diff --git a/firebase.json b/firebase.json
index b588d0764..6022aeb96 100644
--- a/firebase.json
+++ b/firebase.json
@@ -7,8 +7,6 @@
     {
       "source": "functions",
       "codebase": "default",
-      "timeoutSeconds": 300,
-       "runtime": "nodejs18",
       "ignore": [
         "node_modules",
         ".git",
diff --git a/functions/package.json b/functions/package.json
index 78edeea45..d7c7a0d1b 100644
--- a/functions/package.json
+++ b/functions/package.json
@@ -17,7 +17,8 @@
   "main": "lib/index.js",
   "dependencies": {
     "firebase-admin": "^12.6.0",
-    "firebase-functions": "^6.0.1"
+    "firebase-functions": "^6.1.1",
+    "lodash": "^4.17.21"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin": "^5.12.0",
diff --git a/functions/src/notifications_service/notifications_service.ts b/functions/src/notifications_service/notifications_service.ts
index 4b6f7f233..ca33ba5c5 100644
--- a/functions/src/notifications_service/notifications_service.ts
+++ b/functions/src/notifications_service/notifications_service.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import * as admin from "firebase-admin";
 import * as logger from "firebase-functions/logger";
 import messages from '../locales/en.json';
 
-// Initialize Firebase app in users_service.ts to ensure it's always available
+// Initialize Firebase app if not already initialized
 if (admin.apps.length === 0) {
   try {
     admin.initializeApp();
@@ -130,42 +130,38 @@ function generateNotificationMessage(activityData: ActivityData) {
       return messages.expense_restored.replace("{expenseName}", expenseName).replace("{amountMessage}", amountMessage);
 
     case 'transaction_added':
-      if (paymentReason != null && paymentReason.trim().length > 0) {
-        return messages.transaction_added_with_reason.replace("{payerName}", payerName).replace("{receiverName}", receiverName).replace("{amountMessage}", formatCurrency(Math.abs(amount))).replace("{paymentReason}", paymentReason);
-      } else {
-        return messages.transaction_added.replace("{payerName}", payerName).replace("{receiverName}", receiverName).replace("{amountMessage}", formatCurrency(Math.abs(amount)));
-      }
+      return getTransactionMessage("transaction_added_with_reason", "transaction_added", payerName, receiverName, amount, paymentReason);
 
     case 'transaction_updated':
-      if (paymentReason != null && paymentReason.trim().length > 0) {
-        return messages.transaction_updated_with_reason.replace("{payerName}", payerName).replace("{receiverName}", receiverName).replace("{amountMessage}", formatCurrency(Math.abs(amount))).replace("{paymentReason}", paymentReason);
-      } else {
-        return messages.transaction_updated.replace("{payerName}", payerName).replace("{receiverName}", receiverName).replace("{amountMessage}", formatCurrency(Math.abs(amount)));
-      }
+      return getTransactionMessage("transaction_updated_with_reason", "transaction_updated", payerName, receiverName, amount, paymentReason);
 
     case 'transaction_deleted':
-      if (paymentReason != null && paymentReason.trim().length > 0) {
-        return messages.transaction_deleted_with_reason.replace("{payerName}", payerName).replace("{receiverName}", receiverName).replace("{amountMessage}", formatCurrency(Math.abs(amount))).replace("{paymentReason}", paymentReason);
-      } else {
-        return messages.transaction_deleted.replace("{payerName}", payerName).replace("{receiverName}", receiverName).replace("{amountMessage}", formatCurrency(Math.abs(amount)));
-      }
+      return getTransactionMessage("transaction_deleted_with_reason", "transaction_deleted", payerName, receiverName, amount, paymentReason);
 
     case 'transaction_restored':
-      if (paymentReason != null && paymentReason.trim().length > 0) {
-        return messages.transaction_restored_with_reason.replace("{payerName}", payerName).replace("{receiverName}", receiverName).replace("{amountMessage}", formatCurrency(Math.abs(amount))).replace("{paymentReason}", paymentReason);
-      } else {
-        return messages.transaction_restored.replace("{payerName}", payerName).replace("{receiverName}", receiverName).replace("{amountMessage}", formatCurrency(Math.abs(amount)));
-      }
+      return getTransactionMessage("transaction_restored_with_reason", "transaction_restored", payerName, receiverName, amount, paymentReason);
 
