Expense-Creating distance manual expense shows unexpected error.

[mitarachim]

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Version Number: V9.3.37-0
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: No
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-8761/folder/18717689/49756688/1247680588
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): dreamnitethedragon+yydyd373@gmail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Exploratory - Significant User Experience Deterioration
Device used: Android
App Component: Money Requests

Action Performed:

1. Launch app
2. Open workspace chat or 1:1 chat
3. Create distance manual expense
4. Open expense after few seconds

Expected Result:

Creating distance manual expense must not show unexpected error.

Actual Result:

Creating distance manual expense shows unexpected error.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

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

Screenshots/Videos

Bug7101697_1773362609181.Screenrecorder-2026-03-13-06-10-14-951.mp4

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[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @puneetlath (DeployBlockerCash), see https://stackoverflowteams.com/c/expensify/questions/9980/ for more details.

[melvin-bot]

💬 A slack conversation has been started in #expensify-open-source

[github-actions]

👋 Friendly reminder that deploy blockers are time-sensitive ⏱ issues! Check out the open `StagingDeployCash` deploy checklist to see the list of PRs included in this release, then work quickly to do one of the following:

1. Identify the pull request that introduced this issue and revert it.
2. Find someone who can quickly fix the issue.
3. Fix the issue yourself.

[OSBotify]

🔍 Investigation Summary

Classification: Frontend bug
Causing PR: #84658 - "Fix manual distance expense from QAB showing amount as zero" by @MelvinBot (High confidence)
Related Issues: #82801

Recommendation: ROLL FORWARD

The fix in PR #84658 addressed a critical issue (manual distance expenses showing $0.00), but appears to have introduced a regression. Reverting would reintroduce the original zero-amount bug, which is also a deploy blocker. A roll-forward fix is needed to address the unexpected error while preserving the amount calculation logic.

Labels: DeployBlockerCash will be kept (frontend bug blocks App deploy). DeployBlocker will be removed (no backend changes needed).

📋 Detailed Analysis

Evidence

PR #84658 was merged on March 12, 2026 and is included in this staging deploy (v9.3.37-0). The PR modified src/libs/actions/IOU/MoneyRequest.ts to calculate the amount for manual distance expenses when shouldSkipConfirmation is true (QAB flow).

The new code added:

const mileageRate = DistanceRequestUtils.getRate({transaction, policy});
amount = DistanceRequestUtils.getDistanceRequestAmount(distanceInMeters, unit, mileageRate?.rate ?? 0);
merchant = DistanceRequestUtils.getDistanceMerchant(...);

Verification

• ✓ PR Fix manual distance expense from QAB showing amount as zero #84658 modifies src/libs/actions/IOU/MoneyRequest.ts (lines 645-662)
• ✓ The changes relate to manual distance expense creation
• ✓ The PR was merged on March 12, aligned with when the staging deploy was cut
• ✓ Issue is reproducible on staging but NOT on production (confirming it's from a PR in this deploy)

Root Cause

The DistanceRequestUtils.getRate() function or one of its dependencies (getMileageRates, getDefaultMileageRate, getPersonalPolicy) may be throwing an error or returning unexpected values in certain scenarios, such as:

1. Policy not loaded: When creating a distance expense quickly after login, the policy data (including customUnits and distance rates) may not be fully loaded from Onyx yet
2. Missing distance rates: If the policy doesn't have distance rates configured, getDefaultMileageRate may return undefined, causing issues downstream
3. Personal policy unavailable: The getPersonalPolicy() function accesses allPolicies which is populated asynchronously via Onyx.connect, potentially returning undefined if called too early

The original issue #82801 was specifically about the QAB flow with offline creation, but the fix introduced new logic that runs synchronously and may not handle all edge cases gracefully.

Why Roll Forward Instead of Revert

• Reverting PR Fix manual distance expense from QAB showing amount as zero #84658 would reintroduce issue [$250] Expense-Creating distance map expense from QAB shows amount as zero #82801 (manual distance expenses showing $0.00), which is also a significant UX bug
• The core logic of the fix is sound - it just needs better error handling or guards
• A targeted fix can address both issues without regressing either