LakshmiLikhon

A lightweight web-based bill/invoice generator for a home-based cloth business.

Architecture

Browser
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   v
Node.js / Express Application
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   v
PostgreSQL Database
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Docker Persistent Volume

Tech Stack

• Backend: Node.js + Express.js
• Frontend: HTML + CSS + Vanilla JavaScript
• Database: PostgreSQL 16
• Containerization: Docker + Docker Compose
• Font: Inter (Google Fonts)

Features

• Create bills with customer info and multiple items
• Sequential bill numbers (BILL-000001, BILL-000002, ...)
• Automatic subtotal, discount, and total calculation
• Bill history with search
• Print-friendly A4 invoice layout (no UI elements)
• Light/dark mode toggle
• Currency toggle (Rs, $, EUR, GBP, Tk)
• Business name, address, GSTIN on invoices
• IST date/time on printed bills
• Toast notifications
• Modern UI with SVG icons
• Persistent data with Docker volumes
• Management script for easy Docker operations

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repo-url>
   cd LakshmiLikhon

2. Create your environment file:

   cp .env.example .env

3. Edit .env with your settings (especially DB_PASSWORD, BUSINESS_NAME, and BUSINESS_GSTIN).

4. Start using the management script:

   ./manage.sh start

5. Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser.

Management Script

The manage.sh script provides easy Docker operations:

./manage.sh start      # Start the application
./manage.sh stop       # Stop the application
./manage.sh restart    # Restart the application
./manage.sh status     # Show container status
./manage.sh logs       # Tail application logs
./manage.sh build      # Rebuild Docker images
./manage.sh fresh      # Remove everything and start fresh (deletes data!)
./manage.sh test       # Run unit tests
./manage.sh help       # Show help

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
APP_PORT	3000	Application port
DB_HOST	db	Database host
DB_PORT	5432	Database port
DB_NAME	billing	Database name
DB_USER	billing_user	Database user
DB_PASSWORD	change_me	Database password
NODE_ENV	development	Environment
BUSINESS_NAME	Your Business Name	Business name for invoices
BUSINESS_ADDRESS	123 Main Street, City	Business address
BUSINESS_PHONE	+1234567890	Business phone
BUSINESS_EMAIL	business@example.com	Business email
BUSINESS_GSTIN	22AAAAA0000A1Z5	GST Identification Number

API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/health	Health check (verifies DB connection)
GET	/api/config	Get business configuration
POST	/api/bills	Create a new bill
GET	/api/bills	List all bills
GET	/api/bills/:id	Get bill details with items
GET	/api/bills/search?q=term	Search bills

Currency Support

Toggle between currencies using the currency buttons in the navbar:

• Rs - Indian Rupee (default)
• $ - US Dollar
• EUR - Euro
• GBP - British Pound
• Tk - Bangladeshi Taka

Your preference is saved in localStorage.

Printing

Click "Print Bill" on any bill view to get a clean, print-optimized layout:

• Business name, address, and GSTIN displayed
• IST date/time shown
• No navigation, buttons, or UI chrome
• A4 paper optimized
• Professional invoice format

Running Tests

# Unit tests
node --test tests/unit/helpers.test.js

# All tests
node --test tests/**/*.test.js

# Or use manage script
./manage.sh test

Data Persistence

PostgreSQL data is stored in a Docker volume (pgdata). Bills persist across container restarts.

Terraform (Planned)

AWS infrastructure automation will be added in a later phase. See terraform/README.md.