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Audit Trail report

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Summary

How to run and use the Audit Trail report in Accounting Start.

Description

The Audit Trail report is a complete record of all transactions entered. As well as details, such as the transaction date, type, category and value, you can also see at a glance when the transactions were entered and who entered them. This is particularly useful if you need to trace a transaction or if you’re asked to produce this as part of an audit.

You can choose to view a summary of the audit trail or a detailed breakdown. The summary shows a high-level view of each transaction, the detailed breakdown shows each line that makes up a transaction, known as the double-entry.

For example, if you enter sales invoice, the summary shows the income details and the net, VAT and total values. The detailed breakdown, however, shows the double-entry values on the ledger accounts, such as your income ledger account, VAT on sales and trade debtors, as debits or credits.

Resolution

Run the Audit Trail report

  1. Go to Reports.
  2. Select Audit Trail.

 NOTE: The audit trail defaults to either the summary or breakdown report, depending on which one you last ran.  If the Audit Trail Summary appears and you want to see the detailed report, select Detailed. If the Audit Trail Breakdown appears, to view the summary report, select Summary.

  1. To search for a transaction, enter the amount of the transaction or reference in the search box.
  2. If you want to view the audit trail for a particular date range, from the Period drop-down, choose one of the following options:
This Month To produce the report for the current month, use this option.
This Quarter To produce the report for the current quarter, use this option.
This Year To produce the report for the current year, use this option.
This Financial Year This option only appears if you enter your Year End Date in More, then Business settings, then scroll down to Set up financial year, accounting dates and VAT.
The report dates default to a 12 month period, based on the day and month you entered for your Year End Date.

 NOTE: This produces the report for the current year regardless of the year set in Financial Settings.
Last Month To produce the report for the previous month, use this option.
Last Quarter To produce the report for the previous quarter, use this option.
Last Year To produce the report for the previous year, use this option.
Last Financial Year This option only appears if you enter your Year End Date in More, then Business settings, then scroll down to Set up financial year, accounting dates and VAT. The report dates default to a 12 month period, based on the day and month you entered for your Year End Date.

 NOTE: This produces the report for the previous year regardless of the year set in Financial Settings. 
Custom Enter the report dates you want to run the report from and to.
  1. Select More and choose the required options from the Type and Status fields:
  • Type – If required, choose the type of transactions you want to view
  • Status – If required you can view exclude deleted transactions, view deleted transactions only, or view all transactions
  1. Select Calculate.
  2. To view details of a specific transaction, select the relevant line. From here you can edit or manage the transaction as required. To return to the report, select back on your browser menu bar.

 NOTE: Whenever you edit or delete a transaction you may notice a strik-through on the Audit Trail transaction. 

  1. To save or print the audit trail select Export and choose a CSV or PDF file format.
  2. The report is ready when a notification displays on the main navigation bar, to the left of Profile. Select the notification bell to open the report.

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Depending on how you chose to export your report, one of the following happens:

  • CSV – Depending on your Internet browser, the file automatically downloads to your Downloads folder or you’re prompted to save the file, browse to where you want to save the file and select Save
  • PDF – The PDF opens in a new window or tab. Open your browser's File menu then choose to print or save the report

To configure columns

If required, you can configure the audit trail to include the following extra columns:

  • Deleted
  • VAT Reconciled
  • Bank Reconciled
  • Created By

To do this, select the Configure columns button.

To include a column, select the check box next to the relevant option.

If you later decide you want to remove these columns, select the configure columns button, clear the check box or select Reset and Save.

Search the report

Enter a transaction number in the Search field on the report to quickly track down the history of an entry. This comes in handy when you need to find transactions that on your VAT returns.