02 · Resources

Self-hosted CRM and customer data

A self-hosted CRM is customer relationship software installed on your own server, with no per-seat subscription and no data leaving your infrastructure. For a company of 20 to 500 people it is the main alternative to per-seat SaaS suites.

This category covers choosing an open source CRM, operational write-ups on Twenty CRM, HubSpot alternatives, data migration from a spreadsheet or an existing SaaS, and the line between a pure CRM and a lightweight ERP once invoicing enters scope. The most useful topic, and the one least often covered honestly, is total cost over three years: licence savings on one side, real operating effort on the other.

Start with the guide

Twenty, Dolibarr or Odoo: which one for your team?

Twenty, Dolibarr and Odoo are not in the same category: a pure CRM, a light ERP, a full ERP. Rather than a feature table, here is a decision grid by team size and by process, with what moves you from one level to the next.

6 articles

  • Stepping back8 min

    Automated decisions: can AI decide on its own?

    An algorithm may be more consistent than a manager in a hurry, but a decision that affects a person's life has to be explainable and open to challenge. The law leans clearly one way: the two positions, our view, and the rule to adopt without waiting for 2027.

  • Practical guide9 min

    Cleaning your CRM data: duplicates, fields and rules

    A CRM full of duplicates and empty fields stops being consulted, and every automation or AI plugged into it repeats its errors. The method for a thorough clean-up, then the rules and automatic checks that make it last.

  • Practical guide9 min

    Migrating from HubSpot to an open source CRM in seven steps

    Leaving HubSpot for Twenty, Dolibarr or Odoo can be done without losing your customers, provided you deal with the model, export, cleaning, import and history in order. Here is our seven-step method, and the honest list of what does not come across by itself.

  • Practical guide9 min

    Twenty beyond the CRM: a back office for your business data

    Properties, projects, equipment, case files: Twenty can hold far more than your contacts. What it takes to make it the back office for your business data, connected to your site, and where this use stops.

  • Understand8 min

    Twenty CRM in production: our view, limits included

    We have been running Twenty, an open-source CRM, on our own server since early 2025. What works, what takes effort, what the AGPL licence means for a company, and who we do not recommend it to.

  • Choose and price7 min

    Twenty, Dolibarr or Odoo: which one for your team?

    Twenty, Dolibarr and Odoo are not in the same category: a pure CRM, a light ERP, a full ERP. Rather than a feature table, here is a decision grid by team size and by process, with what moves you from one level to the next.

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