https://deadbrands.co/blog/ Straight talk on ERP, automation, AI, sales, and building a business — from David Strausser, CEO of Dead Brands, LLC. en-us Mon, 05 Oct 2026 15:00:38 GMT https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/what-10000-hours-of-bad-gigs-taught-me-about-sales-rejection.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/what-10000-hours-of-bad-gigs-taught-me-about-sales-rejection.html As a musician who's played for empty rooms and a CEO who sells ERP systems, I've learned that every 'no' is tuning data. Here's how bad gigs made me better at sales. Sat, 03 Oct 2026 20:00:00 GMT sales musician dadlife rejection business https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/sap-business-one-licensing-what-you-actually-pay-for.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/sap-business-one-licensing-what-you-actually-pay-for.html SAP Business One licensing costs what? David Strausser breaks down real costs vs. hype, modules, and where Odoo fits without sales jargon. Sat, 03 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMT sap-business-one licensing business-software cost-analysis real-talk https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/the-odoo-implementation-mistakes-i-see-every-single-time.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/the-odoo-implementation-mistakes-i-see-every-single-time.html As an ERP consultant at Dead Brands LLC, I've watched small businesses repeat the same Odoo implementation mistakes for years. This post breaks down the top five pitfalls with real-world fixes. Sat, 03 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT odoo erp implementation smallbusiness https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/the-school-pickup-ceo.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/the-school-pickup-ceo.html David Strausser on running a business around the school pickup line: why his kids' schedule is the real CEO, and what fatherhood taught him about presence. Fri, 02 Oct 2026 18:00:00 GMT family dad business work-life balance https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/sap-business-one-implementation-timeline-honest-numbers.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/sap-business-one-implementation-timeline-honest-numbers.html Realistic SAP Business One timelines for SMBs: honest week-ranges per phase, the three things that blow up every rollout, and red flags in a partner's proposal. Fri, 02 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT sap-business-one erp implementation smallbusiness https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/odoo-20-whats-actually-new.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/odoo-20-whats-actually-new.html Odoo 20 deep dive: accounting guardrails, grown-up payroll, Planning absorbing Field Service, POS and Odoo Phone upgrades, the new Light User tier, and one honest chapter on the AI. What's real, what's hype, and whether to upgrade. Fri, 02 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT [erp odoo odoo 20 ai accounting payroll pos] https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/odoo-20-ai-that-does-the-work-not-just-the-talking.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/odoo-20-ai-that-does-the-work-not-just-the-talking.html Odoo 20 is out: AI agents with write access, MCP connectivity, core upgrades. What the release changes for small-business ERP. Fri, 02 Oct 2026 11:00:00 GMT odoo odoo-20 erp ai small-business https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/penny-odoo-automation-mistakes.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/penny-odoo-automation-mistakes.html Odoo's automated actions and scheduled jobs are powerful, but misconfigured automation creates more problems than it solves. Learn the five most common mistakes and how to avoid them. Thu, 01 Oct 2026 22:00:00 GMT [odoo automation workflow erp business-process] https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/penny-aliens-erp-first-contact.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/penny-aliens-erp-first-contact.html A fun but pointed look at ERP data quality through alien eyes: if extraterrestrials audited your system tomorrow, what would they find? A Penny-style take on why clean data matters. Thu, 01 Oct 2026 21:30:00 GMT [penny erp humor odoo data-quality] https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/rock-star-dad-guitar-cable-company-sales.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/rock-star-dad-guitar-cable-company-sales.html David Strausser on Chromaleaf: discovered at NAMM around 2016, got custom cables built to shred like Joe Perry, then sold them SAP Business One. His ERP world and music world in one story. Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:00:00 GMT music sales small-business dad passion https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/sap-business-one-10-fp-2608-ai-web-client.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/sap-business-one-10-fp-2608-ai-web-client.html SAP Business One 10.0 FP 2608 brings Ask AI and AI-assisted SQL to SMBs, but the biggest win is the Web Client finally becoming a daily driver. Thu, 01 Oct 2026 18:30:00 GMT erp sap sap business one ai business https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/ghost-inventory-odoo-wms-3pl-margin.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/ghost-inventory-odoo-wms-3pl-margin.html Learn how Odoo WMS helps 3PLs reduce ghost inventory through accurate receiving, better on-hand visibility, disciplined cycle counting, and stronger warehouse management controls. Thu, 01 Oct 2026 11:00:00 GMT odoo odoo-wms 3pl inventory warehouse-management distribution https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/odoo-crm-the-pipeline-setup-that-actually-gets-used-by-sales.