SmartBiz - Sales Management Platform for Small Businesses

A simple, affordable sales and inventory management platform designed specifically for small and micro-businesses in Africa. Track inventory, record sales, and understand your business with real-time analytics—all at a price that makes sense for your budget.

Overview

SmartBiz solves a critical problem: most business management tools are built for enterprises and priced accordingly. Small business owners, traders, and micro-entrepreneurs are left with spreadsheets, notebooks, or expensive solutions they can't afford. SmartBiz changes that.

Built with small businesses in mind, SmartBiz offers:

• Intuitive inventory tracking with low-stock alerts
• Real-time sales recording and revenue tracking
• Simple but powerful analytics
• Affordable subscription plans in KES
• Mobile-responsive design for on-the-go access

Features

Core Features

• Product Management - Add, edit, and delete products with buying and selling prices
• Sales Tracking - Record sales instantly and track revenue in real-time
• Inventory Management - Monitor stock levels and receive automatic low-stock alerts
• Sales History - View complete transaction history with timestamps and totals
• Real-time Dashboard - See key metrics at a glance: daily sales, product count, and low-stock items
• 7-Day Activity Chart - Visual representation of sales trends over the past week

Subscription System

• Free Plan - Up to 50 products, basic sales tracking, email support
• Basic Plan (KES 499/month) - Up to 500 products, advanced tracking, real-time analytics, priority support
• Premium Plan (KES 1,499/month) - Unlimited products, advanced reports, custom alerts, API access, 24/7 support

Admin Dashboard

• Manage business owner accounts
• Monitor all subscriptions and due renewals
• Track total platform revenue
• Activate or deactivate user accounts
• View subscription status and details

User Experience

• Clean, modern interface with no unnecessary complexity
• Mobile-responsive design works on phones, tablets, and desktops
• Fast performance optimized for low-bandwidth environments
• Role-based access control (admin vs regular users)
• Secure authentication and data protection

Technology Stack

• Backend - Django 6.0, Python 3.12
• Frontend - HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap 5.3.3, JavaScript
• Database - SQLite (development) / PostgreSQL (production-ready)
• Styling - Bootstrap 5, Google Fonts (Inter, Poppins)
• Authentication - Django built-in auth system with custom decorators
• Deployment - WSGI-compatible (Gunicorn, uWSGI)

Project Structure

smart-biz/
├── smartbiz/                    # Main Django project
│   ├── settings.py             # Django configuration
│   ├── urls.py                 # URL routing
│   ├── wsgi.py                 # WSGI entry point
│   └── asgi.py                 # ASGI entry point
├── core/                        # Main application
│   ├── models.py               # Database models (User, Product, Sale, Subscription, SubscriptionPlan)
│   ├── views.py                # View logic (dashboard, products, sales, subscriptions, admin)
│   ├── utils.py                # Decorators (@subscription_required, @admin_required)
│   ├── context_processors.py   # Global context for templates
│   ├── management/
│   │   └── commands/
│   │       └── create_subscription_plans.py  # Management command for seeding plans
│   └── migrations/             # Database migrations
├── templates/
│   └── core/
│       ├── base.html                       # User dashboard base template
│       ├── admin_base.html                 # Admin dashboard base template
│       ├── landing.html                    # Public landing page
│       ├── login.html                      # Login page
│       ├── register.html                   # Registration page
│       ├── dashboard.html                  # User dashboard
│       ├── product_list.html               # Products page
│       ├── product_form.html               # Add/edit product form
│       ├── product_confirm_delete.html     # Delete confirmation
│       ├── record_sale.html                # Record sale form
│       ├── sales_history.html              # Sales history view
│       ├── subscription_plans.html         # Subscription tiers
│       ├── subscription_status.html        # User subscription details
│       ├── renew_subscription.html         # Subscription renewal
│       ├── admin_dashboard.html            # Admin overview
│       ├── admin_users.html                # User management
│       └── admin_subscriptions.html        # Subscription management
├── static/
│   └── images/                # Static images (carousel, etc)
├── db.sqlite3                 # Development database
├── manage.py                  # Django management script
├── requirements.txt           # Python dependencies
└── .gitignore                 # Git ignore rules

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.12 or higher
• pip (Python package manager)
• Virtual environment tool (venv or virtualenv)

Setup Steps

1. Clone the repository

git clone <repository-url>
cd smart-biz

2. Create and activate virtual environment

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Configure environment variables

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your configuration

5. Run migrations

cd smartbiz
python manage.py migrate

6. Create subscription plans

python manage.py create_subscription_plans

7. Create superuser (admin account)

python manage.py createsuperuser

8. Run development server

python manage.py runserver

9. Access the application

• Public site: http://localhost:8000/
• Admin panel: http://localhost:8000/admin/
• User dashboard: http://localhost:8000/dashboard/

Usage

For End Users

1. Register - Create an account on the landing page
2. Choose Plan - Select Free, Basic, or Premium subscription
3. Add Products - Create your product inventory with prices
4. Record Sales - Log sales as they happen with quantities
5. View Analytics - Check dashboard for sales trends and metrics
6. Manage Inventory - Edit products, track low stock, delete items

For Administrators

1. Access Admin Dashboard - Navigate to /admin-dashboard/
2. Manage Users - View all registered businesses, activate/deactivate accounts
3. Monitor Subscriptions - Track active subscriptions, see due renewals
4. View Revenue - Monitor total revenue from all subscriptions
5. Manage Plans - Update or modify subscription tiers as needed

Database Models

User Model

Extended Django User model with role-based access control (admin/staff flags)

SubscriptionPlan

• Represents subscription tier options (Free, Basic, Premium)
• Stores pricing, duration, and feature descriptions

