What is an audit trail?
An audit trail is a chronological record of every relevant action in a system: who created, changed, approved or exported something, when, and what the old and new values were. A good audit trail cannot be edited afterwards.
Why hours need an audit trail
Hours are money and, in many countries, also a legal record. When a worker, client or inspector asks why a timesheet shows 7.5 hours instead of 8, you need to show who changed it, when and why. Without a trail, the only answer is whatever the system says now.
An audit trail also protects the people who work with the data. A planner who corrected a shift, or a client who approved hours, can show exactly what they did.
- Who did it (user, client or API key)
- What changed, with old and new values
- When it happened
- Approvals, exports and locks
The audit log in TimeTracking
TimeTracking writes an append-only audit log: entries are added, never changed or deleted. It covers edits to hours, approvals, exports, period locks and changes to settings, including those made through the API. Office admins can search it in the web app.
Related pages
Period lock
Closing a pay period so its hours can no longer be changed after they have been exported to payroll.
BAG ruling on time recording
The 2022 decision of Germany's Federal Labour Court that employers must record the start and end of employees' daily working time.
Magic link
A secure, unique link sent by email that opens one specific task or account without a password.
See pricing
Free for up to 5 users. Core from €1 per user per month, everything included.
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Free for up to 5 users. Core from €1 per user per month, everything included.