     default:
       return messages.new_activity;
   }
 }
 
-function capitalizeFirstLetter(name: string): string {
-  if (!name) return '';
-  return name.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + name.slice(1).toLowerCase();
-}
+type MessageKeys = keyof typeof messages;
+function getTransactionMessage(
+  messageKeyWithReason: MessageKeys,
+  messageKeyWithoutReason: MessageKeys,
+  payerName: string, 
+  receiverName: string,
+  amount: number, 
+  paymentReason?: string,
+): string {
+  const messageKey = paymentReason?.trim() ? messageKeyWithReason : messageKeyWithoutReason;
+    return messages[messageKey]
+      .replace("{payerName}", payerName)
+      .replace("{receiverName}", receiverName)
+      .replace("{amountMessage}", formatCurrency(Math.abs(amount)))
+      .replace("{paymentReason}", paymentReason || "");
+};
 
 // Helper function to generate notification amount message based on owedAmount
 function generateAmountMessage(owedAmount: number): string {
@@ -178,6 +174,11 @@ function generateAmountMessage(owedAmount: number): string {
   }
 }
 
+function capitalizeFirstLetter(name: string): string {
+  if (!name) return '';
+  return name.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + name.slice(1).toLowerCase();
+}
+
 // Function to send notification using FCM with retry mechanism
 async function sendNotification(userId: string, title: string, body: string, activityId: string, maxRetries = 5) {
   const baseDelay = 1000; // Initial delay in milliseconds
diff --git a/functions/src/users_service/users_service.ts b/functions/src/users_service/users_service.ts
index 1a9a74e9c..587d23e34 100644
--- a/functions/src/users_service/users_service.ts
+++ b/functions/src/users_service/users_service.ts
@@ -3,8 +3,9 @@
 import * as admin from 'firebase-admin';
 import { onDocumentWritten } from 'firebase-functions/v2/firestore';
 import * as logger from 'firebase-functions/logger';
+import * as _ from 'lodash';
 
-// Initialize Firebase app in users_service.ts to ensure it's always available
+// Initialize Firebase app if not already initialized
 if (admin.apps.length === 0) {
   try {
     admin.initializeApp();
@@ -43,7 +44,8 @@ export const onGroupWrite = onDocumentWritten(
       }
   
       // Check if balances field changed
-      if (beforeData.balances != afterData.balances) {
+      if (!_.isEqual(beforeData.balances, afterData.balances)) {
+
         const olderBalances = beforeData.balances || [];
         const updatedBalances = afterData.balances || [];
   
diff --git a/functions/tsconfig.json b/functions/tsconfig.json
index 5e03228f0..89539cc98 100644
--- a/functions/tsconfig.json
+++ b/functions/tsconfig.json
@@ -1,15 +1,12 @@
 {
   "compilerOptions": {
     "module": "commonjs",
-    "moduleResolution": "node",
     "noImplicitReturns": true,
     "noUnusedLocals": true,
     "resolveJsonModule": true,
     "esModuleInterop": true,
     "outDir": "lib",
     "sourceMap": true,
-    "skipLibCheck": true,
-    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
     "strict": true,
     "target": "ES2020"
   },
@@ -18,7 +15,6 @@
     "src"
   ],
   "exclude": [
-    "node_modules",
-    "lib"
+    "node_modules"
   ]
 }
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index e008ac538..535428047 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,12 +1,7 @@
 {
   "dependencies": {
     "firebase-admin": "^13.0.1",
-    "firebase-functions": "^6.1.1"
-  },
-  "devDependencies": {
-    "typescript": "^5.7.2"
-  },
-  "scripts": {
-    "build": "tsc"
+    "firebase-functions": "^6.1.1",
+    "lodash": "^4.17.21"
   }
 }