# Bill Tracker - Backend Refactoring Learnings

## 2026-05-11 - Phase 1 Business Logic Extraction

### Task
Extract business logic from `routes/bills.js` into a dedicated service layer (`services/billsService.js`).

### Functions Extracted to `services/billsService.js`
- `getDefaultCycleDay(cycleType)` - Returns default cycle day based on cycle type
- `validateCycleDay(cycleType, cycleDay)` - Validates cycle_day based on cycle_type rules
- `parseDueDay(value)` - Parses and validates due_day (must be 1-31 integer)
- `parseInterestRate(value)` - Parses and validates interest_rate (0-100 range)
- `getValidCycleTypes()` - Returns array of valid cycle types
- `validateBillData(data, existingBill)` - Comprehensive validation and normalization for bill create/update
- `validateCycleDayOnly(cycleType, cycleDay)` - Convenience wrapper for cycle_day validation

### Functions Remaining in `routes/bills.js`
- Route handlers only - parse request, call service, send response
- DB queries remain in routes (tightly coupled to HTTP flow, not pure business logic)
- Error formatting with `standardizeError` (HTTP-layer concern)

### Design Decisions
1. **`validateBillData`** - Centralized validation function that handles both create and update scenarios
   - Takes optional `existingBill` parameter to support partial updates
   - Returns `{ errors, normalized }` structure
   - Validates all bill fields including category_id, history_visibility, cycle_type/cycle_day

2. **`getValidCycleTypes()`** - Exported constant array for consistency across files

3. **`VALID_VISIBILITY`** - Exported from service for reuse in other files if needed

### Benefits
- Business logic is now testable in isolation without mocking Express request/response
- Route handlers are thinner and easier to read
- Validation rules are centralized in one place
- Easier to add new bill-related operations without touching routes

### Files Modified
- `routes/bills.js` - Removed ~80 lines of business logic, replaced with service imports and calls
- `services/billsService.js` - New file created with extracted business logic

### No Breaking Changes
- All API endpoints maintain exact same behavior
- Same validation rules applied
- Same error messages returned