Keeping a detailed, accurate receiving log is essential to reliable inventory management and effective resource planning. It is vital that receiving log entries be detailed, searchable, and protected from changes. Utilizing MongoDB on the back-end provides a scalable extensible database platform that can grow as business needs change. Completely server-side rendered, mobile-friendly, and installable as a Progressive Web Application, pages load fast, getting the data needed for day-to-day operations closest to the people who own those processes. ReceivingDB separates the ability to write (create new) entries from the ability to audit (makes changes to) entries with no user account required to search and browse the receiving log (though the entire web interface can still be restricted by IP address). Defining role-based access in this manner saves on the overhead of creating and maintaining user accounts for casual users, treats the log itself as a write-only interface, and still allows for versioned changes if required. These controls allow for ReceivingDB to be a reliable, auditable, searchable cornerstone to a more comprehensive open-source inventory management and resource planning implementation.
To get ReceivingDB up and running, you will need:
- A MongoDB instance
- A locally or cloud-hosted installation of ReceivingDB
ReceivingDB requires a MongoDB connection string as an environment variable to set up database services. A self-hosted MongoDB instance is an option, but for the quickest, most straightforward setup, create a MongoDB Atlas account and set up a cluster there.
From "Security" > "Database Access," choose to "add new database user." ReceivingDB will use this database user account for connecting to your MongoDB cluster, so be sure to select a secure password.
Once you've instantiated your first cluster, click on "Connect" and choose to "Connect your application."
The connection string returned to you will look something like this:
mongodb+srv://<username>:<password>@testing.edbyi.mongodb.net/myFirstDatabase?retryWrites=true&w=majority
Replace <username> and <password> with the username and password you've
assigned to your new database user, and replace myFirstDatabase with the name
you would like used for the ReceivingDB collection ("receiving" would be a good
choice). Keep this connection string handy, as you will need it momentarily.
Use the one-click deploy button below to deploy your instance of ReceivingDB.
You will be redirected to Heroku, where you will be asked to either sign in or create a free account. Once authenticated, you will be prompted to name your app and provide the required environment variables.
| Var | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
COOKIE_SECRET |
✓ | A secret key to sign secure cookies |
IP_WHITELIST |
✗ | A semicolon-separated list of allowed IPs |
MONGODB_URI |
✓ | A MongoDB connection string |
Make sure to choose a long string for your COOKIE_SECRET. This secret will be
used to sign your secure cookies and to keep your sessions private. The
IP_WHITELIST will optionally limit access to ReceivingDB to specific IP
addresses (ie: 171.216.30.2;171.216.30.3;171.216.30.4) and the MONGODB_URI
is the MongoDB connection string we set up previously.
You will see the build log reporting on the progress of your install. Once the build process finishes, click "Manage app" and then "Open app," and you should find yourself on the landing page of ReceivingDB.
If you prefer to install it locally, you can fork this repo, pull down the files
from GitHub, and install the dependencies with npm install. You will need the
same environment variables as described above, saved in the application's root
as .env.
ReceivingDB comes with a default admin account on installation.
| username | password |
|---|---|
admin |
123admin456! |
On your first login as the default admin, you are required to change the
password. A best practice is to use this account to create your own named admin
accounts and then disable it. You need at least one account with the WRITE
role in able to be able to add data to ReceivingDB. The AUDIT role is
required to make changes to entries after they have been entered. Only the
ADMIN role can create and disable user accounts.
Check the user guide for detailed documentation and updates.
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