[Due for payment 2025-08-01] [$250] Expense - Approve and Submit button appears simultenously after approving unheld expense

[vincdargento]

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Version Number: 9.1.79-4
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: Yes
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from TestRail: https://expensify.testrail.io/index.php?/tests/view/6465411
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): jdfijndfodoif1jd1o1@gmail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Device used: Mac 15.5 / Chrome
App Component: Money Requests

Action Performed:

Precondition:

• Admin invites member to the workspace.

1. Go to staging.expensify.com
2. [Member] Go to workspace chat.
3. [Member] Submit two expenses to the workspace chat.
4. [Member] Open the expense report.
5. [Member] Hold one of the expenses by selecting an expense row via checkbox > More > Hold > Enter reason and save it.
6. [Member] Click Submit buton.
7. [Admin] Open the expense report submitted by member.
8. [Admin] Click Approve and approve the unheld (pending) amount.
9. [Admin] Go back to main workspace chat and open the held expense.
10. [Admin] Click More -> Result: Approve and Submit button appear simultaneously.
11. [Admin] Click Approve without submitting the held expense and click on the held amount.

Expected Result:

In Step 10, only Submit button should appear because a report can only be submitted first and then approved.

Actual Result:

In Step 10, Approve and Submit button appear simultaneously, which means admin can approve an unsubmitted issue.
This leads to error when approving unsubmitted report. Error shows up, approve button changes to Remove hold, Submit button disappears in More menu. When reopening the chat, it shows Approve and Submit button again.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

• Android: App
• Android: mWeb Chrome
• iOS: App
• iOS: mWeb Safari
• iOS: mWeb Chrome
• Windows: Chrome
• MacOS: Chrome / Safari
• MacOS: Desktop

Screenshots/Videos

bug.mp4

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• Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~021943739221776723171
• Upwork Job ID: 1943739221776723171
• Last Price Increase: 2025-07-11
• Automatic offers:
• mkzie2 | Contributor | 108075251

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @garrettmknight

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @garrettmknight (Bug), see https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/14418 for more details. Please add this bug to a GH project, as outlined in the SO.

[samranahm]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

Approve and Submit button appears simultaneously after approving unheld expense

What is the root cause of that problem?

Here

App/src/libs/ReportPrimaryActionUtils.ts

Lines 144 to 148 in 2456f39

	const isOneExpenseReportOnHold = isOneExpenseReport && isReportOnHold;
	if (isProcessingReport || isOneExpenseReportOnHold) {
	return true;
	}

We return true if isOneExpenseReportOnHold that cause the Approve button in Header even if the isProcessingReport false (report not submitted)

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

We should explicitly check if the report is not submitter !isProcessingReport and return false

App/src/libs/ReportPrimaryActionUtils.ts

Lines 126 to 128 in 2456f39

	if (!isExpenseReport || !isApprovalEnabled || reportTransactions.length === 0) {
	return false;
	}

add this check here !isProcessingReport

    if (!isExpenseReport || !isApprovalEnabled || reportTransactions.length === 0 || !isProcessingReport) {
        return false;
    }

What specific scenarios should we cover in automated tests to prevent reintroducing this issue in the future?

We can update our test getReportPrimaryAction to include this change

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

We can explicit check if the expense has been submitted and update this condition accordingly

App/src/libs/ReportPrimaryActionUtils.ts

Lines 144 to 148 in 2456f39

	const isOneExpenseReportOnHold = isOneExpenseReport && isReportOnHold;
	if (isProcessingReport || isOneExpenseReportOnHold) {
	return true;
	}

Reminder: Please use plain English, be brief and avoid jargon. Feel free to use images, charts or pseudo-code if necessary. Do not post large multi-line diffs or write walls of text. Do not create PRs unless you have been hired for this job.

[mkzie2]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

In Step 10, Approve and Submit button appear simultaneously, which means admin can approve an unsubmitted issue.
This leads to error when approving unsubmitted report. Error shows up, approve button changes to Remove hold, Submit button disappears in More menu. When reopening the chat, it shows Approve and Submit button again.

What is the root cause of that problem?

It's a wrong condition here, we return true if the report is an expense report and the transaction is held even though the report isn't submitted

App/src/libs/ReportPrimaryActionUtils.ts

Lines 146 to 152 in 3be83c4

	if (isProcessingReport || isOneExpenseReportOnHold) {
	return true;
	}
	return false;
	}

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

We can remove isOneExpenseReportOnHold check here.

App/src/libs/ReportPrimaryActionUtils.ts

Lines 146 to 152 in 3be83c4

	if (isProcessingReport || isOneExpenseReportOnHold) {
	return true;
	}
	return false;
	}

What specific scenarios should we cover in automated tests to prevent reintroducing this issue in the future?

Update the unit test to verify getReportPrimaryAction doesn't return approve action if the report isn't submitted.

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

Reminder: Please use plain English, be brief and avoid jargon. Feel free to use images, charts or pseudo-code if necessary. Do not post large multi-line diffs or write walls of text. Do not create PRs unless you have been hired for this job.

[melvin-bot]

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~021943739221776723171

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to Contributor-plus team member for initial proposal review - @Pujan92 (External)

[nabi-ebrahimi]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

Expense - Approve and Submit button appears simultenously after approving unheld expense

What is the root cause of that problem?

We don't check if the current user is an admin or manager to show the submit button as the primary action if the report is open.

