Web based Expense Tracking System

Final Year Project Proposal

Supervisor
Ma’am Afshan Ahmad

Submitted by

Nazish Shahzad
{11}

Muqaddas Latif
{13}

Session 2021-2025

Date of Submission

[21/01/2025]

University of Kotli Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Faculty of Computing & Engineering
Department of CS&IT
Plagiarism Free Certificate
This is to certify that, I am Muqaddas Latif S/D/o Muhammad Latif , group member of FYP under
registration no. 2021-UOK-03613 at Department of CS & IT, University of Kotli Azad Kashmir,
Kotli. I declare that my FYP proposal is checked by my supervisor and the similarity index is
% that is less than 20%, an acceptable limit by HEC. Report is attached herewith as
Appendix A.

Date: 07/11/2024 Name of Group Leader: Muqaddas Latif Signature:

Name of Supervisor: Dr. Afshan Ahmad Co-Supervisor (if any): None

Designation: Designation:

Signature: Signature:
1. Introduction

We are developing a PHP application named “Expense Tracker”, designed to help users manage
their daily expenses efficiently. This application minimizes manual calculations and enables users
to track expenditures effortlessly. Users can input their income to calculate total daily expenses,
with results stored for each unique user. The application also includes a wishlist feature, allowing
users to track desired items and receive notifications about relevant sales, enhancing financial
planning.

2. Related Work

 YNAB(You Need A Budget):

YNAB focuses on proactive budgeting, enabling users to plan expenses ahead of time.
However, its manual entry system for cash-based transactions can be cumbersome. Unlike
YNAB, our application simplifies cash transaction entries by providing default categories and
enabling quick edits.

 Spendee:

Spendee offers shared wallets for group expenses, catering to users managing finances with
family or friends. Its limited customization options for report generation are a drawback. Our
system prioritizes individual use while offering robust reporting features, wishlist management,
and planning tools.

3. Objective
The project aims to provide an efficient system for managing and tracking daily expenditures. The
key benefits include:

 Minimizing manual effort with daily record-keeping for expenditures and incomes.
 Immediate and easy retrieval of reports.
 Secure and transparent data storage.
 Assistance in decision-making with actionable insights.
 Wishlist management for planning future expenses.
 Graphical representation of transactions for better analysis.

4. Problem Description

While many organizations have systems to record income and expenses, individuals often lack
efficient tools for personal financial tracking. Traditional note-keeping methods are prone to errors
and lack privacy, leading to challenges such as:

 Over-reliance on manual entries and estimations.

 Difficulty in tracking and categorizing expenses.
 Inability to plan purchases or take advantage of sales for wishlist items.

The proposed system addresses these challenges by providing automated tracking, secure data
storage, and a wishlist feature with sale notifications.
5. Proposed Solution with Architecture

The proposed system is a web-based application accessible across devices, allowing users to input
and categorize expenses in real-time. The architecture includes:

 Server-Side Scripting: PHP is used for handling user interactions and business logic.
 Database Management: MySQL stores income, expenses, wishlist items, and sale data
securely.
 Frontend Design: A responsive interface built with PHP and JavaScript ensures a seamless
user experience.
 Wishlist Notifications: The system alerts users about sales related to their wishlist items,
leveraging APIs or web scraping.

6. Methodology
The system is developed using PHP and a MySQL backend. The methodology involves:

 Requirement Analysis: Define functional and non-functional requirements.

 System Design: Create database schemas, interface layouts, and notification workflows for the
wishlist feature.
 Development: Implement modules for user registration, expense tracking, wishlist
management, and sale notifications.
 Testing: Conduct iterative testing to ensure functionality, performance, and user satisfaction.

7. Project Scope
The project provides a comprehensive solution for expense tracking and financial planning. Key
features include:

 Real-time expense tracking and categorization.

 Wishlist management for tracking desired items.
 Sale notifications for wishlist items.
 Cross-platform accessibility for desktops, tablets, and smartphones.

8. Functional Requirements

• User Registration and Authentication:

• Securely register users and allow them to log in with unique credentials.
• Expense Management:
• Users can add, edit, and delete income and expense records.
• Categorization of Transactions:
• Enable users to categorize expenses (e.g., groceries, entertainment) for better tracking.
• Wishlist Management:
• Allow users to create and manage a wishlist for desired items.
• Notify users about relevant sales on wishlist items.
• Report Generation:
• Generate reports based on date ranges or expense categories, providing insights into spending
patterns.
9. Non-Functional Requirements

 Performance:
System should respond to user actions within 1-2 seconds.
 Scalability:
Support increasing numbers of users and transactions.
 Security:
Encrypt financial data and ensure robust user authentication.
 Reliability:
Maintain high uptime and perform regular data backups.
 Usability:
User-friendly and intuitive interface.
 Portability:
Accessible across various devices.
 Maintainability:
Modular, well-documented codebase for future updates.
 Compliance:
Adherence to relevant data protection regulations.

10. Feasibility Study

Risks Involved:

 Security concerns for financial and wishlist data.

 Ensuring accuracy in sale notifications for wishlist items.

Resource Requirements:

 Web server, PHP environment, MySQL database.

 APIs or scraping tools for integrating sale notifications.

11. Solution Application Areas

The solution best applies to personal finance management. The key areas include:

 Users who track expenses and calculate purchases by applying wishlist.

 Entrepreneurs in small businesses maintaining budgets and expenditure forecasts.
 Freelancers who need simplification of financial recordkeeping.

12. Tools/Technology
 Programming Languages: PHP, SQL.
 Database: MySQL.
 Web Server: Apache.
 Development Tools: Visual Studio Code, phpMyAdmin.
 Sale Integration Tools: APIs or scraping tools for sale data.
13. Expertise of the Team Members

The team consists of:

 Frontend Developer: Responsible for responsive design, wishlist UI, and notifications.
 Backend Developer: Handles expense tracking, wishlist logic, and sale notification integration.

14. Milestones

Elapsed Time (Months) Milestone

Month 1 Requirement Gathering and Planning
Month 2 System and Interface Designing
Month 3 Database designing and Wishlist setup
Month 4 Backend and Frontend Implementation
Month 5 Coding and Integration, Notification
Month 6 Testing and Deployment

This structure reflects the monthly progression of the project as per the given proposal format.
Each milestone represents a key phase in the development of the expense tracking system, moving
from initial planning to deployment.

15.References

• “PHP Documentation.” PHP Manual, The PHP Group, last accessed on [access date]. URL:
https://www.php.net/manual.

• Wikipedia contributors. "Expense tracking software." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,

Wikimedia Foundation, last modified on [access date]. URL:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expense_tracking_software.

• “PHP Documentation.” PHP Manual, The PHP Group, URL: https://www.php.net/manual.

• Smith, John. "Finance Tracking in the Digital Age," Journal of Financial Management, 2019,
pp. 33-45.