QuickBooks Audit Trail: QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online?

Audit trail feature in QuickBooks allows you to track and review the sequence of transactions and activities within your QuickBooks account, providing valuable insights into any modifications, deletions, or additions. By utilizing the audit trail feature, you can maintain transparency, detect errors or discrepancies, and ensure the integrity of your financial records, regardless of whether you are using QuickBooks Desktop or QuickBooks Online.

Using the audit trail feature in QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online may vary slightly due to the differences in the user interface and navigation between the two versions. However, the purpose and functionality of the audit trail remain consistent. This feature allows users to track and audit all changes made to transactions, ensuring accuracy and transparency in financial records.

What is QuickBooks Audit Trail?

An audit trail or an audit log feature in QuickBooks manages and monitors deleted, modified, or newly added transactions within your account. You can also trace deleted transactions by enabling this feature in your QuickBooks desktop account.

Benefits of Audit logs

The QuickBooks audit log report is helpful for accountants, business owners, and bookkeepers.

1. Audit logs assist you in finding deleted transactions that might be causing discrepancies in bank reconciliations and opening balances.

2. It is easy to locate previous account names that might have been merged with newer accounts.

3. You can use audit logs to track other user’s login time and trace their activities

4. It is easy to detect users needing additional training by noticing increased entries of modified transactions.

5. It’ll be easy to identify transactions that might have been entered incorrectly or lost due to accidental deletion.

6. You can be well-informed about who is accessing the books and their activities.

Audit Trail QuickBooks Desktop: How to Use 

To use the Audit Trail feature in QuickBooks Desktop, follow these steps:

1. Open QuickBooks Desktop and log in to your company file.

2. Select "Reports" from the menu and "Accountant & Taxes."

3. Click "Audit Trail" from the list.

The Audit Trail report will display a chronological list of transactions and activities within your QuickBooks company file.

You can customize the report by applying filters such as date range, transaction type, and specific accounts. To do this, click on the "Customize Report" button.

Modify the report according to your preferences, and click "OK" to update the report.

The Audit Trail report will reflect the filtered results based on your selections.

Review the report to track deleted, modified, or newly added transactions. It provides details such as the transaction type, date and time, and user name.

By following these steps, you can effectively utilize the Audit Trail feature in QuickBooks Desktop to monitor and track transactions, detect any changes or discrepancies, and retrieve lost transactions when needed.

Audit Trail QuickBooks Online: How to Use

QuickBooks will record all user activity in the “Audit Log.” To check the “Audit Log,” click the gear icon (settings) at the top right corner. Then, select “Audit Log” from “Tools.”

All possible events corresponding to your company will be recorded. You’ll also know who performed each event and the time.

In the “Audit Log,” you can choose a specific user from the filter option at the top and customize your audit log to view specific logs.

Consider this scenario - if one of your coworkers created a check at 12.45 pm and deleted the same after an hour, around 1.45 pm, if you find that activity abnormal, you can contact your coworker to investigate the same. Not just for investigation, you can also know when a user logged in and logged out of a company file.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I enable the Audit Trail feature in QuickBooks Desktop?

To enable the Audit Trail feature in QuickBooks Online, follow these steps:

• Login to your QuickBooks account and log in to the company file.

• Select "Edit" From the top menu and choose "Preferences."

• Select "Accounting" In the Preferences window and go to the "Company Preferences" tab.

• Select the box next to "Use Audit Trail" and click "Okay." Your changes will be saved, and you have now successfully enabled the Audit Trail feature.

2. What information does the QuickBooks Audit Trail capture?

The QuickBooks Audit Trail captures various details about changes made to your financial data, including:

• The user who made the change

• The date and time the change occurred

• The specific transaction or entry that was modified, added, or deleted

• The old and new values of the changed data, such as amounts, account numbers, or descriptions

• Any notes or comments associated with the change

3. Can I customize the QuickBooks Audit Trail report?

You can customize the QuickBooks Audit Trail report to focus on specific criteria or timeframes. To customize the report, follow these steps:

• Select " Reports " From the top menu and choose "Accountant & Taxes."

• In the submenu, click on "Audit Trail."

• Once the Audit Trail report opens, click the "Customize Report" button.

• In the Customize Report window, you can apply filters for the date range, transaction type, specific accounts, and other relevant criteria.

• Adjust the options according to your preferences, and click "OK" to update the report with your customized settings.

4. How do I generate an invoice in QuickBooks, and can the Audit Trail track changes to it?

To generate an invoice in QuickBooks, follow these steps:

1. QuickBooks Online: Click on the "New" button, then select "Invoice" under the Customers section. Fill out the necessary fields like customer name, product/service, and amount, and click "Save and Send."

2. QuickBooks Desktop: Go to "Customers" from the top menu and select "Create Invoices." Enter the required details and click "Save" to generate the invoice.

The Audit Trail in QuickBooks can track any changes made to invoices, including when they were generated, modified, or deleted. It captures information like who made the change, the date, and time of the change, and any modifications to the invoice details.