[Due for payment 2026-01-12] [$250] Reports - User is redirected to chat after merging expenses on "Reports"

[jponikarchuk]

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Version Number: 9.2.34-2
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: Yes
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: https://test-management.browserstack.com/projects/2219752/test-runs/TR-1375/41236824/962798590?q=merge&issue_type=jira
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): ibellicotest+1934@gmail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Device used: Motorola MotoG60 / Android 12 / Chrome ( mWeb / Hybrid app) - Windows 11 / Chrome
App Component: Search

Action Performed:

Prerequisite: Account has at least one workspace.

1. Open the Expensify app.
2. Open any workspace chat.
3. Create two manual expenses on two different reports.
4. Navigate to "Reports"
5. Open any of the just created expenses.
6. Tap on "More" and select "Merge"
7. Keep all the details of the expense that wasn´t opened.
8. Note that after finishing the merging process, you land on chat instead of returning to "Reports".
9. Tap on the arrow on the top left corner.
10. Note that you land on "Inbox" instead of returning to "Reports"

Expected Result:

After merging expenses on "Reports", user should land on the same section.

Actual Result:

After merging expenses on "Reports", user lands on chat instead of returning to the same section. Also, tapping on the back button on chat, leads to "Inbox" instead of returning to "Reports".

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

1.mp4

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• Last Price Increase: 2025-10-29

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @heyjennahay

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @heyjennahay (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.

[paulnjs]

Proposal

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

After merging expenses on "Reports", user lands on chat instead of returning to the same section. Also, tapping on the back button on chat, leads to "Inbox" instead of returning to "Reports".

What is the root cause of that problem?

We always navigate to the report screen after merging expenses.

App/src/pages/TransactionMerge/ConfirmationPage.tsx

Line 81 in f9ee4f0

Navigation.dismissModalWithReport({reportID: reportIDToDismiss});

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

If we're on Reports we should navigate to search money report screen instead

if (isSearchTopmostFullScreenRoute()) {
    Navigation.dismissModal();
    Navigation.setNavigationActionToMicrotaskQueue(() => {
        Navigation.navigate(ROUTES.SEARCH_MONEY_REQUEST_REPORT.getRoute({reportID: reportIDToDismiss}));
    });
    return;
}
Navigation.dismissModalWithReport({reportID: reportIDToDismiss});

App/src/pages/TransactionMerge/ConfirmationPage.tsx

Line 81 in f9ee4f0

Navigation.dismissModalWithReport({reportID: reportIDToDismiss});

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

undefined

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.

[abzokhattab]

Proposal

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

After merging expenses from the Reports section, users are redirected to chat instead of returning to Reports, and the back button leads to Inbox.

What is the root cause of that problem?

• When users merge expenses from the Reports page, the backTo parameter (which contains the route back to Reports) is available in the route params but is not being passed to Navigation.dismissModalWithReport()
• Without the backTo parameter, the navigation system doesn't know where the user came from, so it defaults to navigating to the chat without the proper navigation context
• This causes the back button to lead to Inbox instead of returning to Reports

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

add back to param to dismissModalWithReport here

            Navigation.dismissModalWithReport({reportID: reportIDToDismiss, backTo});

This ensures the it knows to return to the Reports page after the merge operation completes.

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

NA

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

NA

[ShridharGoel]

Proposal

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

After merging two expenses from the Reports section, the app sends the user back to the chat view and then to the Inbox when they press back. We want the flow to return the user to the same Reports section they started from.

What is the root cause of that problem?

