Expense Tracker

A comprehensive expense tracking application built with ASP.NET Core MVC and SQL Server, featuring AI-powered financial insights and interactive dashboards.

Features

Dashboard

• Real-time financial overview of the last 7 days
• Visual representations of income and expenses using doughnut and spline charts
• Quick summary showing total income, expenses, and current balance
• Recent transactions list
• Category-wise expense breakdown

Transaction Management

• Add, edit, and delete transactions
• Categorize transactions
• Add notes to transactions
• Date tracking for each transaction
• Category-based filtering

Category Management

• Create and manage custom categories
• Assign icons to categories
• Categorize as income or expense
• Edit and delete categories

AI-Powered Financial Reports

• Automated financial analysis using OpenAI GPT
• Personalized financial advice
• Spending pattern analysis
• Custom recommendations for better financial management

Technology Stack

• Backend: ASP.NET Core MVC
• Database: SQL Server with Entity Framework Core
• Frontend: Bootstrap, JavaScript
• AI Integration: OpenAI GPT-3.5 API
• Charts: Syncfusion (or your chosen charting library)

Setup Instructions

1. Prerequisites
   • Visual Studio 2022 or later
   • .NET 6.0 or later
   • SQL Server

Database Setup and Migrations Guide

1. Install Required Packages

First, ensure you have these NuGet packages installed in your project:

Install-Package Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer
Install-Package Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Tools
Install-Package Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Design

2. Configure Connection String

In appsettings.json, add your database connection string:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=(localdb)\\mssqllocaldb;Database=ExpenseTracker;Trusted_Connection=True;MultipleActiveResultSets=true"
  }
}

3. Create Database Models

Ensure your models are properly configured. Key models include:

public class Category
{
    [Key]
    public int CategoryId { get; set; }
    [Required]
    public string Title { get; set; }
    public string Icon { get; set; }
    public string Type { get; set; }
}

public class Transaction
{
    [Key]
    public int TransactionId { get; set; }
    [Range(1, int.MaxValue)]
    public int CategoryId { get; set; }
    public Category Category { get; set; }
    public int Amount { get; set; }
    public string Note { get; set; }
    public DateTime Date { get; set; }
}

4. Create Initial Migration

Open Package Manager Console and run:

# Create initial migration
Add-Migration InitialCreate

# Apply migration to database
Update-Database

5. Common Migration Commands

# Create a new migration
Add-Migration MigrationName

# Remove last migration (if not applied to database)
Remove-Migration

# Apply migrations to database
Update-Database

# Generate SQL script (useful for production deployments)
Script-Migration

6. Troubleshooting Migrations

If you encounter issues:

1. Migration not applying:

   Update-Database -Verbose

2. Reset database:

   # Drop the database
   Drop-Database
   
   # Remove all migrations
   Remove-Migration -Force
   
   # Start fresh
   Add-Migration InitialCreate
   Update-Database

3. Check migration status:

   Get-Migration

Then create and apply a new migration:

Add-Migration SeedData
Update-Database

[Rest of the README remains the same...]

3. Configuration

   • Update appsettings.json with your database connection string
   • Add your OpenAI API key in configuration:

     {
       "ApiSettings": {
         "AI_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
       }
     }

4. Run the Application

   • Build and run the application in Visual Studio
   • Navigate to https://localhost:[port]

Project Structure

Expense_Tracker/
├── Controllers/
│   ├── DashboardController.cs
│   ├── CategoryController.cs
│   ├── HomeController.cs
│   ├── TransactionController.cs
│   └── AIReportsController.cs
├── Models/
│   ├── Category.cs
│   ├── ApplicationDbContext.cs
│   ├── ErrorViewModel.cs
│   └── Transaction.cs
├── Views/
│   ├── AIReport/index.cshtml
│   ├── Dashboard/index.cshtml
│   ├── Category/index.cshtml
│   └── Transaction/index.cshtml