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/odoo-crm-the-pipeline-setup-that-actually-gets-used-by-sales.html Why sales teams abandon Odoo’s pipeline setup. Real steps that match daily work. No fluff. Thu, 01 Oct 2026 10:30:00 GMT odoo crm sales pipeline open-source https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/sap-business-one-version-11-browser-erp-roadmap.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/sap-business-one-version-11-browser-erp-roadmap.html SAP Business One Version 11 arrives in 2027 per SAP's public roadmap. David Strausser decodes what it means for SMB owners: the web client is the product now, the desktop client gets compliance, and the five moves to make before 2027. Wed, 30 Sep 2026 18:30:00 GMT erp sap sap business one web client version 11 https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/open-source-erp-and-the-who-do-i-call-at-2-am-question.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/open-source-erp-and-the-who-do-i-call-at-2-am-question.html Who do you call when Odoo or SAP Business One goes down at 2 AM? A real triage playbook: Odoo Community vs Enterprise vs B1 support, drawn straight. Wed, 30 Sep 2026 11:00:00 GMT open-source-erp odoo it-support erp-support sme https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/the-odoo-apps-id-install-on-day-one-for-a-20-person-company.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/the-odoo-apps-id-install-on-day-one-for-a-20-person-company.html The exact Odoo apps I'd install on day one for a 20-person company, in priority order, refreshed days after the Odoo 20 launch. No bloat, no upsell, just what works. Wed, 30 Sep 2026 10:30:00 GMT odoo erp small business software business https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/the-5-hour-friday-automating-the-weekly-report-nobody-likes.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/the-5-hour-friday-automating-the-weekly-report-nobody-likes.html How I automated the weekly report nobody reads, from 10 hours to 5, and took my Friday afternoons back for what actually matters. Tue, 29 Sep 2026 20:00:00 GMT automation time-saving work-life friday dad https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/when-sap-business-one-is-overkill-and-what-to-buy-instead.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/when-sap-business-one-is-overkill-and-what-to-buy-instead.html SAP Business One's complexity makes it a poor fit for most small businesses. This post explains when to cut the cord and what simpler ERP options exist without the hype. Tue, 29 Sep 2026 18:30:00 GMT sap businessone odoo smallbusiness erp https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/ai-wont-fix-a-broken-process-itll-just-break-it-faster.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/ai-wont-fix-a-broken-process-itll-just-break-it-faster.html Why AI amplifies whatever process you feed it. Broken process in, faster broken results out. Fix the foundation before you automate. Mon, 28 Sep 2026 22:00:00 GMT ai business process automation technology https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/sap-business-one-for-companies-that-think-sap-is-only-for-gi.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/sap-business-one-for-companies-that-think-sap-is-only-for-gi.html Why small businesses can leverage SAP Business One without scaling up. Honest trade-offs, real modules, and why it's not a giant's toy. Mon, 28 Sep 2026 18:30:00 GMT sap business-one small-business software implementation https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/what-playing-guitar-taught-me-about-patience-that-bus.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/what-playing-guitar-taught-me-about-patience-that-bus.html David Strausser on the patience lessons from playing guitar that business never taught him. A Sunday reflection. Sun, 27 Sep 2026 20:00:00 GMT guitar patience business life https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/the-first-ai-hire-what-to-automate-before-you-hire-your-next.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/the-first-ai-hire-what-to-automate-before-you-hire-your-next.html Your first AI hire should be a workflow, not a chatbot. The five things to automate before hiring your next employee, what to keep human, and the trap that turns AI into another pile of unused software. Sat, 26 Sep 2026 22:00:00 GMT ai automation hiring smb productivity https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/what-i-learned-auditing-50-messy-quickbooks-files-before-erp.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/what-i-learned-auditing-50-messy-quickbooks-files-before-erp.html Lessons from auditing 50 chaotic QuickBooks files ahead of ERP migration: the mess patterns, the cleanup order, and what Odoo vs SAP Business One demand. Sat, 26 Sep 2026 11:00:00 GMT quickbooks erp odoo migration https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/odoo-vs-the-spreadsheet-empire-killing-excel-chaos-one-m.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/odoo-vs-the-spreadsheet-empire-killing-excel-chaos-one-m.html David Strausser on replacing spreadsheet chaos with Odoo, one module at a time. Practical advice for SMBs drowning in Excel. Sat, 26 Sep 2026 10:30:00 GMT odoo erp excel spreadsheets https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/odoo-studio-when-clicking-together-an-app-beats-writing-code.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/odoo-studio-when-clicking-together-an-app-beats-writing-code.html Odoo Studio's visual builder handles most simple business apps in hours instead of weeks. Learn where clicking beats coding, where it falls apart, and the governance trap nobody warns you about. Sat, 26 Sep 2026 10:00:00 GMT odoo studio erp customization smb https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/data-migration-horror-stories-and-how-to-avoid-becoming-one.