Migrate from Actionstep to Odoo CRM

Actionstep matters map 1:1 to Odoo crm.lead records. The matter type (e.g., litigation, corporate, family) maps to a custom field (matter_type__c) and also influences the lead's stage category in Odoo. The matter's responsible user is resolved to an Odoo res.users record by email match before import.

Each Actionstep participant of type 'Client' or 'Contact Person' becomes a res.partner record. The participant's email address is the unique key for de-duplication. When a single participant appears on multiple matters, one res.partner record is created and linked to each relevant crm.lead via crm.lead.partner_id.

Non-client participants are imported as res.partner with the participant role stored as a res.partner.category tag (e.g., 'Opposing Counsel', 'Expert Witness'). Odoo partner categories must be pre-created in Settings > Contacts > Contact Tags before migration runs. Each distinct role in Actionstep becomes a corresponding Odoo contact tag; tag names must match the Actionstep role labels exactly for correct assignment during the import pass. Participants without a defined role receive a default 'General Contact' category tag.

Actionstep matter stages (New, In Progress, On Hold, Closed Won, Closed Lost) map value-by-value to Odoo crm.stage records within the default pipeline. Stage names are preserved exactly; stage sequence order is carried over from Actionstep's step ordering. Custom stages in Actionstep are created as new crm.stage records in the target pipeline before migration, ensuring no stage mapping is skipped during the import pass.

Matter-level description text migrates as plain text into crm.lead.description. Rich-text formatting in Actionstep notes is stripped to plain text during transformation — we flag any HTML-formatted notes before import. If a matter has no description or notes, the crm.lead.description field is left blank. Bullet points and numbered lists from Actionstep are converted to plain text with line breaks preserved.

Actionstep documents linked to a matter are downloaded and re-uploaded to Odoo's ir.attachment table, keyed to the corresponding crm.lead record via res_model='crm.lead' and res_id=<lead_id>. Binary file contents are base64-encoded. Inline images in notes are extracted and saved as separate attachments.

Actionstep billing lines and time entries are preserved as a custom JSON field on the crm.lead (billing_lines__c) rather than as live account.move records, because Odoo accounting requires a chart of accounts to be configured first. We surface the billing data for your accountant to create proper invoices in Odoo after go-live.

Trust accounting balances and transaction history from Actionstep migrate as a custom text field (trust_balance__c) and a JSON log (trust_transactions__c) on the associated res.partner record. Odoo does not have native trust accounting — your finance team rebuilds this in Odoo Accounting using the exported reference data.

Actionstep Builder custom data fields defined on matter types are created as custom ir.model.fields on crm.lead in Odoo Studio before migration. Field type mapping: text → char, number → float or integer, date → date, picklist → selection. All custom field definitions are captured from Actionstep's data collection schema during the audit phase.

Custom fields attached to participant records in Actionstep are created as custom ir.model.fields on res.partner in Odoo Studio before migration begins. Participant-specific custom fields such as bar_number and jurisdiction are mapped to dedicated char fields with the original field label preserved for reference. Each custom field definition is captured from Actionstep's data collection schema during the audit phase, ensuring no participant-specific attributes are dropped during the transformation pass.

Actionstep task and activity records linked to a matter are imported as Odoo mail.activity records, linked to the crm.lead by res_model='crm.lead'. Original activity dates, user assignments, and descriptions are preserved. The mail.activity.type is inferred from Actionstep's activity category. Calls, tasks, and meetings each map to the corresponding Odoo activity type; any unmatched activity categories are logged for manual type assignment after migration.

Actionstep allows matters to be linked in parent-child or reference relationships. In Odoo these map to a custom many2one field (related_matter_id__c) pointing to the related crm.lead. Circular references are flagged and resolved before the import commits. The relationship type (parent, child, related) is captured in a companion selection field for audit purposes.