[$250] Expense - Distance 2mi in edit page is displayed as 3.22km after changing unit

[jponikarchuk]

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Version Number: V9.3.24-1
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-5897/folder/18717689/49755969/1203275078
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): dreamnitethedragon@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 workpace
3. Go to workspace chat
4. Create a distance manual expense (2mi)
5. Go to workspace settings
6. Enable distance rate - settings - change unit to kilometer
7. Go to expense and tap distance

Expected Result:

Distance 2mi in edit page must be displayed as in the expense preview.

Actual Result:

Distance 2mi in edit page is displayed as 3.22km after changing unit.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

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

Screenshots/Videos

1.mp4

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Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @daledah

Upwork Automation - Do Not Edit

• Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~022044053177382485951
• Upwork Job ID: 2044053177382485951
• Last Price Increase: 2026-04-14

[daledah]

Proposal

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

Distance 2mi in edit page is displayed as 3.22km after changing unit.

What is the root cause of that problem?

In IOURequestStepDistanceManual.tsx, the distance unit is resolved with useTransactionDistanceUnit: false, which forces the unit to come from the policy's current setting instead of the transaction's stored unit:

const unit = DistanceRequestUtils.getRate({
    transaction,
    policy: shouldUseDefaultExpensePolicy ? defaultExpensePolicy : policy,
    useTransactionDistanceUnit: false,
}).unit;
const distanceInMeters = getDistanceInMeters(transaction, transaction?.comment?.customUnit?.distanceUnit ? transaction.comment.customUnit.distanceUnit : unit);
const distance = typeof transaction?.comment?.customUnit?.quantity === 'number' ? roundToTwoDecimalPlaces(DistanceRequestUtils.convertDistanceUnit(distanceInMeters, unit)) : undefined;

When the user changes the workspace distance unit from miles to kilometers, the edit page converts the stored quantity (2) from miles to meters, then from meters to kilometers (the new policy unit) → resulting in 3.22km.

Meanwhile, the expense preview in MoneyRequestView.tsx calls getRate() with the default useTransactionDistanceUnit: true, so it respects the transaction's stored unit ("mi") and correctly displays "2 mi".

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

When editing an existing expense, we should use the transaction's stored distance unit so the edit page matches the preview. Change useTransactionDistanceUnit: false to useTransactionDistanceUnit: isEditing in IOURequestStepDistanceManual.tsx:

--- a/src/pages/iou/request/step/IOURequestStepDistanceManual.tsx
+++ b/src/pages/iou/request/step/IOURequestStepDistanceManual.tsx
@@ -103,10 +103,8 @@
-    // to make sure the correct distance amount and unit will be shown we use distance unit
-    // from defaultExpensePolicy or current report's policy instead of from transaction and
-    // then we use transaction data (distanceUnit and quantity) for conversions
     const unit = DistanceRequestUtils.getRate({
         transaction,
         policy: shouldUseDefaultExpensePolicy ? defaultExpensePolicy : policy,
-        useTransactionDistanceUnit: false,
+        useTransactionDistanceUnit: isEditing,
     }).unit;

This way, when editing, the unit comes from the transaction ("mi") and the round-trip conversion (mi → meters → mi) returns the original value (2 mi). When creating a new expense, it continues to use the policy's current unit.

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

An alternative would be to always set useTransactionDistanceUnit: true (or remove the flag entirely to use the default). During creation the transaction draft has no distanceUnit stored yet, so getDistanceUnit naturally falls back to the policy's mileage rate unit. However, using isEditing is more conservative and explicitly preserves the original intent of using the policy unit during the creation flow.

[MelvinBot]

Issue Analysis

Root Cause: In IOURequestStepDistanceManual.tsx:127, useTransactionDistanceUnit is hardcoded to false, forcing the edit page to always use the policy's current unit instead of the transaction's stored unit. When a policy admin changes the distance unit (e.g., mi → km), the edit page shows the converted value (3.22 km) while the read-only preview in MoneyRequestView.tsx:461 correctly uses the transaction's stored unit via the default useTransactionDistanceUnit: true.

Recommended Fix: Change useTransactionDistanceUnit: false to useTransactionDistanceUnit: isEditing at IOURequestStepDistanceManual.tsx:127. isEditing is action === CONST.IOU.ACTION.EDIT (line 107), so editing uses the transaction's stored unit while creation continues using the policy's current unit.

Investigation details

Data flow causing the bug:

1. User creates a 2 mi distance expense → distanceUnit: "mi" stored on the transaction
2. Policy admin changes distance unit from mi → km
3. User opens edit page → getRate() called with useTransactionDistanceUnit: false
4. getDistanceUnit receives undefined for the transaction, falls back to the policy's mileage rate unit (now km)
5. Edit page converts 2 mi → meters → 3.22 km

Why the preview is correct: MoneyRequestView.tsx calls getRate() without specifying useTransactionDistanceUnit, defaulting to true → getDistanceUnit uses transaction.comment.customUnit.distanceUnit ("mi") → displays "2 mi"

Alternative considered: Always setting useTransactionDistanceUnit: true would also work since new transaction drafts have no stored distanceUnit, causing the same fallback to the policy unit. However, isEditing is more explicit and conservative.

Possibly related: #79868 — "Distance is shown in miles on confirm details page and in Km on the distance edit page" (same root cause area).

Note: daledah's proposal above correctly identifies this root cause and proposes the same fix. I've independently verified the code paths and confirm the analysis is accurate.

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Next Steps: Reply with @MelvinBot implement this to create a draft PR, or @MelvinBot <your feedback> to refine this analysis.

[melvin-bot]

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