Odoo 19 Contacts Module — How to Create Customers and Vendors

Everything in Odoo starts with a contact. To create a quotation you need a customer, to raise a purchase order you need a vendor, to issue an invoice you need company details — all of this flows from the Contacts module.

That's why the Contacts module is our first stop in the Odoo 19 series.

What Does the Contacts Module Do?

Contacts lets you manage all of your business's external stakeholders — customers, vendors, partners, and individuals — from a single place. In Odoo 19, this module is fully integrated with every other module: a customer record is automatically available in CRM, Sales, and Accounting without any extra setup.

How to Open the Contacts Module

Menu → Contacts

In Odoo 19, the new AI-assisted interface means the search bar understands natural language commands. For example, you can type "customers in London" and it will apply the filter automatically.

Creating a New Contact

Step 1: Click the New button in the top-right corner of the Contacts list.

Step 2: Select the contact type:

• Individual — a real person
• Company — a legal entity

Step 3: Fill in the basic details:

• Name / Company name
• Tax ID number
• Address
• Phone and email

Step 4: Set the contact tags:

• Customer — visible in sales and invoicing workflows
• Vendor — visible in purchase workflows
• Both can be selected at the same time

TIP: In Odoo 19, when creating a company record, you can add sub-contacts (employees/authorized persons) directly from the company card. This lets you set up the "ABC Ltd → John Smith (Purchasing Manager)" relationship on a single screen.

Tabs on the Contact Card

Bulk Import

If your existing customer list is in Excel, you can import it in bulk instead of entering records one by one:

Contacts → ⚙️ → Import

In Odoo 19, the column-mapping step uses AI suggestions to automatically predict which Excel column corresponds to which field — this feature is new in version 19.

Summary

The Contacts module is the cornerstone of Odoo. Accurate and complete contact records:

• Prevent incorrect invoices from being issued
• Keep e-invoicing workflows running smoothly
• Speed up both sales and purchasing processes

In the next post, we'll go deeper into the Contacts module: company-person relationships, tags, and segmentation.

Have questions about Odoo 19 implementation or consulting? Get in touch.