Catalog: Personal Receipt & Expense Manager

A simple and secure way to track receipts, split expenses, and manage subscriptions—perfect for individuals and groups.

Description

Catalog is a personal accounting application that helps individuals and groups seamlessly manage and store digital receipts, split expenses, detect recurring subscriptions, and generate meaningful spending insights. By providing a centralized dashboard for receipts, automated reminders for bills and subscriptions, and advanced analytics, we aim to simplify personal and group financial management.

Key Features

• 🧾 Receipt Management: Upload, store, and categorize receipts with OCR capabilities.
• 💸 Expense Splitting: Automatically split bills for trips, events, or household costs.
• 📊 Financial Insights: Track spending trends, category breakdowns, and predictive insights.
• 🔄 Subscription Management: Get notified about recurring subscriptions before they renew.
• 📱 Notifications: Stay on top of due payments, renewals, overspending, and group updates.
• 🔐 Security: AES-256 encryption, secure authentication, and web vulnerability protection.

Motivation

Primary Problems to Solve

• Disorganized Receipts: Digitize and organize your receipts automatically.
• Expense Splitting: Automate shared costs with a clean dashboard.
• Subscription Management: Track and get notified of recurring charges.
• Financial Visibility: View holistic spending patterns through aggregated data.
• Security: AES-256 encryption and robust security practices ensure safety.

Installation

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following installed:

• Python (v3.10 or higher)
• Django (for backend)
• Node.js (for frontend, if using Next.js)
• Tesseract OCR or Google Vision API (for parsing receipts)
• Plaid or Flinks API (for financial aggregation)
• PostgreSQL (for database)

Setup Instructions

Follow these steps to get the project up and running:

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/Catalog.git

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd Catalog

3. Set up the backend:
   • Install Python dependencies:

     pip install -r requirements.txt

   • Set up the database:

     python manage.py migrate

4. Set up the frontend:
   • Install Node.js dependencies:

     npm install

   • Start the development server:

     npm run dev

5. Run the application:

   python manage.py runserver

You should now be able to access the application locally.

Contributing

We welcome your contributions! Here's how to get involved:

Git Workflow

• Git Flow: We follow NOT use Git Flow and will instead checkout branches from main and peer review before merging in
• Issue Tracking: All bugs and feature requests are tracked in GitHub Issues.
• Pull Requests: Submit a pull request with a detailed description of the changes you’ve made. Ensure your code passes all tests and follows our coding standards.

How to Contribute

1. Open an issue to propose any changes you’d like to work on.
2. Fork the repository and create a new branch for your changes.
3. Make the necessary changes and test them thoroughly.
4. Submit a pull request and reference the issue it addresses.