diff --git a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Print.hs b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Print.hs
index 5756c1a32..cd60a601f 100644
--- a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Print.hs
+++ b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Print.hs
@@ -66,8 +66,15 @@ printEntries opts@CliOpts{reportopts_=ropts} j = do
 entriesReportAsText :: CliOpts -> EntriesReport -> String
 entriesReportAsText opts = concatMap (showTransactionUnelided . gettxn) 
   where
-    gettxn | boolopt "explicit" $ rawopts_ opts = id                   -- use the fully inferred/explicit txn
-           | otherwise                          = originalTransaction  -- use the original txn (more or less)
+    gettxn | useexplicittxn = id                   -- use the fully inferred/explicit txn
+           | otherwise      = originalTransaction  -- use the original as-written txn, more or less
+    -- Original vs inferred transactions/postings were causing problems here, disabling -B (#551).
+    -- Use the explicit one if -B or -x are active.
+    -- This passes tests; does it also mean -B sometimes shows missing amounts unnecessarily ?  
+    useexplicittxn = or
+      [ boolopt "explicit" $ rawopts_ opts
+      , cost_ $ reportopts_ opts
+      ]
 
 -- Replace this transaction's postings with the original postings if any, but keep the
 -- current possibly rewritten account names.
diff --git a/hledger/hledger_commands.m4.md b/hledger/hledger_commands.m4.md
index 2395bd109..23bc6e2f5 100644
--- a/hledger/hledger_commands.m4.md
+++ b/hledger/hledger_commands.m4.md
@@ -548,7 +548,7 @@ Note, `-x` will cause postings with a multi-commodity amount
 will be split into multiple single-commodity postings, for valid journal output.
 
 With `-B`/`--cost`, amounts with [transaction prices](/journal.html#transaction-prices)
-are converted to cost using that price.
+are converted to cost using that price. This can be used for troubleshooting.
 
 With `-m`/`--match` and a STR argument, print will show at most one transaction: the one 
 one whose description is most similar to STR, and is most recent. STR should contain at