fina/BUDGET_ALERTS_IMPLEMENTATION.md

Budget Alerts & Notifications - Implementation Complete

Overview

Comprehensive budget tracking and alert system with category-level budgets, visual dashboard warnings, and PWA push notifications.

Features Implemented

1. Database Schema ✅

• Added monthly_budget (REAL) to categories table
• Added budget_alert_threshold (REAL, default 0.9) to categories table
• Migration script: /migrations/add_category_budgets.py (executed successfully)

2. Backend API ✅

File: /app/routes/budget.py

Endpoints:

• GET /api/budget/status - Returns overall budget + category budgets + active alerts
• GET /api/budget/weekly-summary - Weekly spending summary with comparison
• PUT /api/budget/category/<id>/budget - Update category budget settings

Security:

• All endpoints use @login_required decorator
• All queries filtered by current_user.id
• Category ownership verified before updates
• Budget threshold validated (0.5-2.0 range)

3. Category Model Enhancements ✅

File: /app/models.py

New Fields:

• monthly_budget - Float, nullable
• budget_alert_threshold - Float, default 0.9

New Methods:

• get_current_month_spending() - Calculates total spending for current month
• get_budget_status() - Returns dict with:
  • spent: Current month total
  • budget: Monthly budget amount
  • remaining: Budget left
  • percentage: Spent percentage
  • alert_level: none/warning/danger/exceeded
  • threshold: Alert threshold value

Enhanced Methods:

• to_dict() - Now includes budget_status in response

4. PWA Notifications ✅

File: /app/static/js/notifications.js

Features:

• BudgetNotifications class for managing notifications
• Permission request flow
• Budget alert notifications (category/overall/exceeded)
• Weekly spending summary notifications
• Auto-check every 30 minutes
• Weekly summary on Monday mornings (9-11 AM)
• Settings stored in localStorage

Service Worker Enhancement: File: /app/static/sw.js

• Added notificationclick event handler
• Opens/focuses app on notification click
• Navigates to relevant page (dashboard/transactions/reports)

5. Dashboard Visual Warnings ✅

File: /app/static/js/budget.js

Components:

• BudgetDashboard class for managing budget UI
• Banner alerts at top of dashboard (dismissible for 1 hour)
• Color-coded alerts:
  • Warning: Yellow (at 90% threshold)
  • Danger: Orange (approaching limit)
  • Exceeded: Red (over budget)
• "View all alerts" modal for multiple active alerts
• Auto-refresh every 5 minutes
• Listens for expense changes to update in real-time

6. Category Budget Progress Bars ✅

File: /app/static/js/dashboard.js

Enhancements:

• Each category card shows budget progress if set
• Visual progress bars with color-coding
• Budget amount display (spent / total)
• Percentage display
• Settings button on each card to manage budget
• Budget settings modal with:
  • Budget amount input
  • Alert threshold slider (50%-200%)
  • Real-time threshold preview
  • Save/cancel actions

7. Translations ✅

File: /app/static/js/i18n.js

Added Keys (24 translations × 2 languages):

• English:

  • budget.alert, budget.categoryAlert, budget.overallAlert
  • budget.categoryAlertMessage, budget.overallAlertMessage
  • budget.categoryWarning, budget.overallWarning
  • budget.viewAllAlerts, budget.activeAlerts, budget.monthlyBudget
  • budget.weeklySummary, budget.weeklySummaryMessage
  • budget.noBudgetSet, budget.setBudget, budget.editBudget
  • budget.budgetAmount, budget.alertThreshold, budget.alertThresholdHelp
  • budget.save, budget.cancel, budget.budgetUpdated, budget.budgetError
  • budget.exceededAlert, budget.exceededAlertMessage

• Romanian:

  • All translations provided in Romanian

8. Integration ✅

File: /app/__init__.py

• Registered budget blueprint

File: /app/templates/base.html

• Added budget.js script
• Added notifications.js script

User Experience Flow

Setting a Budget:

1. Navigate to dashboard
2. Click settings icon on any category card
3. Enter budget amount
4. Adjust alert threshold slider (default 90%)
5. Save

Budget Warnings:

1. Visual Dashboard Alert:

   • Banner appears at top when approaching/exceeding budget
   • Shows most severe alert
   • Option to view all alerts
   • Dismissible for 1 hour

2. Category Progress Bars:

   • Each category card shows budget progress
   • Color changes based on alert level
   • Percentage display

3. PWA Push Notifications:

   • Automatic checks every 30 minutes
   • Notifies when threshold reached
   • Weekly summary on Monday mornings
   • Click notification to open app

Weekly Summary:

• Sent Monday morning (9-11 AM)
• Shows week's total spending
• Comparison to previous week (% change)
• Top spending category
• Daily average

Security Features

Authentication:

• All endpoints require login
• Session-based authentication
• Redirects to login if not authenticated

Authorization:

• User isolation via current_user.id filtering
• Category ownership verification
• No cross-user data access

Validation:

• Budget amount must be ≥ 0
• Threshold range: 0.5 - 2.0 (50% - 200%)
• Input sanitization
• SQL injection prevention (SQLAlchemy ORM)

Testing Checklist

✅ Functional Tests:

• Budget columns exist in database
• Migration executed successfully
• Budget API endpoints load without errors
• Authentication required for all endpoints
• Models have budget methods
• Dashboard loads with budget features
• Translations available in both languages

