[Due for payment 2025-06-18] [$250] Merchant name can be set to empty by entering '(none)'

[m-natarajan]

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Version Number: 9.1.47-0
Reproducible in staging?: Y
Reproducible in production?: Y
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from TestRail:
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers):
Logs: https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/4856
Expensify/Expensify Issue URL:
Issue reported by: @srikarparsi
Slack conversation (hyperlinked to channel name): #Expensify Bugs

Action Performed:

1. Create an expense with abc as the merchant
2. Update the merchant to (none)

Expected Result:

You should not be able to update the merchant to (none) since it is used by the backend to denote partial receipts

Actual Result:

The merchant is cleared and an error is shown

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
• MacOS: Desktop

Platforms Tested:

On which of our officially supported platforms was this issue tested:

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

Screenshots/Videos

Add any screenshot/video evidence

View all open jobs on GitHub

Upwork Automation - Do Not Edit

• Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~021925771186808831424
• Upwork Job ID: 1925771186808831424
• Last Price Increase: 2025-05-23
• Automatic offers:
• Krishna2323 | Contributor | 107487289

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @VictoriaExpensify

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @VictoriaExpensify (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.

[Krishna2323]

Proposal

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

Merchant name can be set to empty by entering '(none)'

What is the root cause of that problem?

• There is no validation to throw error when the merchant is 'none'.

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

• Add validation in IOURequestStepMerchant, we can use PARTIAL_TRANSACTION_MERCHANT.
• We should also create error messages in both translation files if required.
  

  App/src/pages/iou/request/step/IOURequestStepMerchant.tsx

  Lines 60 to 76 in 21cf080

  	const validate = useCallback(
  	(value: FormOnyxValues<typeof ONYXKEYS.FORMS.MONEY_REQUEST_MERCHANT_FORM>) => {
  	const errors: FormInputErrors<typeof ONYXKEYS.FORMS.MONEY_REQUEST_MERCHANT_FORM> = {};
  	if (isMerchantRequired && !value.moneyRequestMerchant) {
  	errors.moneyRequestMerchant = translate('common.error.fieldRequired');
  	} else if (value.moneyRequestMerchant.length > CONST.MERCHANT_NAME_MAX_LENGTH) {
  	errors.moneyRequestMerchant = translate('common.error.characterLimitExceedCounter', {
  	length: value.moneyRequestMerchant.length,
  	limit: CONST.MERCHANT_NAME_MAX_LENGTH,
  	});
  	}
  	return errors;
  	},
  	[isMerchantRequired, translate],
  	);

            if (isMerchantRequired && !value.moneyRequestMerchant) {
                errors.moneyRequestMerchant = translate('common.error.fieldRequired');
            } else if (isMerchantRequired && value.moneyRequestMerchant === CONST.TRANSACTION.PARTIAL_TRANSACTION_MERCHANT) {
                errors.moneyRequestMerchant = translate('common.error.merchantCannotBeNone');
            } else if (value.moneyRequestMerchant.length > CONST.MERCHANT_NAME_MAX_LENGTH) {
                errors.moneyRequestMerchant = translate('common.error.characterLimitExceedCounter', {
                    length: value.moneyRequestMerchant.length,
                    limit: CONST.MERCHANT_NAME_MAX_LENGTH,
                });
            }

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

N/A

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

Result

[ganzz4]

🚨 Edited by proposal-police: This proposal was edited at 2025-05-20 15:00:44 UTC.

Proposal

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

When a user manually enters "(none)" as a merchant value in the expense form, the system incorrectly clears the merchant field instead of maintaining the "(none)" value. This is problematic because "(none)" is a special value used by the backend to denote partial receipts.

What is the root cause of that problem?

The root cause is in the merchant validation and update logic in src/pages/iou/request/step/IOURequestStepMerchant.tsx. Currently, there is no explicit validation to prevent manual entry of "(none)" as a merchant value, and the update logic doesn't properly handle this special case.

App/src/pages/iou/request/step/IOURequestStepMerchant.tsx

Lines 60 to 76 in 21cf080

	const validate = useCallback(
	(value: FormOnyxValues<typeof ONYXKEYS.FORMS.MONEY_REQUEST_MERCHANT_FORM>) => {
	const errors: FormInputErrors<typeof ONYXKEYS.FORMS.MONEY_REQUEST_MERCHANT_FORM> = {};
	if (isMerchantRequired && !value.moneyRequestMerchant) {
	errors.moneyRequestMerchant = translate('common.error.fieldRequired');
	} else if (value.moneyRequestMerchant.length > CONST.MERCHANT_NAME_MAX_LENGTH) {
	errors.moneyRequestMerchant = translate('common.error.characterLimitExceedCounter', {
	length: value.moneyRequestMerchant.length,
	limit: CONST.MERCHANT_NAME_MAX_LENGTH,
	});
	}
	return errors;
	},
	[isMerchantRequired, translate],
	);