The confirmation screen simply dismisses the merge modal

App/src/pages/TransactionMerge/ConfirmationPage.tsx

Lines 70 to 101 in a97e742

	const handleMergeExpenses = useCallback(() => {
	if (!targetTransaction || !mergeTransaction || !sourceTransaction) {
	return;
	}
	const reportID = mergeTransaction.reportID;
	setIsMergingExpenses(true);
	mergeTransactionRequest({mergeTransactionID: transactionID, mergeTransaction, targetTransaction, sourceTransaction, policy, policyTags, policyCategories});
	const reportIDToDismiss = reportID !== CONST.REPORT.UNREPORTED_REPORT_ID ? reportID : targetTransactionThreadReportID;
	if (reportID !== targetTransaction.reportID && reportIDToDismiss) {
	Navigation.dismissModalWithReport({reportID: reportIDToDismiss});
	} else {
	Navigation.dismissModal();
	}
	}, [targetTransaction, mergeTransaction, sourceTransaction, transactionID, targetTransactionThreadReportID, policy, policyTags, policyCategories]);
	if (isLoadingOnyxValue(mergeTransactionMetadata) || !targetTransactionThreadReport?.reportID) {
	return <FullScreenLoadingIndicator />;
	}
	return (
	<ScreenWrapper
	testID={ConfirmationPage.displayName}
	shouldEnableMaxHeight
	includeSafeAreaPaddingBottom
	>
	<FullPageNotFoundView shouldShow={!mergeTransaction && !isMergingExpenses}>
	<HeaderWithBackButton
	title={translate('transactionMerge.confirmationPage.header')}
	onBackButtonPress={() => {
	Navigation.goBack(backTo);

so navigation falls back to the chat route instead of the section captured in backTo.

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

• Track the deepest backTo value that the flow carried forward, and navigate to it once the merge is confirmed.
• Fall back to the existing dismissal logic when no backTo value is present, so other merge entry points keep working.

function getDeepestBackToRoute(backTo?: string): Route | undefined {
    if (!backTo) {
        return undefined;
    }

    let currentRoute = backTo;
    const visitedRoutes = new Set<string>();

    while (currentRoute && !visitedRoutes.has(currentRoute)) {
        visitedRoutes.add(currentRoute);

        const queryStartIndex = currentRoute.indexOf('?');

        if (queryStartIndex === -1) {
            return currentRoute as Route;
        }

        const queryString = currentRoute.slice(queryStartIndex + 1);
        const backToParam = queryString
            .split('&')
            .find((param) => param.startsWith('backTo='));

        if (!backToParam) {
            return currentRoute as Route;
        }

        const [, nestedBackToValue = ''] = backToParam.split('=');
        if (!nestedBackToValue) {
            return currentRoute as Route;
        }

        currentRoute = decodeURIComponent(nestedBackToValue);
    }

    return currentRoute as Route;
}

const deepBackToRoute = useMemo(() => getDeepestBackToRoute(backTo), [backTo]);

const handleMergeExpenses = useCallback(() => {
    ....
    mergeTransactionRequest({mergeTransactionID: transactionID, mergeTransaction, targetTransaction, sourceTransaction, policy, policyTags, policyCategories});

    if (deepBackToRoute) {
        Navigation.dismissModal();
        Navigation.setNavigationActionToMicrotaskQueue(() => Navigation.navigate(deepBackToRoute, {forceReplace: true}));
        return;
    }

   ....
}, [
    ....
    deepBackToRoute,
]);

[dmkt9]

Proposal

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

After merging expenses on "Reports", user lands on chat instead of returning to the same section. Also, tapping on the back button on chat, leads to "Inbox" instead of returning to "Reports".

What is the root cause of that problem?

Since the target reportID is different from the current reportID, it will trigger Navigation.dismissModalWithReport to dismiss the modal and navigate to the target report:

App/src/pages/TransactionMerge/ConfirmationPage.tsx

Line 81 in d1ad27d

Navigation.dismissModalWithReport({reportID: reportIDToDismiss});

However, inside Navigation.dismissModalWithReport, it only navigates to ROUTES.REPORT_WITH_ID.

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

In dismissModalWithReport, we should check whether we're currently on the search screen. If so, navigate to ROUTES.SEARCH_MONEY_REQUEST_REPORT instead.

App/src/libs/Navigation/Navigation.ts

Line 574 in d1ad27d

const reportRoute = ROUTES.REPORT_WITH_ID.getRoute(reportID, reportActionID, referrer, backTo);

let reportRoute = ROUTES.REPORT_WITH_ID.getRoute(reportID, reportActionID, referrer, backTo) as Route;
if (isSearchTopmostFullScreenRoute()) {
    reportRoute = ROUTES.SEARCH_MONEY_REQUEST_REPORT.getRoute({reportID, backTo});
}

[melvin-bot]

@heyjennahay 6 days overdue. This is scarier than being forced to listen to Vogon poetry!

[melvin-bot]

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~021983654416053240372