after-init

From the interface

1. Restart the Odoo service so the new addons path is picked up.
2. Enable developer mode, set the four license parameters under Settings ▸ Technical ▸ System Parameters, then go to Apps and click Update Apps List. Without this the module will not appear at all.
3. Remove the Apps filter from the search bar — the module is not flagged as an application — then search Baseup and install Baseup Human Resources.

Four things to settle before handing the database over. The functional setup — periods, schedules, contracts — is covered in the Operator Guide; this is the deployment layer.

The license keeps checking

Validation does not end at install. Every backend page request by a logged-in user checks the license, using a cached result for 24 hours and calling the license server again once that expires. If the server is unreachable, a check that succeeded within the last 48 hours is accepted. Past that, or if the server rejects the license, backend pages return 403 Forbidden with the license message until it validates again.

The result is cached in two system parameters, baseup_hr.license_status and baseup_hr.last_license_check. They are the first place to look when users report a 403.

Outbound network access

Mail and branding

• SMTP From — set it on the outgoing mail server, or outgoing payslips and notices go out with the wrong sender.
• System name — the app_system_name parameter replaces the product name in page titles and browser tabs.
• Backend theme — a debranding stylesheet ships in the backend bundle and applies automatically.

Scheduled jobs

Six jobs are created and enabled. Review them against the deployment before go-live, particularly the two biometric jobs, which will try to contact terminals that may not exist yet.

• Auto Import Biometric Attendance · Download Attendance
• Leave Allocation: Check Validity
• Employee: Years in Service · Employee: Compute Age
• HR Employee Data Expiration

A clean install is not the same as a working one. Seven checks, in this order.

1. Module state. Apps shows Baseup Human Resources as Installed at 18.0.0.6.
2. License cached. After opening any backend page, baseup_hr.license_status reads valid in System Parameters.
3. Menus. Employees, Attendances, Overtime, Leaves, Payroll and Salary Loans all appear for an administrator.
4. Statutory data loaded. Payroll ▸ Configuration ▸ Premiums and Tax Tables — SSS should hold the activated Circular 2024-006 schedule, the Withholding Tax Table 24 bracket rows and the Annual Tax Table six.
5. Dashboard renders. Employees ▸ Dashboard. If the counts appear but the charts do not, Chart.js is being blocked — see §6.
6. BIR report works. Open any employee, then the Print menu ▸ BIR Form 2316. A PDF must come back.
7. Payroll computes. Generate one payroll period, one register and one payslip for a test employee with a running contract, and confirm the statutory deductions are non-zero.

Replace the files and run an update. Take a backup first — payroll data is not reconstructible.

# 1. back up first — database and filestore
pg_dump -Fc <database> > baseup-hr-preupgrade.dump
tar czf filestore.tgz /var/lib/odoo/filestore/<database>

# 2. replace the module files, then upgrade
sudo -u odoo /opt/odoo/venv/bin/python /opt/odoo/odoo-bin \
  -c /etc/odoo/odoo.conf -d <database> \
  -u baseup_human_resources \
  --stop-after-init

• No migration scripts — 18.0.0.6 ships no migrations/ directory, so an update reloads views and data and relies on the ORM for schema changes.
• The install-time license check does not re-run — Odoo runs a pre-install hook only on install. The runtime check in §6 still applies after the upgrade.
• Staying on Odoo 18 — 18.0.* packages are the Odoo 18 line. The 19.0 package is a separate series for Odoo 19 and is not an upgrade path within Odoo 18.
• Watch the log for view errors — this module inherits heavily from the Odoo HR views, which is where an Odoo point-release change usually surfaces first.