[$250] Status Column Displayed in Expense List Even When No Expenses Have a Status

[m-natarajan]

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Version Number: 9.3.59-3
Reproducible in staging?: Y
Reproducible in production?: Y
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack:
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers):
Logs: https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/4856
Expensify/Expensify Issue URL:
Issue reported by: @shawnborton
Slack conversation (hyperlinked to channel name): #Expensify Bugs

Action Performed:

1. Navigate to a personal chat
2. Create an expense
3. Open the expense list view
4. Observe the columns displayed

Expected Result:

The Status column should be hidden when:
No expenses in the list have a status

Actual Result:

The Status column is visible
All rows under the column are empty

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

Select the officially supported platforms where the issue was reproduced:

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

Screenshots/Videos

Recording.2714.mp4

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Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @jayeshmangwani

Upwork Automation - Do Not Edit

• Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~022044528014310913746
• Upwork Job ID: 2044528014310913746
• Last Price Increase: 2026-04-15

[MelvinBot]

Proposal

What is the root cause of that problem?

The Status column is hardcoded to true in the default columns map in SearchUIUtils.ts:5237, meaning it's always visible regardless of whether any transaction has status data.

Other date-like columns (Posted, Exported, Submitted, Approved) are initialized to false and only flipped to true when data is found (e.g., line 5373-5374 for Submitted). Status has no equivalent data-presence check — it's never toggled by the updateColumns function. Additionally, Status is in the nonDataColumns set which bypasses data-presence filtering for custom column configurations.

The StatusCell component correctly returns null when there's no status, but the column header and reserved space are still rendered because the column is always included.

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

1. In getColumnsToShow() in SearchUIUtils.ts, change the Status column default from true to false (line 5237) — making it behave like Submitted/Posted/Exported/Approved.
2. In the updateColumns function (~line 5370), add a data-presence check: if the report has stateNum/statusNum that produces a valid status text, flip columns[STATUS] to true.
3. Remove CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.STATUS from the nonDataColumns set (line 5460) so it participates in data-presence filtering when custom columns are active.

This mirrors the existing pattern for Submitted/Approved columns and ensures Status only appears when at least one transaction has meaningful status data.

What alternative solutions did you explore?

An alternative would be to hide the column at the rendering level (in SearchTableHeader / TransactionItemRow) by checking if all StatusCells would return null. However, this would be less clean — the existing getColumnsToShow() architecture already handles data-dependent column visibility, so Status should use the same pattern.

---

Next Steps for Contributor+ team: Reply with @MelvinBot implement this to create a draft PR, @MelvinBot <your feedback> to refine this analysis, or explain why you are rejecting Melvin's proposal.

[melvin-bot]

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

[MobileMage]

Proposal

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

When viewing the expense list for a personal chat (self-DM or 1:1 chat), a Status column is shown in the table header even though all expenses in that context are "open" tracking expenses with no meaningful workflow status — leaving every row under that column empty.

What is the root cause of that problem?

In getColumnsToShow inside SearchUIUtils.ts, the STATUS column is hardcoded to true in the initial columns visibility map for the non-expense-report-view path. Unlike columns such as MERCHANT, FROM, or CATEGORY — which all start false and are only flipped to true by updateColumns when actual data is present — STATUS is unconditionally enabled from the start and is never gated on whether any transaction actually carries a meaningful status. Personal chat expenses have stateNum/statusNum values that resolve to an empty or meaningless translated string, so the column is always displayed but always blank.

App/src/libs/SearchUIUtils.ts

Lines 5232 to 5237 in 49c908c

	: {
	[CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.AVATAR]: true,
	[CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.RECEIPT]: true,
	[CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.TYPE]: true,
	[CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.DATE]: true,
	[CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.STATUS]: true,

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

The STATUS column should start as false in the default visibility map and only be set to true inside updateColumns when at least one transaction has a non-empty status string. Inside updateColumns, after the isExpenseReportView early-return guard, we can check the transaction's report stateNum/statusNum via the same getReportStatusTranslation helper that is already used to produce formattedStatus, and only enable the column when that string is non-empty.