Subscription

• Links users to their current subscription plan
• Tracks activation dates, expiration, and renewal status
• One-to-one relationship with User

Product

• User inventory items with buying/selling prices
• Stock quantity tracking
• Many-to-one relationship with User

Sale

• Transaction records for each product sale
• Quantity and total price tracking
• Timestamp for analytics
• Many-to-one relationships with User and Product

API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /login/ - User login
• POST /logout/ - User logout
• POST /register/ - New user registration

User Dashboard

• GET /dashboard/ - Main dashboard with metrics
• GET /products/ - List all products
• POST /products/new/ - Create new product
• POST /products/<id>/edit/ - Edit existing product
• POST /products/<id>/delete/ - Delete product
• GET /products/<id>/sale/ - Record sale form
• POST /products/<id>/sale/ - Submit sale record
• GET /sales/history/ - View all sales

Subscriptions

• GET /subscription/plans/ - Browse subscription tiers
• GET /subscription/plans/<id>/renew/ - Renew/upgrade subscription
• GET /subscription/status/ - View current subscription

Admin

• GET /admin-dashboard/ - Admin overview
• GET /admin-users/ - Manage users
• GET /admin-subscriptions/ - Manage subscriptions
• POST /admin-users/<id>/toggle/ - Activate/deactivate user
• POST /admin-subscriptions/<id>/toggle/ - Toggle subscription status

Configuration

Environment Variables (.env)

DEBUG=False
SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key-here
ALLOWED_HOSTS=localhost,127.0.0.1

# Database (optional, defaults to SQLite)
DB_ENGINE=django.db.backends.sqlite3
DB_NAME=db.sqlite3

# Email (for password resets and notifications)
EMAIL_BACKEND=django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend
EMAIL_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
EMAIL_PORT=587
EMAIL_USE_TLS=True
EMAIL_HOST_USER=your-email@gmail.com
EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD=your-app-password

# Payment Gateway (when implemented)
STRIPE_PUBLIC_KEY=pk_test_xxxxx
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_xxxxx

Settings Customization

Key settings in smartbiz/settings.py:

• DEBUG - Set to False in production
• ALLOWED_HOSTS - Add your domain
• DATABASES - Configure database connection
• EMAIL_BACKEND - Configure email service
• INSTALLED_APPS - Modify if adding new apps
• TEMPLATES - Template configuration

Security Considerations

1. Never commit .env files - Store sensitive data in environment variables
2. Use strong SECRET_KEY - Change the default Django secret key
3. Enable HTTPS - Use SSL/TLS in production
4. Database Security - Use strong database passwords
5. User Permissions - Role-based access control is implemented
6. CSRF Protection - All forms include CSRF tokens
7. SQL Injection - Using Django ORM prevents SQL injection
8. XSS Protection - Django template engine escapes user input

Performance Optimization

• Query optimization with select_related and prefetch_related
• Database indexing on frequently queried fields
• Static file caching in production
• Responsive images for mobile devices
• Minimal CSS/JS to reduce page load time
• Lazy loading for heavy components

Testing

Run tests with:

python manage.py test

Test coverage includes:

• User authentication flows
• Product CRUD operations
• Sales recording and calculations
• Subscription management
• Admin dashboard functionality

Deployment

Development

python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000

Production with Gunicorn

pip install gunicorn
gunicorn smartbiz.wsgi:application --bind 0.0.0.0:8000

With Docker

FROM python:3.12
WORKDIR /app
COPY requirements.txt .
RUN pip install -r requirements.txt
COPY . .
CMD ["gunicorn", "smartbiz.wsgi:application", "--bind", "0.0.0.0:8000"]

Environment Setup for Production

1. Set DEBUG=False
2. Update SECRET_KEY to a strong random value
3. Configure ALLOWED_HOSTS with your domain
4. Use PostgreSQL instead of SQLite
5. Set up email configuration for notifications
6. Use environment variables for all secrets
7. Enable HTTPS and security headers
8. Configure CORS if needed for API access

Roadmap & Future Features

Phase 2 (Q1 2025)

• Payment gateway integration (Stripe/PayPal)
• Email notifications for subscription renewals
• Advanced reporting and export to CSV/PDF
• Multi-currency support

Phase 3 (Q2 2025)

• Multi-user support for Premium tier
• API access for Premium customers
• Mobile app (iOS/Android)
• Offline mode with sync

Phase 4 (Q3 2025)

• Multi-location/branch management
• Custom branding for businesses
• Advanced inventory forecasting
• Integration with payment processors

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue: "No module named 'django'"

• Solution: Activate virtual environment and install requirements

source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Issue: "ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'core'"

• Solution: Ensure you're running commands from the smartbiz directory

cd smartbiz
python manage.py runserver

Issue: Database errors on first run

• Solution: Run migrations

python manage.py migrate
python manage.py create_subscription_plans

Issue: "Permission denied" for venv activation

• Solution: Check file permissions

chmod +x venv/bin/activate
source venv/bin/activate

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/your-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add your feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/your-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Support

For issues, questions, or suggestions:

• Open an issue on GitHub
• Contact: support@smartbiz.local
• Documentation: [Add documentation link]

Acknowledgments

• Django framework and community
• Bootstrap for responsive design
• Google Fonts for typography
• Built with passion for African small business owners

Changelog

Version 1.0.0 (December 2025)

• Initial release
• User authentication and registration
• Product inventory management
• Sales recording and tracking
• Dashboard with 7-day analytics
• Three-tier subscription system
• Admin dashboard for platform management
• Mobile-responsive design
• KES pricing for African markets

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Made with focus on simplicity, affordability, and the needs of small business owners.