[$250] Expense-Title and Report field shows negative amount

[mitarachim]

If you haven’t already, check out our contributing guidelines for onboarding and email contributors@expensify.com to request to join our Slack channel!

---

Version Number: V9.3.4-0
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-3027/folder/13177049/41237813/1131711658?issue_type=jira
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: Redminote 10S Android 13
App Component: Money Requests

Action Performed:

1. Launch app
2. Create a workspace
3. Open workspace chat
4. Go offline
5. Create a manual expense
6. Note preview title shows negative amount
7. Open the expense
8. Note the title and Report field shows negative amount

Expected Result:

Title and Report field must not show negative amount.

Actual Result:

Title and Report field shows negative amount.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

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

Screenshots/Videos

Bug7052348_1768727763753.Screenrecorder-2026-01-18-14-17-09-956.mp4

View all open jobs on GitHub

Upwork Automation - Do Not Edit

• Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~022013207751013927149
• Upwork Job ID: 2013207751013927149
• Last Price Increase: 2026-01-26
• Automatic offers:
• MobileMage | Contributor | 110296539

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @twisterdotcom

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @twisterdotcom (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.

[MobileMage]

Proposal

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

When creating a manual expense offline in a workspace chat, the expense report name (shown in the "Report field" when viewing the expense and in other places) displays a negative amount like "Policy owes -$1.00" instead of "Policy owes $1.00".

What is the root cause of that problem?

The bug is in src/libs/ReportUtils.ts in the buildOptimisticExpenseReport function at line 6801:

// Line 6796-6821 in src/libs/ReportUtils.ts
function buildOptimisticExpenseReport(
    chatReportID: string | undefined,
    policyID: string | undefined,
    payeeAccountID: number,
    total: number,  // This is the positive amount (e.g., 100)
    currency: string,
    // ... other params
): OptimisticExpenseReport {
    // The amount for Expense reports are stored as negative value in the database
    const storedTotal = total * -1;  // Line 6797: converts 100 to -100 for storage
    const storedNonReimbursableTotal = nonReimbursableTotal * -1;
    const report = chatReportID ? getReportOrDraftReport(chatReportID) : undefined;
    const policyName = getPolicyName({report});
    const formattedTotal = convertToDisplayString(storedTotal, currency);  // BUG at line 6801: uses -100, displays "-$1.00"
    // ...
    const expenseReport: OptimisticExpenseReport = {
        // ...
        reportName: `${policyName} owes ${formattedTotal}`,  // Line 6820: Results in "Policy owes -$1.00"
        // ...
    };
}

The issue is that formattedTotal is computed using storedTotal (which is negative for internal storage purposes), but for display in the reportName we want the positive human-readable amount.

This reportName containing the negative formatted amount is displayed:

1. In the "Report field" when viewing the expense (via parentReport?.reportName in MoneyRequestView.tsx)
2. In the LHN and other places where the expense report name is shown

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

Change line 6801 to use the original positive total parameter instead of the negative storedTotal:

File: src/libs/ReportUtils.ts
Line: 6801

- const formattedTotal = convertToDisplayString(storedTotal, currency);
+ const formattedTotal = convertToDisplayString(total, currency);

This ensures the display string shows the positive amount (e.g., "$1.00") while the internal storage values (storedTotal used for report.total) correctly remain negative as per the codebase convention.

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

1. Using Math.abs(storedTotal): This would also work (convertToDisplayString(Math.abs(storedTotal), currency)) but is less clear than using the original total parameter that's already positive. The total parameter represents the user-facing amount, while storedTotal is specifically for internal storage.

[melvin-bot]

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~022013207751013927149

[melvin-bot]

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

[abbasifaizan70]

Proposal

Problem Statement

When a user creates a manual expense while offline, the expense preview title and the report field show a negative amount. This is confusing because users always see expense totals as positive values.

Root Cause

Expense report totals are stored as negative values internally for accounting consistency. Two code paths were using these raw negative values directly in user-facing titles:

Issue 1: Formula computation for {report:total}

Location: [App/src/libs/Formula.ts:369-373]

App/src/libs/Formula.ts

Lines 369 to 373 in 33ede95

	case 'total': {
	const formattedAmount = formatAmount(report.total, report.currency, format);
	// Return empty string when conversion needed (formatAmount returns null for unavailable conversions)
	return formattedAmount ?? '';
	}

Problem: For money request/expense reports, report.total is stored as a negative value (e.g., -8700 for PKR 87.00). This negative value is directly formatted and displayed in report titles.

Issue 2: Optimistic expense report name

Location: [App/src/libs/ReportUtils.ts:6797-6820]

