Audit Trail Flaw

Sending good vibes to you, ahodgson.

I appreciate the details you've provided and taking the time to post here in the Community. It's my priority to get you pointed in the right direction.

I can definitely see how this feature would be useful, I would highly recommend submitting feedback and suggestions regarding this option to our product developer. This lets us know what enhancements you'd like to see in the program soon.

I can pass along all the feedback you have to the appropriate channels so you're able to reach a point of resolution as quickly as possible. We aren't able to tell when a feature will be available. We share recent happenings and future developments on our blog. Through this, you're able to get the latest news about QuickBooks and what our Product Care Team is working on.

You may find these articles helpful:

• How to view transaction changes in the audit history.
• How clients and accountants view the audit log.

As always, you can also reach out to our Customer Care agents if you need additional help.
 
Here's how you can reach them:

1. Go to: https://help.quickbooks.intuit.com/en_US/contact.
2. Choose your QuickBooks Product.
3. Select your QuickBooks version.
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I'll be here if you have additional questions. You have a wonderful day.

@Malcolm Ziman is correct; you have two Date Controls that matter. For instance, if you know the invoice number, set the Date to All = all transactions within this date range, and the Modified to All = any changes ever made, then filter on that one NUM as that invoice.

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@Malcolm Ziman wrote:

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@ahodgson wrote:

 

The audit trail has no way to filter for what was previous in another year and been edited into a current year.

The issue has arose when a client adjusted (edited and not deleted) an invoice that was in the 2017 Dec year end to March 2018. 

 

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There is no such flaw in the QBO Audit Log

 

Every change made to a transaction is logged, including a date change. It makes no difference what year is used in the date.

 

Of course if an invoice is deleted you won't see it any reports, but you can filter the audit log for deleted/voided transactions, in whatever time period you want

 

 You can also run transaction reports where you can filter using these dates:

-  Create Date = Last year

- Last Modified Date = This Year

 

 

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Hello Malcolm,

When I said flaw, I felt it was something that makes the Audit Trail less useful and therefore less used. Not a flaw in the sense that the Audit Trail was not logging absolutely every change.

The last bit that you mentioned is exactly the fix I was looking for and didn't notice that there was filter for Year Created, if they simply added this filter to the audit trail it would solve the issue I was mentioning.

Thanks,

Adrian

I'm also seeing an audit trail flaw, kinda.  Or maybe its just a "QB sensitivity issue"?  Curious if anyone has seen what I'm about to describe.  Ultimately it seems to come down to a "distinction without a difference" but some of my users are bothered by it!  NOTE:  Using QB Enterprise Desktop

So here's the deal:

User A sets up an invoice, saves, and closes.  The next day, User B accesses the same invoice to attach a copy of the Customer's PO.  Or maybe User B corrected the spelling of something.  Minor stuff that has no material impact on the transaction --- the financial aspects of the transaction --- whatsoever.

When the audit trail is run, of course, it will show what User A originally set up and also it will indicate there's been a change by User B.  No problem so far. 

However, the link to the Income account under the original User A version shows the full Parent and Sub-Account name (e.g., 4000.00 REVENUE:  4010.00 Product Sales).  What the audit trail shows as a change made by User B is that now the full Parent and Sub-Account name are abbreviated, so the report indicates the change that occurred is that now the Item used in the original invoice by User A is linked to "4010.00 Product Sales"

Distinction without a difference? 

Ultimately the target income acc't is the same (4010.00 Product Sales) except we're not sure why QB would even register this as some sort of change when (a) there was no change to the Item at all; and (b) its not really a change!

I've checked the chart of accounts and drilled down to my income, COG, and inventory accounts and thankfully not seeing any duplicates or other mischief that would set off alarm bells.

Can anyone explain?  I think its more of a curiosity question at this point.  Thank you kindly!

Hello there, @Jain.

Thanks for providing detailed information about your concern. 

QuickBooks is a recording tool in which all the information is based on user input or from 3rd party apps with user permission.

Thus, the Audit Trail serves as a record of all the changes made on a specific transaction. It lists each accounting transaction and any additions, deletions, or modifications that affect that transaction and who made such changes. 

To know more on how to customize the Audit Trail report, you can use this article as a reference: Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop. 

Let me know in the comment section if there's anything I can help you with. I'd be here for you. Have a great day!

If an immaterial change is made to the transaction (reconciling or clearing, updating billing info, etc.), doesn't that trigger that modified date, too?

Thanks for joining in this conversation, @cheeks622. The Audit Trail report shows the transaction date and maintenance records were entered, edited, and deleted, including which user modified them. 

Hence, any changes made to the transactions will be shown in the Audit trail report. 

For more insights, check out this article to know more about viewing transaction changes in the audit history.

Add your comment again if you have additional concerns. I'd be here for you. 

I would have to agree. Audit Trail in QuickBooks online is useless. There needs to be a fuction or clumn that shows when the original transaction was created. This way it could be filtered to transactions changed from prior periods in the given range. When you run thousands of transactions monthly, it is very difficult to locate changes. 

It would also be beneficial to filter based on account. Like you can in QuickBooks desktop. It is very frustrating.

Good morning, @ddaileycpa. 

Thanks for chiming in on this thread and letting us know your concern about the Audit Log feature in your QuickBooks Online account. 

You can always send our Product Developers feedback about the options you'd like to have within the Audit Log to help improve it. They take the time to review every request and try to add them to the next available update. 

Feel free to use our Blog site to keep up with what's new in the system. 

I'm only a post away if you have any other questions or concerns. Wishing you and your business continued success!

Aloha, 

@ahodgson wrote: 

You can also run transaction reports where you can filter using these dates:

-  Create Date = Last year

- Last Modified Date = This Year

I'm in QBO. I don't find that I have these filters available. How do I locate them? 

Thank you! 

It's great to see you participate in this thread, @bjlmeerkat.

I'd be delighted to point you in the right direction when it comes to modifying your reports.

You can go to the Reports menu and run the Transaction Detail by Account report. Hover to the Customize button, filter it to include the desired option, and then click Run report.

I've included a screenshot for your convenience. 

You can also read this article for more details: Customize reports in QuickBooks Online.

Let me also recommend this excellent resource for accessing your reports outside of your QuickBooks Online (QBO) account: Export your reports to Excel from QuickBooks Online.

You can always rely on me for additional assistance with your reports and QBO account. Simply include them in your response, and I'll take care of them for you. Have a wonderful weekend!

This answer is not a solution.  The problem with the audit log is it needs to show the transaction date as well as the date of change to be useful. Otherwise trying to find a change into a prior period requires each transaction be viewed to find the transaction date; that is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Note that Create Date is not the same as the transaction date. Therefore if on Jan 1 I enter a December transaction, reconcile the bank at Dec 31, and in Feb change that transaction this will not show on a report with a created on range of last year and last modified date of this year because the transaction was both created and modified this year. It would be useful for the audit report to show the transaction date as well as the modified date, and for the reports to allow a filter on a range of transaction dates.