Accounting Audit Log

A complete, tamper-resistant record of every change made to your financial data, providing accountability and supporting regulatory compliance.

What the Audit Log Records

BizBooks Pro automatically logs significant actions performed within your accounting system. Every entry in the audit log captures who made the change, what was changed, when it happened, and the before-and-after values where applicable.

The following actions are tracked:

Transactions: Creation, editing, deletion, and voiding of journal entries
Accounts: Adding, modifying, or deactivating accounts in the chart of accounts
Invoices: Invoice creation, status changes, payment applications, and voids
Bills: Bill creation, edits, payment recording, and deletions
Customers & Vendors: Contact record additions, updates, and removals
User Access: User logins, role changes, invitations, and removals
Settings: Company preference changes, fiscal year adjustments, and feature toggles
Year-End Close: Closing entries, period locks, and reopenings

Viewing the Audit Log

Access the audit log from Accountant Tools → Audit Log. The log displays entries in reverse chronological order, with the most recent actions at the top.

Each row in the log shows:

Timestamp: Exact date and time of the action
User: The person who performed the action
Action Type: What was done (created, updated, deleted, voided)
Entity: What was affected (transaction, invoice, account, etc.)
Summary: A brief description of the change

Filtering and Searching

For large datasets, use the built-in filters to narrow the audit log to specific events:

Date Range: View entries from a specific period (e.g., last quarter, last month, custom range)
User: Filter by the person who made the change
Action Type: Show only creates, updates, deletes, or voids
Entity Type: Limit to transactions, invoices, accounts, or other record types
Search: Free-text search across descriptions and entity references

Tip: Combine multiple filters to pinpoint exactly what you need. For example, filter by a specific user and date range to review all changes made by a team member during a particular week.

Viewing Entry Details

Click on any audit log row to expand the full detail view. For update actions, the detail view shows a side-by-side comparison of the previous values and the new values, making it straightforward to see exactly what was modified.

Detail information includes:

Old Values: The data before the change was made
New Values: The data after the change was applied
Fields Changed: A list of which specific fields were modified
IP Address: The network address of the user at the time of the action
Session ID: Links the action to a specific login session

Compliance and Internal Controls

The audit log is a fundamental component of internal accounting controls. It supports compliance requirements in several ways:

GAAP Compliance

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles require businesses to maintain adequate documentation of financial transactions. The audit log provides an unbroken record of every modification, satisfying the documentation requirement without manual effort.

Separation of Duties

When multiple team members access the books, the audit log reveals who did what. Managers and auditors can verify that no single person has unchecked control over financial records.

Fraud Detection

Unusual patterns in the audit log, such as after-hours modifications, repeated deletions, or changes to closed periods, can signal potential issues. Review the log periodically to catch anomalies early.

External Audits

During a financial audit or tax examination, auditors may request evidence of data integrity. Export the audit log as a PDF or CSV to provide a comprehensive change history for any period under review.

Data Retention

BizBooks Pro retains all audit log entries indefinitely. Entries cannot be edited or deleted by any user, including administrators, ensuring the integrity of the historical record. This immutable design means the audit trail is reliable evidence for regulatory or legal purposes.

Tip: Export your audit log annually and store it alongside your financial statement backups. This gives you an offline copy of the change history in case you ever need it outside the application.