[Due for payment 2026-09-04] Spend -"Missing Merchant" error displayed after submitting split to employer via "More" menu

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Version Number: 9.4.61-0
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: N/A - new feature, doesn't exist in prod
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: #99247
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): ibellicotest+2766@gmail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Exploratory - Significant User Experience Deterioration
Device used: Motorola MotoG60 / Android 12 (Hybrid app) - Windows 11 / Chrome
App Component: Search

Action Performed:

Prerequisite: Account has Self DM.
Prerequisite 2: Account has at least one workspace.

1. Open the staging.new.expensify.com website.
2. Navigate to Self DM.
3. Create a manual expense.
4. Open the just created expense.
5. Click on "More" > "Split" > Save the splits.
6. Navigate to "Spend" > "Expenses"
7. Turn off internet connection.
8. Open one of the splits.
9. Click on "More" > "Submit to my employer"
10. Add a merchant and category to the split and submit it to workspace.
11. Close RHP to return to "Expenses"
12. Note that a "Missing Merchant" error is visible on expense preview, despite a merchant being added to it.

Expected Result:

"Missing Merchant" error should not be visible on expense preview after being submitted from Self DM to workspace if a merchant was added in the process.

Actual Result:

"Missing Merchant" error is displayed on expense preview on "Expenses", after submitting split to employer via "More" menu while offline.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

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

Screenshots/Videos

Bug7242931_1787710895228.Missing_Merchant.mp4

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Applause Internal Information
Exported by: Julia Ponikarchuk
Bug ID: 7242931

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @mallenexpensify

[applause-bot]

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[melvin-bot]

You have been assigned to this deploy blocker because you recently merged this PR: #99247

[melvin-bot]

@francoisl @ikevin127 you have been assigned to this deploy blocker because you reviewed the offending PR: #99247

[melvin-bot]

@shawnborton you have been assigned to this deploy blocker because you authored the offending PR: #99247

[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.

[MelvinBot]

🔍 Investigation Summary

Classification: Frontend bug (fix belongs in Expensify/App)
Causing PR: #99247 - "Add Send to my employer option to expense More menu" by @shawnborton (High confidence)
Related Issues: #97881 (the feature request #99247 implements)

Recommendation: REVERT

PR #99247 ships a brand-new "Submit to my employer" entry point on the Spend page (this is why the bug is N/A - prod / staging-only), and that flow does not optimistically carry the merchant the user enters onto the split's transaction, so the workspace expense immediately shows a false "Missing Merchant" error offline. Reverting the small, self-contained PR cleanly removes the broken surface; the underlying optimistic-merchant handling should be fixed before the feature re-lands (see ROLL FORWARD note below).

Assigned: @shawnborton (PR author), @ikevin127 and @francoisl (approving reviewers) — already assigned by melvin-bot.
Labels: No change. Only DeployBlockerCash is present; this is a frontend bug so the App-deploy blocker is kept. No DeployBlocker (web) label present to remove.

📋 Detailed Analysis

Evidence

• PR Add Send to my employer option to expense More menu #99247's entire diff adds a new SEND_TO_EMPLOYER secondary action to the expense More menu (src/CONST/index.ts, src/components/MoneyRequestHeaderSecondaryActions.tsx, src/libs/ReportSecondaryActionUtils.ts, src/libs/PopoverMenuSections.ts, plus language files). It is exactly the option used in reproduction step 9 ("More" > "Submit to my employer").
• The new row reuses createDraftTransactionAndNavigateToParticipantSelector({...sendTrackedExpenseParams, submitDestination: EMPLOYER}) — the same convert-tracked-expense-to-request submit flow.
• Bug is reproducible on staging only and marked N/A - prod, new feature — consistent with a path that did not exist before this PR.
• melvin-bot auto-assignment and the bug report's "caught during regression testing" field both point at Add Send to my employer option to expense More menu #99247, and the diff confirms the code adds precisely the offending entry point.

Verification

• Confirmed Add Send to my employer option to expense More menu #99247 touches the More-menu / secondary-action files (gh pr diff 99247), i.e. the exact UI surface exercised in step 9.
• Traced the RBR "Missing Merchant" text to getTransactionPreviewTextAndTranslationPaths in src/libs/TransactionPreviewUtils.ts (~L280-291): it is gated on hasFieldErrors && isMerchantMissing(transaction), where hasFieldErrors = hasMissingSmartscanFields(transaction, iouReport).
• hasMissingSmartscanFields (src/libs/TransactionUtils/index.ts L1853) → areRequiredFieldsEmpty (L597-600): isFromExpenseReport && isMerchantMissing(transaction).
• isMerchantMissing (L535-540) returns true when merchant/modifiedMerchant is the partial placeholder (none) (PARTIAL_TRANSACTION_MERCHANT).

Root Cause

The RBR is computed live from the transaction's own fields, not from stored server violations, so it fires offline. The split children created in step 5 carry the partial placeholder merchant (none). While the split lives in Self DM (personal, not an expense report) isFromExpenseReport is false, so the merchant check is inert and no error shows. When the split is submitted to the workspace via the new "Submit to my employer" option, the transaction becomes part of an expense report (isFromExpenseReport true), which activates the merchant-required check.

The merchant the user types in step 10 is captured on the confirmation/draft transaction but the offline optimistic convert flow (convertTrackedExpenseToRequest → getMoneyRequestInformation/buildOnyxDataForMoneyRequest in src/libs/actions/IOU/TrackExpense.ts and src/libs/actions/IOU/MoneyRequestBuilder.ts) does not persist that entered merchant onto the moved split transaction's merchant/modifiedMerchant. The transaction therefore still reads (none), so isMerchantMissing → hasMissingSmartscanFields → areRequiredFieldsEmpty all return true and the preview renders "Missing Merchant" despite a merchant having been entered.

ROLL FORWARD alternative (if the team prefers to keep the feature)

Fix the optimistic update so the merchant entered during the split → employer submit is written onto the transaction's merchant/modifiedMerchant in the convert-tracked-expense optimistic data (the getMoneyRequestInformation/buildOnyxDataForMoneyRequest path in MoneyRequestBuilder.ts used by convertTrackedExpenseToRequest in TrackExpense.ts). This is more involved and higher-risk to rush during an active deploy blocker, so REVERT is the recommended immediate action.

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