App/src/pages/iou/request/step/IOURequestStepMerchant.tsx

Lines 82 to 105 in 21cf080

	const updateMerchant = (value: FormOnyxValues<typeof ONYXKEYS.FORMS.MONEY_REQUEST_MERCHANT_FORM>) => {
	isSavedRef.current = true;
	const newMerchant = value.moneyRequestMerchant?.trim();
	// In the split flow, when editing we use SPLIT_TRANSACTION_DRAFT to save draft value
	if (isEditingSplitBill) {
	setDraftSplitTransaction(transactionID, {merchant: newMerchant});
	navigateBack();
	return;
	}
	// In case the merchant hasn't been changed, do not make the API request.
	// In case the merchant has been set to empty string while current merchant is partial, do nothing too.
	if (newMerchant === merchant || (newMerchant === '' && merchant === CONST.TRANSACTION.PARTIAL_TRANSACTION_MERCHANT)) {
	navigateBack();
	return;
	}
	// When creating/editing an expense, newMerchant can be blank so we fall back on PARTIAL_TRANSACTION_MERCHANT
	setMoneyRequestMerchant(transactionID, newMerchant || CONST.TRANSACTION.PARTIAL_TRANSACTION_MERCHANT, !isEditing);
	if (isEditing) {
	updateMoneyRequestMerchant(transactionID, reportID, newMerchant || CONST.TRANSACTION.PARTIAL_TRANSACTION_MERCHANT, policy, policyTags, policyCategories);
	}
	navigateBack();
	};

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

We need to make two key changes in src/pages/iou/request/step/IOURequestStepMerchant.tsx:

1. Add validation to prevent manual entry of "(none)":

const validate = useCallback(
    (value: FormOnyxValues<typeof ONYXKEYS.FORMS.MONEY_REQUEST_MERCHANT_FORM>) => {
        const errors: FormInputErrors<typeof ONYXKEYS.FORMS.MONEY_REQUEST_MERCHANT_FORM> = {};

        if (isMerchantRequired && !value.moneyRequestMerchant) {
            errors.moneyRequestMerchant = translate('common.error.fieldRequired');
        } 

        // Prevent manual entry of "(none)" as merchant value since it's a special value used by backend
       else if (value.moneyRequestMerchant === CONST.TRANSACTION.PARTIAL_TRANSACTION_MERCHANT) {
            errors.moneyRequestMerchant = translate('common.error.enterMerchant');
        } else if (value.moneyRequestMerchant?.length > CONST.MERCHANT_NAME_MAX_LENGTH) {
            errors.moneyRequestMerchant = translate('common.error.characterLimitExceedCounter', {
                length: value.moneyRequestMerchant.length,
                limit: CONST.MERCHANT_NAME_MAX_LENGTH,
            });
        }

        return errors;
    },
    [isMerchantRequired, translate],
);

2. Add early validation in the update function:

const updateMerchant = (value: FormOnyxValues<typeof ONYXKEYS.FORMS.MONEY_REQUEST_MERCHANT_FORM>) => {
    isSavedRef.current = true;
    const newMerchant = value.moneyRequestMerchant?.trim();

    // Prevent manual setting of "(none)" as merchant
    if (newMerchant === CONST.TRANSACTION.PARTIAL_TRANSACTION_MERCHANT) {
        navigateBack();
        return;
    }

    // Rest of the existing update logic...
};

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

We should add the following test cases:

1. Manual entry of "(none)" as merchant.
2. Empty merchant handling.

What alternative solutions did we explore?

1. Alternative 1: Instead of preventing "(none)" entry, we could have automatically converted it to a different value. However, this would be confusing for users and could lead to unexpected behavior.

2. Alternative 2: We could have added a special UI element or checkbox for partial receipts instead of using "(none)" as a special value. However, this would require significant UI changes and backend modifications.

3. Alternative 3: We could have allowed "(none)" entry but added a warning message. However, this would still allow the problematic behavior to occur, just with a warning.

The chosen solution is the most straightforward and maintains the existing behavior while preventing the problematic case of manual "(none)" entry.

[melvin-bot]

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~021925771186808831424

[melvin-bot]

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

[nicomat0]

Proposal by @nicomat0

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🛠 Problem Summary
Users can manually enter "(none)" as the merchant name, which is a reserved backend value for partial receipts. This results in the field being cleared and causes incorrect behavior.

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🔍 Root Cause
There’s no validation blocking manual entry of "(none)" and the updateMerchant function does not handle this case properly.

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✅ Proposed Fix

1. Validation Layer
   In IOURequestStepMerchant.tsx, update the validate function to include:

else if (value.moneyRequestMerchant === CONST.TRANSACTION.PARTIAL_TRANSACTION_MERCHANT) {
errors.moneyRequestMerchant = translate('common.error.merchantCannotBeNone');
}

2. Update Logic
   In the updateMerchant function:

if (newMerchant === CONST.TRANSACTION.PARTIAL_TRANSACTION_MERCHANT) {
navigateBack();
return;
}

3. Translations
   Add merchantCannotBeNone to en.js:

merchantCannotBeNone: 'Merchant name cannot be "(none)"',

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🧪 Testing
I will test by entering "(none)" as the merchant name and confirming that:

• The validation error appears as expected
• No unintended form submission occurs
• Valid merchant names still work

Screenshots will be included in the PR as confirmation.

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I’ve reviewed the contributor guidelines and I’m ready to fork the repo, implement the fix, and submit a PR once approved.

Thanks!