ImportCost Pro

Import Management and Landed Cost Calculation System

ImportCost Pro is a web-based application developed with ASP.NET Core MVC, Entity Framework Core, and SQL Server. The system was designed to support import operations by managing master data, import orders, operational expenses, and landed cost calculations.

The project was developed collaboratively by a team of three developers using a layered architecture approach and modern software engineering practices.

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Repository

https://github.com/JoelAlBenitez/ImportCost-Pro.git

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Table of Contents

• Overview
• Objectives
• Key Features
• System Modules
• Architecture
• Project Structure
• Technologies Used
• Database
• Installation
• Configuration
• Entity Framework Core Migrations
• Running the Application
• Business Rules Implemented
• Development Team
• Git Workflow
• Future Improvements
• License

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Overview

ImportCost Pro was created to centralize and automate the management of import operations.

The platform provides functionality for:

• Product management
• Supplier management
• Importer management
• Tariff category administration
• Country management
• Currency management
• Exchange rate administration
• Tax configuration
• Import order management
• Import expense registration
• Landed cost calculation

The solution follows a layered architecture that promotes maintainability, scalability, and separation of concerns.

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Objectives

• Manage import-related master data.
• Standardize import registration processes.
• Maintain historical information integrity.
• Support import cost analysis.
• Centralize tax and tariff configurations.
• Calculate landed costs accurately.
• Apply business rules and validations consistently.

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Key Features

Operational & Commercial Management

• Product Maintenance
• Supplier Maintenance
• Importer Maintenance
• Tariff Category Maintenance

Financial Core

• Country Management
• Currency Management
• Exchange Rate Management
• Tax Configuration

Import Operations

• Import Order Registration
• Order Details Management
• Import Expense Registration
• Landed Cost Calculation

Technical Features

• Layered Architecture
• Entity Framework Core
• SQL Server Integration
• Dependency Injection
• Repository Pattern
• MVC Pattern
• Data Annotations Validation
• JavaScript Pagination
• Responsive UI
• Entity Relationships
• Database Migrations

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System Modules

Module	Description
Products	Product registration and management
Suppliers	Supplier administration
Importers	Importer administration
Tariff Categories	Customs and tax category management
Countries	Country administration
Currencies	Currency administration
Exchange Rates	Exchange rate management
Tax Configuration	Tax settings and percentages
Import Orders	Import order lifecycle
Order Details	Product details within orders
Import Expenses	Import-related expenses
Landed Cost	Final import cost calculation

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Architecture

The project follows a Layered Architecture approach.

Layers

Presentation Layer

Responsible for:

• MVC Controllers
• Razor Views
• User Interaction
• Client-side JavaScript

Application Layer

Responsible for:

• Business Logic
• DTOs
• ViewModels
• Services

Persistence Layer

Responsible for:

• Entity Framework Core
• Repositories
• Database Context
• Entity Configurations
• Migrations

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Architecture Diagram

flowchart TD

UI[ASP.NET Core MVC]

APP[Application Layer]

PER[Persistence Layer]

DB[(SQL Server)]

UI --> APP
APP --> PER
PER --> DB

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Project Structure

ImportCost-Pro
│
├── ImportCost
│   ├── Controllers
│   ├── Views
│   ├── wwwroot
│
├── Application
│   ├── DTOs
│   ├── Services
│   ├── ViewModel
│   └── ServicesRegistration
│
├── Persistence
│   ├── Context
│   ├── Entities
│   ├── Repositories
│   ├── Configurations
│   ├── Migrations
│   └── ServiceRegistration
│
└── ImportCost-Pro.sln

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Technologies Used

Technology	Purpose
.NET 9	Development Platform
ASP.NET Core MVC	Web Framework
Entity Framework Core	ORM
SQL Server	Database Engine
Razor Views	UI Rendering
JavaScript	Client-side Features
Bootstrap	UI Styling
LINQ	Data Queries
Dependency Injection	Service Management
Git	Version Control
GitHub	Source Control Hosting

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Database

Main Entities

Operational Commercial

• Products
• Suppliers
• Importers
• Tariff Categories

Financial Core

• Countries
• Currencies
• Exchange Rates
• Tax Configuration

Import Operations

• Importation Orders
• Importation Order Details
• Importation Expenses
• Landed Cost Summary
• Landed Cost Detail

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Installation

Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/JoelAlBenitez/ImportCost-Pro.git

Navigate to Project

cd ImportCost-Pro

Restore Dependencies

dotnet restore

Build Project

dotnet build

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Configuration

Connection String

Open:

ImportCost/appsettings.json

Configure:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=YOUR_SERVER;Database=ImportCostDB;Trusted_Connection=True;TrustServerCertificate=True"
  }
}

Example:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=localhost;Database=ImportCostDB;Trusted_Connection=True;TrustServerCertificate=True"
  }
}

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Entity Framework Core Migrations

Install EF Core Tools

dotnet tool install --global dotnet-ef

Verify installation:

dotnet ef --version

Create Database

Apply migrations:

dotnet ef database update \
--project Persistence \
--startup-project ImportCost

Create New Migration

dotnet ef migrations add MigrationName \
--project Persistence \
--startup-project ImportCost

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Running the Application

Run the project:

dotnet run --project ImportCost

Or:

cd ImportCost
dotnet run

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Business Rules Implemented

The application implements multiple business rules extracted from the project requirements.

Products

• Unique product code validation.
• Active/inactive status management.
• Historical integrity preservation.
• Weight and volume validations.
• Tariff category validation.

Suppliers

• Active supplier filtering.
• Country validation.
• Currency validation.
• Historical data protection.

Importers

• Unique tax identification validation.
• Import order relationship validation.
• Historical consistency rules.

Tariff Categories

• Unique tariff code validation.
• Tax applicability rules.
• Selective tax validations.
• Historical calculation protection.

Import Orders

• Product association.
• Supplier association.
• Importer association.
• Expense registration.
• Landed cost calculations.

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Development Team

Contributors

Contributor	Responsibilities
Joel Benitez	Products, Importers, Suppliers, Tariff Categories
Sebastian Peguero	Landed Cost, Import Orders, Order Details, Import Operations
Adrian (Adrixn23)	Countries, Currencies, Exchange Rates, Tax Configuration

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Team Profiles

Developer	GitHub
Joel Benitez	https://github.com/JoelAlBenitez
Sebastian Peguero	https://github.com/SebasPeguero
Adrian	https://github.com/Adrixn23

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Git Workflow

The project was developed using a collaborative Git workflow.

Branches

main
development
feature/*

Development process:

1. Create feature branch.
2. Implement functionality.
3. Commit changes.
4. Merge into development.
5. Validate integration.
6. Merge into main.

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Academic Scope

This project was developed as part of an academic software engineering initiative focused on:

• Requirements Analysis
• Software Design
• Layered Architecture
• Database Modeling
• Entity Framework Core
• Team Collaboration
• Version Control
• Business Rule Implementation

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Future Improvements

Potential enhancements include:

• Authentication and Authorization
• Role-Based Access Control
• Reporting Module
• Dashboard Analytics
• PDF Export
• Excel Export
• Audit Logs
• Unit Testing
• Integration Testing
• Docker Support
• CI/CD Pipelines

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License

This project was developed for educational and academic purposes.

All rights belong to their respective authors and contributors.

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks to all contributors involved in the analysis, design, development, testing, and implementation of the ImportCost Pro system.