// src/libs/SearchUIUtils.ts

-             [CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.STATUS]: true,
+             [CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.STATUS]: false,

Then inside updateColumns, after the existing isExpenseReportView early return:

         // The From/To columns display logic depends on the passed report/reportAction ...
         if (!Array.isArray(data)) {
             const report = data[`${ONYXKEYS.COLLECTION.REPORT}${transaction.reportID}`];
+
+            // Only show Status column when at least one expense has a non-empty status
+            if (!columns[CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.STATUS]) {
+                const status = getReportStatusTranslation({stateNum: report?.stateNum, statusNum: report?.statusNum, translate});
+                if (status) {
+                    columns[CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.STATUS] = true;
+                }
+            }
+
             const reportAction = moneyRequestReportActionsByTransactionID?.get(transaction.transactionID);

This mirrors the pattern already used for every other data-conditional column (MERCHANT, DESCRIPTION, CATEGORY, etc.) and ensures the STATUS column is hidden when no expenses carry a meaningful status, while remaining visible in workspace contexts where expenses flow through approval states.

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

N/A

[melvin-bot]

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~022044528014310913746

[JustDreameritis]

🚫 Duplicated proposal withdrawn by 🤖 ProposalPolice.

[github-actions]

⚠️ @JustDreameritis Your proposal is a duplicate of an already existing proposal and has been automatically withdrawn to prevent spam. Please review the existing proposals before submitting a new one.

[abbasifaizan70]

Proposal

What is the root cause of that problem?

The expense list uses getColumnsToShow to decide which table columns exist. For the default expense search layout, Status was always turned on in the column map, and in the custom-column path Status was grouped with columns that are kept even when every cell is empty. Nothing in that flow turned Status on only when at least one row would actually show a badge. The cell itself renders nothing when the report has no usable stateNum/statusNum (or nothing that maps to a badge), so the header stayed while every cell under it was blank.

App/src/libs/SearchUIUtils.ts

Line 5231 in 34c3d0b

[CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.STATUS]: true,

App/src/libs/SearchUIUtils.ts

Lines 5449 to 5463 in 34c3d0b

	const nonDataColumns = new Set<SearchColumnType>([
	CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.AVATAR,
	CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.RECEIPT,
	CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.TYPE,
	CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.DATE,
	CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.STATUS,
	CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.COMMENTS,
	CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.TOTAL_AMOUNT,
	CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.REIMBURSABLE,
	CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.BILLABLE,
	CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.BASE_62_REPORT_ID,
	CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.REPORT_ID,
	CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.TITLE,
	CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.ACTION,
	]);

App/src/libs/SearchUIUtils.ts

Lines 5384 to 5404 in 34c3d0b

	if (hasCategory) {
	columns[CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.CATEGORY] = !isExpenseReportViewFromIOUReport;
	}
	if (hasTag) {
	columns[CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.TAG] = !isExpenseReportViewFromIOUReport;
	}
	return;
	}
	// The From/To columns display logic depends on the passed report/reportAction i.e. if data is SearchResults and not an array (Transaction[])
	if (!Array.isArray(data)) {
	const report = data[`${ONYXKEYS.COLLECTION.REPORT}${transaction.reportID}`];
	const reportAction = moneyRequestReportActionsByTransactionID?.get(transaction.transactionID);
	// Handle From&To columns that are only shown in the Reports page
	// if From or To differ from current user in any transaction, show the columns
	const accountID = reportAction?.actorAccountID;
	if (accountID && accountID !== currentAccountID) {
	columns[CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.FROM] = true;
	}

App/src/components/Search/SearchList/ListItem/StatusCell.tsx

Lines 31 to 32 in 34c3d0b

	if (!statusText || !reportStatusColorStyle) {
	return null;