App/src/libs/ReportPrimaryActionUtils.ts

Lines 74 to 107 in 91ba5a6

	function isSubmitAction(report: Report, reportTransactions: Transaction[], policy?: Policy, reportNameValuePairs?: ReportNameValuePairs, reportActions?: ReportAction[]) {
	if (isArchivedReport(reportNameValuePairs)) {
	return false;
	}
	const isExpenseReport = isExpenseReportUtils(report);
	const isReportSubmitter = isCurrentUserSubmitter(report.reportID);
	const isOpenReport = isOpenReportUtils(report);
	const isManualSubmitEnabled = getCorrectedAutoReportingFrequency(policy) === CONST.POLICY.AUTO_REPORTING_FREQUENCIES.MANUAL;
	const transactionAreComplete = reportTransactions.every((transaction) => transaction.amount !== 0 || transaction.modifiedAmount !== 0);
	if (reportTransactions.length > 0 && reportTransactions.every((transaction) => isPending(transaction))) {
	return false;
	}
	const isAnyReceiptBeingScanned = reportTransactions?.some((transaction) => isScanning(transaction));
	const hasReportBeenReopened = hasReportBeenReopenedUtils(reportActions);
	if (isAnyReceiptBeingScanned) {
	return false;
	}
	const submitToAccountID = getSubmitToAccountID(policy, report);
	if (submitToAccountID === report.ownerAccountID && policy?.preventSelfApproval) {
	return false;
	}
	const baseIsSubmit = isExpenseReport && isReportSubmitter && isOpenReport && reportTransactions.length !== 0 && transactionAreComplete;
	if (hasReportBeenReopened && baseIsSubmit) {
	return true;
	}
	return isManualSubmitEnabled && baseIsSubmit;

It falls to the last return, which is not true. So it doesn't show submit as primary action.

 return isManualSubmitEnabled && baseIsSubmit; 

And for secondary action

App/src/libs/ReportSecondaryActionUtils.ts

Lines 104 to 165 in 91ba5a6

	function isSubmitAction(
	report: Report,
	reportTransactions: Transaction[],
	policy?: Policy,
	reportNameValuePairs?: ReportNameValuePairs,
	reportActions?: ReportAction[],
	isChatReportArchived = false,
	primaryAction?: ValueOf<typeof CONST.REPORT.PRIMARY_ACTIONS> | '',
	): boolean {
	if (isArchivedReport(reportNameValuePairs) || isChatReportArchived) {
	return false;
	}
	const transactionAreComplete = reportTransactions.every((transaction) => transaction.amount !== 0 || transaction.modifiedAmount !== 0);
	if (!transactionAreComplete) {
	return false;
	}
	if (reportTransactions.length > 0 && reportTransactions.every((transaction) => isPending(transaction))) {
	return false;
	}
	const isExpenseReport = isExpenseReportUtils(report);
	if (!isExpenseReport || report?.total === 0) {
	return false;
	}
	const isReportSubmitter = isCurrentUserSubmitter(report.reportID);
	const isReportApprover = isApproverUtils(policy, getCurrentUserAccountID());
	const isAdmin = policy?.role === CONST.POLICY.ROLE.ADMIN;
	const isManager = report.managerID === getCurrentUserAccountID();
	if (!isReportSubmitter && !isReportApprover && !isAdmin && !isManager) {
	return false;
	}
	const isOpenReport = isOpenReportUtils(report);
	if (!isOpenReport) {
	return false;
	}
	const submitToAccountID = getSubmitToAccountID(policy, report);
	if (submitToAccountID === report.ownerAccountID && policy?.preventSelfApproval) {
	return false;
	}
	const hasReportBeenReopened = hasReportBeenReopenedUtils(reportActions);
	if (hasReportBeenReopened && isReportSubmitter) {
	return false;
	}
	if (isAdmin || isManager) {
	return true;
	}
	const autoReportingFrequency = getCorrectedAutoReportingFrequency(policy);
	const isScheduledSubmitEnabled = policy?.harvesting?.enabled && autoReportingFrequency !== CONST.POLICY.AUTO_REPORTING_FREQUENCIES.MANUAL;
	return !!isScheduledSubmitEnabled || primaryAction !== CONST.REPORT.SECONDARY_ACTIONS.SUBMIT;
	}

We check if the current user is the admin or manager, so we show the submit button.

   if (isAdmin || isManager) { 
         return true; 
     } 

Before this, it checks that the report should be open. at line 141

     const isOpenReport = isOpenReportUtils(report); 
     if (!isOpenReport) { 
         return false; 
     } 

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

We need to check if the current user is the admin or manager and the report is still open. before the last condition. In the reportPrimaryActionUtils

App/src/libs/ReportPrimaryActionUtils.ts

Lines 96 to 108 in 91ba5a6

	const submitToAccountID = getSubmitToAccountID(policy, report);
	if (submitToAccountID === report.ownerAccountID && policy?.preventSelfApproval) {
	return false;
	}
	const baseIsSubmit = isExpenseReport && isReportSubmitter && isOpenReport && reportTransactions.length !== 0 && transactionAreComplete;
	if (hasReportBeenReopened && baseIsSubmit) {
	return true;
	}
	return isManualSubmitEnabled && baseIsSubmit;
	}

Update to this

    const submitToAccountID = getSubmitToAccountID(policy, report);

    if (submitToAccountID === report.ownerAccountID && policy?.preventSelfApproval) {
        return false;
    }

    const baseIsSubmit = isExpenseReport && isReportSubmitter && isOpenReport && reportTransactions.length !== 0 && transactionAreComplete;
    if (hasReportBeenReopened && baseIsSubmit) {
        return true;
    }

    if ((isAdmin || isManager) && isOpenReport) {
        return true;
    }

    return isManualSubmitEnabled && baseIsSubmit;
}

What specific scenarios should we cover in automated tests to prevent reintroducing this issue in the future?

None

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)