How to Use Audit Trail Reports in QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions?

Audit trail report in QuickBooks Enterprise is a great tool that works when it comes to keeping track of the lost transactions. This feature enables the user to monitor the changes made by other users in the QuickBooks data file. Moreover, when multiple users work on the same file, it gets overwhelming and it becomes difficult to spot the lost transaction. In this article, we will be talking about the steps to be performed to run the audit trail reports in QuickBooks enterprise solutions.

To know more, read this post carefully till the end, or you can also contact our professionals at +1 (855) 666-0469 for any further assistance. Give us a call, and our team will be happy to help you.

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What is QuickBooks Audit Trail?

Before digging in deep and exploring the steps, it is better to first get a brief about what the audit trail actually is. The Audit Trail in QuickBooks Desktop creates a record of every change made to financial data. It keeps track of who made the change, what was changed, and when the change was made. This includes modifications, deletions, and additions to transactions.

In simple words, it is like a security camera for your QuickBooks data. Every action taken by every user is recorded and can be reviewed at any point of time. This makes it very useful for businesses where multiple users access the same company file.

What is the need of audit trail reports?

The users might want audit trail report due to the following reasons:

• This tool helps in training the employees to use QuickBooks in a proper manner. Training them to use audit trail will eventually let them know how to work on the software and there will be no issues further
• Another major reason to use QuickBooks desktop audit trail is that the user gets the authority over the transactions and entries done in the QuickBooks company file
• This report gives the user an easy overview of the old transactions or entries which you might need if some discrepancies occur in the bank account
• It helps in detecting unauthorized changes made by any user to the company file
• The audit trail helps users detect errors, prevent discrepancies, and maintain the integrity of their financial records
• It is also useful during audits when the accountant or auditor needs to verify the accuracy of financial entries
• The audit trail is a feature exclusive to certain QuickBooks versions — Enterprise, Enterprise Accountant, and Accountant

Steps to enable QuickBooks audit trail feature

In order to turn on the QuickBooks audit trail feature, the below steps can be performed:

• The user is first required to select the Edit menu and then select Preferences command
• After that, a Preferences dialog box might appear on the screen
• The next step is to change the accounting preferences that indicate the changes you want to make
• Also, use the icon bar on the left corner and select the Accounting set of preferences
• Now, click on the Company Preferences tab
• The user should check the Audit Trail checkbox
• Also click on OK to confirm
• Lastly, QuickBooks will keep a record of the users that make changes to the accounting file

Also See: How to create Proforma Invoice in QuickBooks?

Steps to Run Audit Trail Report in QuickBooks Enterprise

Now that the audit trail feature is turned on, here is how to run the report:

• Open QuickBooks Desktop and log in to the company file as an Admin user
• From the top menu, select Reports, then go to Accountant and Taxes and click on Audit Trail
• The Audit Trail report will display a chronological list of transactions and activities within your QuickBooks company file
• The report will show details such as the transaction type, date and time, user name, and what was changed
• To narrow down the results, click on Customize Report at the top of the report screen
• Apply the filters you need and click OK
• Beside the Date Entered/Last Modified area, set the field to Custom and pick your desired date manually
• The last step is to print, email, or export the report as required

Note: The Audit Trail report offers two customizable date range filters. Make sure you are using the correct date filter to pull the right transactions.

Steps to be followed to customize QuickBooks audit trail reports

Display

The user will see multiple options under the display option. The report date range, days entered/last modified filter. The user shouldn’t get confused with days entered/ last modified option as in the date range, the user will have to mention the date when the transaction was modified or entered. And on the right side, the user will have the option to display the deleted transactions.

Filters

One can use filters to amplify the search for transactions. There are numerous filters to select from — name, amount, account, customer job, vendor, and much more. In order to apply these filters, the user should scroll down and select the option you want and then enter the required details at the middle input box. In order to remove a filter, the user should highlight it by selecting the Remove Selected Filter option.

Some of the most useful filters are:

• Transaction Type — Filter by invoice, bill, payment, cheque, etc.
• Last Modified By — Filter by a specific user name to see all changes made by that person
• Date Entered/Last Modified — Set a custom date range to narrow down results
• Amount — Search for transactions of a specific amount
• Account — Filter by a specific account in the chart of accounts

In QuickBooks Desktop, you can only customize the audit trail to include Entered/Last Modified, Last Modified By, Date, Name, and Account filters.

Header/footer

This particular option will let you change the content of the header and footer report. It is a simple process of changing these sections. The user can also refer to the image related to it.

Fonts/Numbers

This option permits the user to change the way of how the report looks. In case you don’t want to modify the report then select the default report settings found in the edit > Preferences > Reports and graphs > company preferences > format.

The user can see that every line has same transaction but different timings. While going through QuickBooks audit trail, the user should ensure that he/she is reading the correct transaction as it gets confusing when it is loaded with entries.

How to Filter Audit Trail by a Specific User

At times, the user might want to see only the changes made by a specific team member. Here is how to do it:

• Go to Reports and then Accountant and Taxes
• Click on Audit Trail
• On the report screen, click on Customize Report
• Go to the Filter tab
• Select Last Modified By from the filter list
• Choose the name of the user you want to filter by
• Click OK
• The report will now show only the changes made by that specific user
• The last step is to set the date range as required and print or export the report

How to Find Deleted Transactions Using Audit Trail

At times, a transaction gets deleted by mistake and the user cannot find it anywhere in QuickBooks. The audit trail is the best place to look for it.

• Go to Reports and then Accountant and Taxes
• Click on Audit Trail
• Click on Customize Report
• Go to the Filter tab
• Look for the option to display Deleted Transactions
• Your deleted transaction history is located in the Reports section under Audit Trail. Select the date range from the drop-down menu to find your deleted transaction history
• If you want to view the details of a particular transaction, just click on it
• You can also use the Find and Sort features available in QuickBooks Desktop to refine your search results and find what you are looking for faster

How to Run Audit Log in QuickBooks Online

At times, QuickBooks Online users also need to track changes made to their data. In QuickBooks Online, this is called the Audit Log instead of Audit Trail. Here is how to access it:

• Sign in to your QuickBooks Online account
• Click on the Settings gear icon
• Under the Tools section, select Audit Log
• QuickBooks Online tracks not only financial transactions but all account activities in the audit log. This includes user sign-ins, changes to QuickBooks settings, edits to customers, vendors, employees, and payroll submission
• Use the Filter option to filter by user, date, or event type
• Click on Apply to see the filtered results
• The last step is to review the log and click on any entry to see the full details

Note: Events recorded in the audit log are available for two years.

Common Issues With QuickBooks Audit Trail Report

At times, users face a few issues while running the audit trail report. Here are the most common ones:

• Audit Trail report crashes while loading — This usually happens when the date range is too wide. Narrow down the date range and try again. Also run a Verify Data and Rebuild Data from File and Utilities
• Certain transactions not appearing in the report — Make sure the correct date filter is applied. Also check if the transaction was entered before the audit trail was turned on. Only transactions entered after enabling the feature will be tracked
• Report is too large to load — Apply additional filters to narrow down the results. Also try running the report for a shorter date range first
• Audit trail shows same transaction multiple times — This is normal. Each line represents a different modification or version of the same transaction. The user should read each line carefully to identify the correct version

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Conclusion!

By the end of this post, we believe that the information shared above might be of some help in running audit trail report in QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions. However, if you have any query, or if you need any sort of assistance, then in that case contact our QuickBooks enterprise support professionals at +1 (855) 666-0469 and they will ensure to assist you immediately.

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