Migrate from PANDA Perio to Odoo CRM

PANDA exposes no public API — extraction requires direct SQL Server read access

PANDA Perio does not publish a REST or GraphQL API for external data access. The application runs on SQL Server 2014 Express (up to 10 GB) or Standard/Enterprise editions for larger practices. Data extraction requires a direct database read connection to the PANDA SQL Server instance — either via VPN to the on-premises server or a remote desktop session if hosted. This adds a technical prerequisite that is absent in API-first CRM migrations: the practice must provide database credentials and network access before FlitStack can begin the extraction phase. For practices using hosted PANDA environments or managed IT setups, firewall and credential provisioning can add 1–3 days to the project timeline.

Periodontal charting grids must be flattened into custom fields — no native Odoo equivalent

PANDA's periodontal charting data (pocket depths, BOP, recession, furcation, mobility per tooth and surface) is stored in the database as rows in a per-visit grid table. Odoo CRM has no native model for per-tooth clinical grid data — there is no equivalent to PANDA's chart_table schema in res.partner or any standard Odoo model. We handle this by flattening each observation type (PPD, BOP, GR, CAL, furcation, mobility) into a dedicated custom Text field on res.partner that stores a JSON snapshot of the full-mouth chart for that visit date. Historical visits are preserved as dated mail.message records on the partner. This means the periodontal chart is readable as structured data in Odoo, but the chairside chart view that PANDA provides requires custom Odoo web development to reproduce.

Odoo Community and Standard plans block external API access — migration method changes

The Odoo external API (XML-RPC / JSON-RPC) is free to use only on the Custom Plan ($37.40/user/month). Community and Standard editions explicitly block external API access — the xmlrpc/common and xmlrpc/object endpoints return an AccessDenied error. If the destination Odoo instance is on Community or Standard, FlitStack cannot push data via the API and must instead use Odoo's native CSV import wizard, which handles 2,000–5,000 records per batch. This extends the migration timeline by 1–2 days and limits the ability to run delta-pickup incrementally. We verify the destination Odoo plan before designing the load pipeline and flag this as a scope item.

PANDA letter-writing templates and SOAP note formats are application logic, not data

PANDA's automated letter-writing engine reads clinical charting data and generates formatted correspondence letters in real time. The letter templates, SOAP note formats, treatment-translation rules, and dynamic field substitutions live in the PANDA application directory and configuration files — they are not stored as records in the SQL Server database. This means there is no data layer to export. The template content can be reviewed manually and used as a reference document to rebuild letter templates in Odoo's mail.template system post-migration. This is a rebuild, not a migration, and we document the PANDA template library as part of the handover package.

Multi-clinic PANDA setups require database merge before loading into single Odoo instance

Larger periodontics practices running separate PANDA databases per clinic — common when each location has its own SQL Server instance or its own practice within the same server — require a merge step before loading into a single Odoo res.company structure. Patient records that exist in multiple PANDA databases with the same name and DOB must be de-duplicated during the merge. We implement a de-duplication rule using PANDA PatientID + LastName + DateOfBirth as a composite key. After merge, a custom Clinic_ID__c field tags each patient record with its source location for Odoo team-based access control.