Audit Trail Report
We desperately need an audit trail report available for advisors.
I think it would be sufficient to have the below added to the account transactions report style (but named as Audit Trail):
1 - the ability to include an 'edited date' column
2 - the ability to include a 'notes' column
3 - a tick box to show/hide audit trail history (so voids would show as separate creation and void lines netting off, not just removal of the original transaction)
4 - a unique un-editable transaction identifier for all transactions, not just bills/invoices
It must be exportable to excel with the dates on every line.
So many times I have gone to produce a set of accounts and the prior year has changed because the date wasn't locked, or the client unlocked it, or someone didn't realise they shouldn't retrospectively correct the bank after filing the year end...

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Jodi Napoli commented
Audit Trail of who approved leave would be valuable
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Karen Wright commented
This is just one of the reasons Xero is not a match for Sage, especially as they are now starting to increase their pricing yet not upgrading their product to match.
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Kirsty Cassells commented
I absolutely agree with this, we have just changed from Sage to Xero, and one of my team has posted things back into a prior month because I wasn't quick enough to lock the dates. I've spent hours this morning trying to identify these transactions and haven't quite managed it which is really frustrating. With Sage, it was actually very easy to do.
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Neville Reid commented
It's bizarre that Xero has implemented an audit history table for payroll data, but only in Australia!
Until this is rolled out worldwide, it's also unhelpful that the Xero Central article on the feature (About Payroll History) makes no reference to this limitation.
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Donna Forney commented
As our department grows, we need the ability to see when changes were made and who made them.
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Nikki Dawes commented
I would like to be able to see if someone changes the name and the ABN of a file - it seems you can't track this through the audit trail which is frustrating. I think that it is very necessary to know this information.
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Jane Harkin commented
A payroll audit trail is a must. We are currently investigating an increase in pay which has not been documented and have not been able to determine who made the increase
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Frances Harvey commented
Cannot believe there is still no Audit trail available when it has been requested for more than 3 years. This is why Xero still lags behind Sage: perhaps if the marketing budget was diverted to creating this very basic report they would notice an uptick in Business users.
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Kathryn Whiting commented
Having an audit trail on XPM for Jobs and clients would be amazing, at the moment if something has changed something or a job is re-opened there is zero visibility of who it was, if we had that information there would be a lot less assumptions and we could fix errors more quickly and confidently.
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Alison Martin commented
We have clients reluctant to switch from Sage as they like an audit trail report to see what has been posted and, whilst you can find things in Xero when you are used to it, - it is not an easy report to pull off when there are multiple users
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Priyanka Patil commented
Totally agree! A proper audit trail is essential. Your suggestions for the report are spot-on. It's so frustrating when prior year data changes.
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Sleek Bill commented
An Audit Trail Report is crucial for advisors to maintain transparency and accuracy in financial records. 🔍 Adding features like an 'edited date' column, unique transaction IDs, and full audit history ensures compliance and prevents discrepancies. Just like Sleek Bill simplifies invoicing with detailed tracking, a robust audit trail enhances financial integrity! https://www.billingsoftware.in/
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Patricia Cumming commented
Audit trail for client records in XPM. We have many duplicated client files and it would be very beneficial to see how these client files were created.
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Michelle Van Zyl commented
Especially account codes in the Chart of Accounts
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Platypus Billing commented
I just pray we don't get audited by CRA. And for us it's not payroll, but invoicing, billing, HST.
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Carmel Veitch commented
Particular need for changes in Payroll - leave and personal details
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William Hilsum commented
No Audit log and this request is 12 years old... kind of scary.
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BGAU Accounts commented
We urgently require a complete audit trail report. Specifically on Timesheet, leave and the whole payroll section. There is no history/tracking in the whole payroll section as to who has actioned what and with Xero's limitations on payroll approvers, it is imperative an audit trail is implemented asap.
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Claire Dixon commented
This is a basic assurance requirement. I've used a lot of other systems and I'm disappointed with Xero's payroll and timesheet capabilities they are unacceptable I advise businesses to steer clear of Xero if they have payroll or timesheet requirements for their business.
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Andy Betts commented
You should be able to see the audit trail by account code, by posting date, so you can track why the balance has moved from any previous published reconciliation