FairShare

Project Overview

FairShare reinvents how groups manage shared expenses by directly connecting with users' banking data through secure Plaid API integration. The application automates transaction importing, categorizes expenses, and simplifies the entire bill-splitting process.

Whether you're sharing costs with roommates, planning group trips, or managing household finances, FairShare eliminates the tedium of manual expense tracking and complex calculations. Users can create distinct expense groups, implement custom splitting rules, and visualize spending patterns through interactive charts—all while maintaining complete financial privacy and security.

Key Features

• Banking Integration: Secure connection to financial accounts via Plaid API for automatic transaction importing.
• Receipt Scanning: OCR technology for manual receipt capture and data extraction when needed.
• Flexible Splitting: Multiple options for dividing expenses—equal splits, percentage-based, itemized, or completely custom amounts.
• Spending Analytics: Interactive charts and visualizations showing expense categories and patterns over time.
• Group Management: Create and manage multiple expense groups for different contexts (roommates, trips, events).
• Balance Overview: Easy view of current balances and outstanding debts between group members.
• Transaction History: Searchable expense records with receipt storage and filtering capabilities.

Challenges

Building FairShare presented several significant technical challenges:

• Plaid Integration: Setting up secure, real-time connections with bank accounts and handling different banking data formats.
• Secure Authentication: Implementing user authentication and authorization without storing sensitive personal or financial data.
• New Technologies: Working with the latest tools and APIs, including Plaid, to ensure modern functionality and future-proof architecture.
• Cross-Platform Design: Building a responsive experience that feels native on both mobile and desktop devices.
• Database Complexity: Managing a flexible and scalable data structure to support dynamic group expenses and real-time updates.

Data Visualization

A core component of FairShare is its robust analytics system that helps users understand their spending patterns. The application generates interactive charts showing:

• Category Breakdown: Visual representation of expenses by category.
• Spending Trends: In depth analysis of spending patterns over days, weeks, and months.
• Contribution Analysis: Comparative visualization of each group member's contributions.
• Balance Status: Clear graphical representation of current debts and credits within the group.

These visualizations help users make informed decisions about future spending and provide transparency around group finances.

Reflection

Building FairShare taught me a lot about working with financial data and banking APIs. I had to be careful with security and privacy, which are valuable skills for any app that handles sensitive information.

I also learned how important it is to design with users in mind—especially when dealing with money. Making things clear and easy to understand helped build trust and made the app more effective.

What I enjoyed most was seeing FairShare turn a common source of stress—managing group expenses—into something simple and transparent. Users said it saved time, avoided confusion, and even helped improve relationships.

Technologies Used