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Statement Extract
Statement Extract

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I Built a Financial Tools Platform with Next.js — Here's What I Learned

#webdev #nextjs #programming #python

I got frustrated with hunting across 10 different websites for simple financial tools. So I decided to build one platform with everything.
This is the story of building StatementExtract — a suite of financial tools for small businesses and freelancers.

The Problem

Every time I needed to:

  • Convert a bank statement to Excel
  • Calculate profit margins
  • Generate an invoice
  • Convert files between formats ...I had to find a different website. Most were covered in ads, required signups, or had hidden limits. I thought: "Why isn't there one place for all of this?" So I started building. ## The Tech Stack
  • Framework: Next.js 14 (App Router)
  • Styling: Tailwind CSS
  • UI Components: shadcn/ui
  • Deployment: Cloudflare Pages
  • Backend: Python/FastAPI (for document processing) ### Why Next.js? Static export capability was key. Most tools process data client-side (calculators, file converters), so I wanted fast static pages with no server overhead. 
// next.config.ts
const config = {
  output: "export",
  trailingSlash: true,
};
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Client-Side Processing
For tools like the invoice generator and calculators, everything runs in the browser. No data is sent to any server.

tsx
// Invoice data stays in localStorage
const [invoiceData, setInvoiceData] = useState(() => {
if (typeof window !== 'undefined') {
return JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem('invoice') || '{}');
}
return {};
});
This is a privacy feature I'm proud of — your data never leaves your device.

What I Built

  1. Bank Statement Converter Upload PDF → Extract transactions → Download Excel/CSV

The most technically challenging part. PDF parsing is notoriously difficult because PDFs are designed for display, not data extraction.

  1. File Format Converters
    CSV → QuickBooks (QBO)
    CSV → OFX
    QBO → CSV
    These help people import transactions into accounting software when bank feeds aren't available.

  2. Financial Calculators
    Profit margin calculator
    Markup calculator
    GST/VAT calculator
    Simple tools, but surprisingly hard to find good free versions online.

  3. Invoice Generator
    Create professional invoices with:

Multiple currencies
Tax fields
Digital signature
PDF export
100% client-side — your invoice data is never uploaded.

Lessons Learned

  1. SEO Takes Time
    I've been live for a few months. Getting organic traffic is slow. Consistently publishing content and building backlinks matters more than perfect on-page SEO.

  2. "Free" Is Complicated
    When you say "free," people expect completely free. If you have limits, be upfront about it. Trust is everything.

  3. Solve Your Own Problems
    I built tools I actually needed. That made it easy to know what features mattered and what was just noise.

  4. Ship Fast, Iterate
    My first version was rough. But shipping early got me real feedback from real users. Much better than building in isolation.

What's Next
Still building in public. Current focus:

More export formats
Better accuracy on bank statement extraction
Mobile optimization
Check It Out
Live: statementextract.com

I'd love feedback from the dev community:

What tools would you add?
Any technical suggestions?
Drop a comment below or find me on Twitter.

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