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/data-migration-horror-stories-and-how-to-avoid-becoming-one.html ERP data migration horror stories: duplicated customers, broken history, silent corruption. The audit and reconciliation process that keeps your go-live boring. Fri, 25 Sep 2026 18:30:00 GMT erp data-migration sap-business-one odoo implementation https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/inventory-accuracy-the-unsexy-metric-that-decides-whether-yo.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/inventory-accuracy-the-unsexy-metric-that-decides-whether-yo.html Why inventory accuracy matters more than you think for Odoo users. The quiet metric that keeps your ERP from failing without flashy reports. Fri, 25 Sep 2026 11:00:00 GMT erp inventory odoo business metrics https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/the-90-day-erp-adoption-plan-getting-your-team-to-actually-u.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/the-90-day-erp-adoption-plan-getting-your-team-to-actually-u.html How to avoid ERP chaos in 90 days: practical steps to get your team actually using the system, with no jargon and no empty promises. Thu, 24 Sep 2026 18:30:00 GMT erp-adoption sap-business-one odoo business-process team-productivity https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/customization-vs-configuration-the-line-that-quietly-kills-e.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/customization-vs-configuration-the-line-that-quietly-kills-e.html Configuration vs customization in ERP: what each really costs, when custom work earns its keep, and a framework for deciding before the invoice decides for you. Thu, 24 Sep 2026 18:00:00 GMT erp customization implementation odoo sap-business-one https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/why-the-cheapest-erp-quote-is-always-the-most-expensive-one.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/why-the-cheapest-erp-quote-is-always-the-most-expensive-one.html Why the lowest ERP quote leads to costly headaches: how cheap quotes hide costs in change orders, and the questions that reveal the real price. Thu, 24 Sep 2026 11:00:00 GMT erp pricing sap odoo business https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/the-go-live-checklist-nobody-gives-you-what-to-test-before-f.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/the-go-live-checklist-nobody-gives-you-what-to-test-before-f.html A single dad's practical guide to ERP go-live testing. Five checks that catch costly mistakes before production. No fluff, just what works. Wed, 23 Sep 2026 11:00:00 GMT erp sap odoo go-live testing https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/your-implementation-partner-is-lying-about-the-timeline-here.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/your-implementation-partner-is-lying-about-the-timeline-here.html Implementation partners overpromise timelines. The real math behind ERP delays, how to spot stretched estimates, and how to negotiate a date you can hit. Wed, 23 Sep 2026 10:30:00 GMT implementation timelines sap odoo business https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/welcome-to-the-blog-tips-tricks-and-straight-talk.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/welcome-to-the-blog-tips-tricks-and-straight-talk.html Welcome to David Strausser's daily blog: Odoo how-tos, SAP Business One wisdom, and a daily wild card. What to expect and why it exists. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 22:00:00 GMT welcome dead-brands https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/what-playing-guitar-taught-me-about-business.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/what-playing-guitar-taught-me-about-business.html Lessons from decades of playing guitar applied to business: deliberate practice, timing, listening before soloing, and playing with people better than you. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 20:00:01 GMT business-growth mindset music https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/dad-playbook-productive-mornings.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/dad-playbook-productive-mornings.html A real morning routine for busy parents and founders: the night-before setup, the 5 AM power block, and the rules that protect family time. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 19:30:00 GMT productivity dad business-growth https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/sap-business-one-add-ons-worth-the-money.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/sap-business-one-add-ons-worth-the-money.html A practical guide to SAP Business One add-ons: which categories deliver real ROI (warehouse, EDI, advanced reporting) and how to evaluate any add-on. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 18:30:01 GMT sap-business-one erp https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/5-signs-youve-outgrown-quickbooks.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/5-signs-youve-outgrown-quickbooks.html Five signs you've outgrown QuickBooks: spreadsheet workarounds, inventory chaos, no real reporting, permission problems, and month-end dread. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 18:00:00 GMT sap-business-one erp quickbooks https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/stop-paying-for-12-apps-odoo-replaces-them.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/stop-paying-for-12-apps-odoo-replaces-them.html How consolidating a dozen disconnected SaaS subscriptions into Odoo cuts costs, kills double data entry, and gives you one version of the truth. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 11:00:01 GMT odoo saas cost-saving https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/odoo-implementation-7-things-nobody-tells-you.html https://deadbrands.co/blog/posts/odoo-implementation-7-things-nobody-tells-you.html Seven hard-won lessons about Odoo implementation: data cleanup, scope discipline, training, and the mistakes that blow up timelines. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 10:30:00 GMT odoo erp implementation