App/src/libs/ReportUtils.ts

Lines 6797 to 6820 in 33ede95

	const storedTotal = total * -1;
	const storedNonReimbursableTotal = nonReimbursableTotal * -1;
	const report = chatReportID ? getReportOrDraftReport(chatReportID) : undefined;
	const policyName = getPolicyName({report});
	const formattedTotal = convertToDisplayString(storedTotal, currency);
	// This will be fixed as part of https://github.com/Expensify/Expensify/issues/507850
	// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-deprecated
	const policyReal = getPolicy(policyID);
	const policyDraft = allPolicyDrafts?.[`${ONYXKEYS.COLLECTION.POLICY_DRAFTS}${policyID}`];
	const policy = policyReal ?? policyDraft;
	const {stateNum, statusNum} = getExpenseReportStateAndStatus(policy);
	const created = createdTimestamp ?? DateUtils.getDBTime();
	const expenseReport: OptimisticExpenseReport = {
	reportID: optimisticIOUReportID ?? generateReportID(),
	chatReportID,
	policyID,
	type: CONST.REPORT.TYPE.EXPENSE,
	ownerAccountID: payeeAccountID,
	currency,
	// We don't translate reportName because the server response is always in English
	reportName: `${policyName} owes ${formattedTotal}`,

function buildOptimisticExpenseReport(...) {
    // The amount for Expense reports are stored as negative value in the database
    const storedTotal = total * -1;
    const storedNonReimbursableTotal = nonReimbursableTotal * -1;
    // ...
    const formattedTotal = convertToDisplayString(storedTotal, currency);
    // ...
    const expenseReport: OptimisticExpenseReport = {
        // ...
        reportName: `${policyName} owes ${formattedTotal}`,
        // ...
    };
}

Problem: The formattedTotal is created from storedTotal (which is negative), resulting in report names like "Workspace owes -PKR 87.00".

Why This Happens

The codebase has a utility function getMoneyRequestSpendBreakdown() that correctly handles sign conversion for display purposes:

// App/src/libs/ReportUtils.ts:4266-4301
function getMoneyRequestSpendBreakdown(report) {
    // ...
    if (nonReimbursableSpend + totalSpend !== 0) {
        nonReimbursableSpend = isExpenseReport(moneyRequestReport) ? nonReimbursableSpend * -1 : Math.abs(nonReimbursableSpend);
        totalSpend = isExpenseReport(moneyRequestReport) ? totalSpend * -1 : Math.abs(totalSpend);
        // Returns positive values for display
    }
}

However, the formula computation and optimistic report name generation were bypassing this utility and using raw values directly.

Proposed Solution

Use display-safe totals consistently across all report title rendering paths by leveraging getMoneyRequestSpendBreakdown().

Change 1: Fix formula computation for {report:total}

File: App/src/libs/Formula.ts
Permalink:

App/src/libs/Formula.ts

Lines 369 to 377 in 33ede95

	case 'total': {
	const formattedAmount = formatAmount(report.total, report.currency, format);
	// Return empty string when conversion needed (formatAmount returns null for unavailable conversions)
	return formattedAmount ?? '';
	}
	case 'reimbursable': {
	const formattedAmount = formatAmount(getMoneyRequestSpendBreakdown(report).reimbursableSpend, report.currency, format);
	return formattedAmount ?? '';
	}

After:

case 'total': {
    // For money request reports (IOU/Expense/Invoice), use getMoneyRequestSpendBreakdown
    // to get the display-safe total that already handles sign conversion
    const amount = isMoneyRequestReport(report) || isInvoiceReport(report) 
        ? getMoneyRequestSpendBreakdown(report).totalDisplaySpend 
        : report.total;
    const formattedAmount = formatAmount(amount, report.currency, format);
    // Return empty string when conversion needed (formatAmount returns null for unavailable conversions)
    return formattedAmount ?? '';
}

Change 2: Fix optimistic expense report name

File: App/src/libs/ReportUtils.ts
Permalink:

App/src/libs/ReportUtils.ts

Lines 6797 to 6820 in 33ede95

	const storedTotal = total * -1;
	const storedNonReimbursableTotal = nonReimbursableTotal * -1;
	const report = chatReportID ? getReportOrDraftReport(chatReportID) : undefined;
	const policyName = getPolicyName({report});
	const formattedTotal = convertToDisplayString(storedTotal, currency);
	// This will be fixed as part of https://github.com/Expensify/Expensify/issues/507850
	// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-deprecated
	const policyReal = getPolicy(policyID);
	const policyDraft = allPolicyDrafts?.[`${ONYXKEYS.COLLECTION.POLICY_DRAFTS}${policyID}`];
	const policy = policyReal ?? policyDraft;
	const {stateNum, statusNum} = getExpenseReportStateAndStatus(policy);
	const created = createdTimestamp ?? DateUtils.getDBTime();
	const expenseReport: OptimisticExpenseReport = {
	reportID: optimisticIOUReportID ?? generateReportID(),
	chatReportID,
	policyID,
	type: CONST.REPORT.TYPE.EXPENSE,
	ownerAccountID: payeeAccountID,
	currency,
	// We don't translate reportName because the server response is always in English
	reportName: `${policyName} owes ${formattedTotal}`,

After:

function buildOptimisticExpenseReport(
    chatReportID: string | undefined,
    policyID: string | undefined,
    payeeAccountID: number,
    total: number,
    currency: string,
    // ...
): OptimisticExpenseReport {
    // The amount for Expense reports are stored as negative value in the database
    const storedTotal = total * -1;
    // ...
    // Use absolute value for display in report name
    const formattedTotal = convertToDisplayString(Math.abs(storedTotal), currency);
    // ...
    const expenseReport: OptimisticExpenseReport = {
        // ...
        reportName: `${policyName} owes ${formattedTotal}`,
        // ...
    };
}

Key change: Wrap storedTotal with Math.abs() when formatting for the report name.

Demo

Screen.Recording.2026-01-19.at.6.13.42.PM.mov

[melvin-bot]

📣 It's been a week! Do we have any satisfactory proposals yet? Do we need to adjust the bounty for this issue? 💸