BillMaster

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  This screenshot displays the create invoice page which allows users to add details of the invoice.

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  This screenshot display the invoice history tab, this includes all the invoices entered into the system.

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  This screenshot displays the user's invoice after generation.

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  This screenshot displays the custom feature of invoice printing so users get a pdf of the invoice.

Retail shops need a simple, efficient way to manage and structure invoices in a way that is not complicated. Small businesses struggle with complicated invoicing software or rely on paper-based systems. My aim was to build a practical solution that bridges the gap in a way that is professional yet accessible yet very easy to use

BillMaster is a complete invoice management system for retail shops and small businesses. It lets users create professional invoices by entering customer details, adding multiple items with automatic calculations, and applying custom tax rates. Users can switch between creating invoices and viewing invoice history, where invoices are securely stored in a SQLite database and can be viewed, printed, or deleted. The system supports 11 currencies with proper symbol formatting and updates totals, taxes, and subtotals in real time as data is entered.

The development process started with the UI and UX: Applying intuitive navigation with tabs to maintain usability. Then went on to core functionality (backend) such as the invoice creation and generation with dynamic item rows and automatic calculation of totals with added tax. Advanced features then followed where multi-currency was added, modal based invoice viewer and print styling. Testing followed to ensure edge cases and error handling is smooth.

Biggest challenge faced here was real time currency formatting e.g. Japanese Yen (doesn't use decimals) which I solved by creating a currency formatting function that adapts based on the selected currency. Second challenge was database relationships which included properly handling the relationship between invoices and invoice items, including cascade deletion, required understanding SQL foreign keys and prepared statements for security.

Accomplishments that we're proud of include a clean invoice history with invoice generation flow and displays invoices in a professional clean modal. Additionally, the system supports multi-currency support and real-time calculations with custom tax rates.

I learned 1. Database design: structuring relational data using SQLite with foreign key relationship between invoice and invoice items. 2. Print Styling: The challenge of creating a separate print layout using CSS media queries while maintaining a usable screen experience. 3. Currency Integration: The challenge of adding multiple currencies across the whole project while still maintaining usability

Looking ahead, we would like to expand BillMaster to include email invoicing with PDF attachments and customizable templates, along with live currency exchange rates. Future enhancements include invoice editing, payment tracking, search and filtering, analytics dashboards and recurring invoices.

Built With

• css3
• express.js
• git
• github
• html5
• javascript
• node.js
• nodemon
• sqlite