Expense Tracker MVP

A streamlined expense tracking system that combines WhatsApp messaging with Excel spreadsheets, wrapped in a modern Next.js web interface.

Features

• Daily WhatsApp reminders at 9 PM
• Simple expense logging via WhatsApp messages
• Beautiful web dashboard for expense visualization
• Automatic Excel file generation
• Date range filtering and category breakdowns

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18 or later
• npm or yarn
• Twilio account with WhatsApp sandbox enabled
• A public URL for webhook endpoints (e.g., ngrok for local development)

Environment Variables

Create a .env.local file in the root directory with the following variables:

TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID=your_account_sid
TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN=your_auth_token
TWILIO_WHATSAPP_NUMBER=your_whatsapp_number

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd expense-tracker

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Set up environment variables as described above.

4. Start the development server:

   npm run dev

5. Start the reminder script:

   npm run reminders

Usage

1. WhatsApp Integration:

   • Join your Twilio WhatsApp sandbox by sending the code to the provided number
   • Send expenses in the format: Expense: [amount] [category] [note]
   • Example: Expense: 25.50 Food & Dining Lunch at cafe

2. Web Dashboard:

   • Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser
   • View your expenses, filter by date range, and see category breakdowns
   • Excel files are automatically generated in the data/expenses directory

Development

• npm run dev: Start the development server
• npm run build: Build the production application
• npm run start: Start the production server
• npm run reminders: Start the daily reminder script
• npm run lint: Run ESLint
• npm run lint:fix: Fix ESLint issues

Project Structure

src/
├── app/              # Next.js app directory
├── components/       # React components
├── lib/             # Utility functions and shared code
├── scripts/         # Node.js scripts (e.g., reminders)
├── types/           # TypeScript type definitions
└── utils/           # Helper functions

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch
3. Commit your changes
4. Push to the branch
5. Create a new Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.