MessWala - Hostel Mess Management System
Transparent, data-driven hostel mess management system with real-time cost analytics, multi-role access, and predictive expense forecasting.
MessWala is an open-source hostel mess management system built for real-world use in Indian hostels. It brings transparency, accountability, and data-driven decision-making to everyday mess operations.
The system supports four roles - Student, Mess Manager, Treasurer, and Admin - each with dedicated dashboards and access controls. Students can mark daily meal attendance, rate meals, and view cost analytics. Managers can set weekly menus, monitor headcount forecasts, and approve student registrations. Treasurers can log expenses, track cost per plate, and export CSV reports. Admins have full system access including the setup wizard for onboarding a new mess.
Key features include Google OAuth for student sign-in, credential-based login with reCAPTCHA v3 for staff, OTP-based password reset via email, and a manager approval flow before students can access the app.
On the analytics side, MessWala offers monthly expense trends, ingredient category breakdowns, wastage estimation, and a unique Mess Transparency Index score that reflects how consistently data is being entered. A built-in predictive cost estimator uses linear regression on historical expense data to forecast the next month's budget.
The tech stack includes React 18 with Vite and Tailwind CSS on the frontend, Node.js with Express on the backend, MongoDB Atlas for the database, and JWT-based authentication. The app is deployed on Vercel (frontend) and Render (backend) and is fully PWA-compatible.