Experimental Sequence 02

VyExpense
Platform Documentation

This page is built from Expense_Tracker_Complete_Documentation.md and the supporting diagrams/screenshots. It covers architecture, approval lifecycle, relational schema, endpoint inventory, quality checks, and operations flow.

Node.jsExpressPostgreSQLVue 3PiniaVue RouterChart.jsSession Auth

Approval EngineLive

Role model verified

Scope and Goals

Authentication and role-based access (submitter, approver, admin)

Trip planning with itinerary segments

Expense submission with receipt storage

Advance request and approval cycles

Admin approval/rejection workflows

Analytics dashboards from live transactional data

High-Level Architecture Notes

Vue SPA is served from backend static output and consumes /api/* endpoints using session cookies.

Express middleware handles auth checks and role restrictions before delegating to controllers.

Model layer executes parameterized SQL with a shared PostgreSQL pool.

Session state is persisted in PostgreSQL sessions table using connect-pg-simple.

Approval and Runtime Lifecycle

Step 1

User logs in via /api/auth/login and receives persisted session state.

Step 2

Submitter creates trip requests; new records begin in pending status.

Step 3

Admin approves/rejects trips using status transition actions.

Step 4

Expenses and advances are only accepted for approved trips.

Step 5

Admin reviews and approves/rejects expense and advance submissions.

Step 6

Completed trips move to finished status and analytics aggregates refresh.

Database Tables

users

Identity, department, designation, and role metadata

trips

Trip requests, itinerary metadata, and approval status

trip_users

Many-to-many mapping between trips and users

expenses

Expense records with category, approval status, and audit fields

receipts

BYTEA receipt storage linked to expense entries

advances

Advance payments and approval lifecycle metadata

sessions

Express session persistence for authenticated runtime

Important Relationships

trip_users.trip_id -> trips.id

trip_users.user_id -> users.id

expenses.user_id -> users.id

expenses.trip_id -> trips.id

expenses.category_id -> categories.id

receipts.expense_id -> expenses.id

advances.user_id -> users.id

advances.trip_id -> trips.id

API Endpoint Summary

Area	Method	Endpoint	Purpose
Auth	POST	/api/auth/login	Login and session creation
Auth	POST	/api/auth/logout	Destroy session
Auth	GET	/api/auth/me	Current session user
Trips	GET	/api/trips	List trips by role/filter
Trips	POST	/api/trips	Create trip with itinerary
Trips	POST	/api/trips/:id/status	Approve or reject trip
Trips	POST	/api/trips/:id/finish	Mark trip finished
Expenses	GET	/api/expenses	List expenses
Expenses	POST	/api/expenses	Create expense
Expenses	POST	/api/expenses/approve	Bulk approve
Expenses	POST	/api/expenses/:id/reject	Reject with reason
Advances	GET	/api/advances	List advances
Advances	POST	/api/advances	Create advance
Advances	POST	/api/advances/approve	Bulk approve
Advances	POST	/api/advances/:id/reject	Reject with reason
Analytics	GET	/api/analytics/data	Chart and aggregation payload