"Next steps" messages disappear when Workflows are disabled

[m-natarajan]

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Version Number:
Reproducible in staging?: Needs Reproduction
Reproducible in production?: Needs Reproduction
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: @sumo-slonik
Slack conversation (hyperlinked to channel name): #Expensify Bugs

Action Performed:

1. Disable Workflows in the workspace.
2. Create a new Report.
3. Notice the "next steps" message displayed, and then disappearing after a short while.
4. Create a new Expense within the report.
5. Again, a "next steps" message appears and then disappears after a short while.

Expected Result:

Next steps disabled without any issue

Actual Result:

"Next steps" messages appear and disappear when Workflows are disabled

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

Screen.Recording.2025-09-29.at.09.52.24.mov

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Upwork Automation - Do Not Edit

• Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~021972775107348950792
• Upwork Job ID: 1972775107348950792
• Last Price Increase: 2025-10-06

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @grgia

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @Christinadobrzyn (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.

[nyomanjyotisa]

Proposal

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

"Next steps" messages disappear when Workflows are disabled

What is the root cause of that problem?

shouldShowNextStep is determined only by isFromPaidPolicy && !isInvoiceReport && !shouldShowStatusBar, without considering whether workflows are actually enabled

App/src/components/MoneyReportHeader.tsx

Line 377 in 622fdf5

const shouldShowNextStep = isFromPaidPolicy && !isInvoiceReport && !shouldShowStatusBar;

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

We can check if workflows are enabled

    const shouldShowNextStep = isFromPaidPolicy && !isInvoiceReport && !shouldShowStatusBar && policy?.areWorkflowsEnabled;

Or

    const shouldShowNextStep = isFromPaidPolicy && !isInvoiceReport && !shouldShowStatusBar && policy?.approvalMode !== CONST.POLICY.APPROVAL_MODE.OPTIONAL;

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

None

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

We can return null on buildNextStep or buildNextStepNew when workflows are disabled

    if (!policy?.areWorkflowsEnabled) {
        return null;
    }

[nkdengineer]

🚨 Edited by proposal-police: This proposal was edited at 2025-10-01 08:12:40 UTC.

Proposal

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

"Next steps" messages appear and disappear when Workflows are disabled

What is the root cause of that problem?

When we call the RequestMoney api and CreateAppReport api we create a new optimistic data for the next step here

App/src/libs/actions/Report.ts

Line 2764 in 590a60c

const optimisticNextStep = buildNextStep(optimisticReportData, CONST.REPORT.STATUS_NUM.OPEN);

App/src/libs/actions/Report.ts

Lines 2795 to 2799 in 590a60c

	{
	onyxMethod: Onyx.METHOD.SET,
	key: `${ONYXKEYS.COLLECTION.NEXT_STEP}${reportID}`,
	value: optimisticNextStep,
	},

App/src/libs/actions/IOU.ts

Line 3538 in 590a60c

const optimisticNextStep = buildNextStep(iouReport, predictedNextStatus);

App/src/libs/actions/IOU.ts

Lines 2070 to 2074 in 590a60c

	optimisticData.push(violationsOnyxData, {
	key: `${ONYXKEYS.COLLECTION.NEXT_STEP}${iou.report.reportID}`,
	onyxMethod: Onyx.METHOD.SET,
	value: buildNextStep(iou.report, iou.report.statusNum ?? CONST.REPORT.STATE_NUM.OPEN, shouldFixViolations),
	});

then Back End return the next steps message as empty

=> "Next steps" messages appear and disappear when Workflows are disabled

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

if workflows are disabled, we shouldn't build the new optimistic data for the next step

    const optimisticNextStep = policy?.areWorkflowsEnabled ? buildNextStep(iouReport, predictedNextStatus) : null; // or we can use approvalMode to check here

App/src/libs/actions/Report.ts

Line 2764 in 590a60c

const optimisticNextStep = buildNextStep(optimisticReportData, CONST.REPORT.STATUS_NUM.OPEN);

App/src/libs/actions/IOU.ts

Line 3538 in 590a60c

const optimisticNextStep = buildNextStep(iouReport, predictedNextStatus);

    value: policy?.areWorkflowsEnabled ? buildNextStep(iou.report, iou.report.statusNum ?? CONST.REPORT.STATE_NUM.OPEN, shouldFixViolations) : null,

App/src/libs/actions/IOU.ts

Lines 2070 to 2074 in 590a60c

	optimisticData.push(violationsOnyxData, {
	key: `${ONYXKEYS.COLLECTION.NEXT_STEP}${iou.report.reportID}`,
	onyxMethod: Onyx.METHOD.SET,
	value: buildNextStep(iou.report, iou.report.statusNum ?? CONST.REPORT.STATE_NUM.OPEN, shouldFixViolations),
	});

Note 1: After testing, I realized that if workflows are enabled but Delay submissions and Add approvals are disabled, the same problem will still occur, so we can consider changing the logic to hide the next steps.

Note 2: We can check other API and do the same here

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

None

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

Reminder: Please use plain English, be brief and avoid jargon. Feel free to use images, charts or pseudo-code if necessary. Do not post large multi-line diffs or write walls of text. Do not create PRs unless you have been hired for this job.

[melvin-bot]

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~021972775107348950792

[melvin-bot]

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

[Christinadobrzyn]

I can reproduce this by following the steps in the OP - let's see if we can fix this externally.