VFP determine the type of the fields in the SELECT by looking at the first values. To insure that you get the correct type, use CAST ():

select *, CAST (GetExpendituresBySubelement(elementnum) AS N (10, 3)) as expended ;
from rta_elements ;
order by elementnum

>This function
>

>function GetExpendituresBySubElement
>lparameters lnSubElement
>local lnOldWorkArea, lnRetVal
>dimension lnRetval(1)
>lnOldWorkArea = select(0)
>
>select  sum(amount) ;
>from tip ;
>inner join ledger on ledger.tip_id = tip.tip_id and source="RTA" ;
>where val(substr(sponsor_id,5,2)) = lnSubelement;
>into Array lnRetVal
>
>select(lnOldWorkArea)
>return iif(isnull(lnRetVal),0,lnRetVal)
>

>seems to work OK when called with a single value like this
>

>? GetExpendituresBySubelement(2)
>

>But when embedded in another select like this
>

>select *, GetExpendituresBySubelement(elementnum) as expended ;
>from rta_elements ;
>order by elementnum
>

>I get only 0's and *'s. Can someone please explain?