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

1. App/src/libs/ReportUtils.ts

   Lines 13308 to 13310 in 34c3d0b

   	}
   	/**

function hasDisplayableReportStatus(stateNum: number | undefined, statusNum: number | undefined): boolean {
    if (stateNum === undefined || statusNum === undefined) {
        return false;
    }
    if (stateNum === CONST.REPORT.STATE_NUM.OPEN && statusNum === CONST.REPORT.STATUS_NUM.OPEN) {
        return true;
    }
    if (stateNum === CONST.REPORT.STATE_NUM.SUBMITTED && statusNum === CONST.REPORT.STATUS_NUM.SUBMITTED) {
        return true;
    }
    if (stateNum === CONST.REPORT.STATE_NUM.APPROVED && statusNum === CONST.REPORT.STATUS_NUM.CLOSED) {
        return true;
    }
    if (stateNum === CONST.REPORT.STATE_NUM.APPROVED && statusNum === CONST.REPORT.STATUS_NUM.APPROVED) {
        return true;
    }
    if (
        (stateNum === CONST.REPORT.STATE_NUM.APPROVED && statusNum === CONST.REPORT.STATUS_NUM.REIMBURSED) ||
        (stateNum === CONST.REPORT.STATE_NUM.BILLING && statusNum === CONST.REPORT.STATUS_NUM.REIMBURSED) ||
        (stateNum === CONST.REPORT.STATE_NUM.AUTOREIMBURSED && statusNum === CONST.REPORT.STATUS_NUM.REIMBURSED)
    ) {
        return true;
    }
    return false;
}

2. App/src/libs/ReportUtils.ts

   Lines 13854 to 13856 in 34c3d0b

   	getReportStatusTranslation,
   	getReportStatusColorStyle,
   	getMovedActionMessage,

    getReportStatusColorStyle,
    hasDisplayableReportStatus,
    getMovedActionMessage,

3. App/src/libs/SearchUIUtils.ts

   Lines 143 to 145 in 34c3d0b

   	getReportOrDraftReport,
   	getReportStatusTranslation,
   	getSearchReportName,

    getReportStatusTranslation,
    hasDisplayableReportStatus,
    getSearchReportName,

4. App/src/libs/SearchUIUtils.ts

   Lines 5230 to 5232 in 34c3d0b

   	[CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.DATE]: true,
   	[CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.STATUS]: true,
   	[CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.POSTED]: false,

              [CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.DATE]: true,
              [CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.STATUS]: false,
              [CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.POSTED]: false,

5. App/src/libs/SearchUIUtils.ts

   Lines 5391 to 5394 in 34c3d0b

   	}
   	// The From/To columns display logic depends on the passed report/reportAction i.e. if data is SearchResults and not an array (Transaction[])
   	if (!Array.isArray(data)) {

        }

        if (isDeletedTransaction(transaction)) {
            columns[CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.STATUS] = true;
        } else if (!Array.isArray(data)) {
            const reportForStatus = data[`${ONYXKEYS.COLLECTION.REPORT}${transaction.reportID}`];
            if (hasDisplayableReportStatus(reportForStatus?.stateNum, reportForStatus?.statusNum)) {
                columns[CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.STATUS] = true;
            }
        }

        // The From/To columns display logic depends on the passed report/reportAction i.e. if data is SearchResults and not an array (Transaction[])

6. App/src/libs/SearchUIUtils.ts

   Lines 5452 to 5455 in 34c3d0b

   	CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.TYPE,
   	CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.DATE,
   	CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.STATUS,
   	CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.COMMENTS,

            CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.TYPE,
            CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.DATE,
            CONST.SEARCH.TABLE_COLUMNS.COMMENTS,

[github-actions]

⚠️ @abbasifaizan70 Your proposal is a duplicate of an already existing proposal and has been automatically withdrawn to prevent spam. Please review the existing proposals before submitting a new one.