🔒 Security Tests:

• All queries filter by user_id
• Category ownership verified before updates
• Login required for budget endpoints
• Input validation on budget amounts
• Threshold range validation

📱 PWA Tests:

• Notification permission request works
• Budget alerts trigger correctly
• Weekly summary sends on schedule
• Notification click opens app
• Settings persist in localStorage

🎨 UI Tests:

• Budget banner displays for active alerts
• Category cards show budget progress
• Settings modal opens and functions
• Progress bars update in real-time
• Translations display correctly
• Dark mode compatible

Usage Examples

API Examples:

# Get budget status
GET /api/budget/status
Response: {
  "overall": {
    "budget": 3000.0,
    "spent": 2100.0,
    "remaining": 900.0,
    "percentage": 70.0,
    "alert_level": "none"
  },
  "categories": [...],
  "active_alerts": [...]
}

# Update category budget
PUT /api/budget/category/1/budget
Body: {
  "monthly_budget": 500.0,
  "budget_alert_threshold": 0.85
}
Response: {
  "success": true,
  "budget_status": {...}
}

# Get weekly summary
GET /api/budget/weekly-summary
Response: {
  "current_week_spent": 450.0,
  "previous_week_spent": 380.0,
  "percentage_change": 18.4,
  "top_category": "Food & Dining",
  "daily_average": 64.3
}

JavaScript Examples:

// Enable notifications
await window.budgetNotifications.setEnabled(true);

// Show budget alert
await window.budgetNotifications.showBudgetAlert({
  type: 'category',
  category_name: 'Food & Dining',
  percentage: 92.5,
  level: 'warning'
});

// Open budget settings modal
showCategoryBudgetModal(1, 'Food & Dining', 500.0, 0.9);

// Refresh budget display
await window.budgetDashboard.loadBudgetStatus();

File Structure

app/
├── models.py                     # Enhanced Category model
├── routes/
│   └── budget.py                 # NEW - Budget API endpoints
├── static/
│   ├── js/
│   │   ├── budget.js             # NEW - Budget dashboard UI
│   │   ├── notifications.js      # NEW - PWA notifications
│   │   ├── dashboard.js          # MODIFIED - Added budget cards
│   │   └── i18n.js               # MODIFIED - Added translations
│   └── sw.js                     # MODIFIED - Notification handler
└── templates/
    └── base.html                 # MODIFIED - Added scripts

migrations/
└── add_category_budgets.py       # NEW - Database migration

Performance Considerations

• Budget status cached on client for 5 minutes
• Dashboard auto-refresh every 5 minutes
• Notification checks every 30 minutes
• Weekly summary checks every hour
• Efficient SQL queries with proper indexing
• Minimal overhead on dashboard load

Browser Compatibility

• Notifications: Chrome 50+, Firefox 44+, Safari 16+
• Service Workers: All modern browsers
• Progressive Enhancement: Works without notifications enabled
• Mobile: Full PWA support on iOS and Android

Next Steps

Potential Enhancements:

1. Email/SMS Alerts: Alternative to push notifications
2. Budget History: Track budget changes over time
3. Budget Templates: Quick-set budgets for common categories
4. Spending Predictions: ML-based budget recommendations
5. Multi-month Budgets: Quarterly/annual budget planning
6. Budget Reports: Downloadable PDF reports
7. Family Budgets: Shared budgets for managed users
8. Savings Goals: Track progress toward financial goals

Integration Opportunities:

• CSV Import (for budget bulk upload)
• Income Tracking (for budget vs income analysis)
• Bank Sync (for automatic budget tracking)
• Recurring Expenses (auto-deduct from budget)

Deployment Notes

Environment Variables:

• No new variables required
• Uses existing Flask session/auth configuration

Database:

• Migration already executed
• No data loss or downtime
• Backward compatible (budget fields nullable)

Updates:

• Clear browser cache to load new JavaScript
• Service worker auto-updates on next page load
• No user action required

Support & Troubleshooting

Common Issues:

Notifications not working:

• Check browser permissions
• Verify HTTPS (required for notifications)
• Check localStorage setting: budgetNotificationsEnabled

Budget not updating:

• Check expense date (must be current month)
• Verify category has budget set
• Check user_id filtering

Dashboard not showing alerts:

• Verify monthly_budget set on user
• Check category budgets configured
• Ensure threshold not too high

Debug Commands:

# Check database columns
docker exec fina python3 -c "
import sqlite3
conn = sqlite3.connect('/app/data/fina.db')
cursor = conn.cursor()
cursor.execute('PRAGMA table_info(categories)')
print(cursor.fetchall())
"

# Test budget API
curl -H "Cookie: session=..." \
  http://localhost:5103/api/budget/status

# Check budget calculations
docker exec fina python3 -c "
from app import create_app, db
from app.models import Category
app = create_app()
with app.app_context():
    cat = Category.query.first()
    print(cat.get_budget_status())
"

Conclusion

Budget Alerts & Notifications feature is now FULLY IMPLEMENTED and PRODUCTION READY. All components tested and security verified. Ready for user testing and feedback.

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Implementation Date: December 20, 2024 Developer: GitHub Copilot (Claude Sonnet 4.5) Status: ✅ COMPLETE