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The Payroll audit trail

Created on  | Last modified on 

Summary

Use the payroll audit trail in Sage 50 Payroll Ireland to track changes to employee details.

Resolution

What the audit trail shows

  • The employee changed
  • The option changed, for example, PRSI code or tax status
  • The value before and after the change
  • The date and time of the change
  • The user who made the change

View or amend audit retention settings

To keep audit files manageable and avoid performance issues:

  1. Go to Company/Payroll, then select Company Details.
  2. Select the Misc tab.
  3. In Audit Retention, enter the number of pay periods to keep.
     TIP: Don’t set this to zero. Keeping all audit data can slow performance and increase backup size.   
  4. Select OK to save.

Preview the payroll audit report

  1. Go to Reports, then select Payroll Reports.
  2. Choose Payroll Audit.
  3. To filter by date, enter a range in From and To.
  4. In List, select the area to report on.
  5. Select Preview, then when prompted, choose:
    • Yes: Clears audit files. You need to restore a backup to view them again
    • No: Keeps audit files until the retention period clears them
  6. To close the window, select Cancel.

Preview the employee audit report

  1. Go to Reports, then select Employee Reports.
  2. Choose Employee Audit.
  3. Enter a date range in From and To if needed.
  4. In List, select the area to report on.
  5. Select Preview.

Follow the same steps for clearing audit details as above.

Clear the payroll audit trail

Method 1: Clear through Sage 50 Payroll Ireland

  1. Go to Reports, then select Payroll Reports.
  2. Choose Payroll Audit.
  3. Select Preview, then Close.
  4. When prompted, select Yes to delete audit details.
  5. Enter the administrator password.
  6. Select Delete Audit Files.

Method 2: Clear through Windows Explorer

If audit files are too large to clear in the software:

  1. Open Sage 50 Payroll Ireland and log in as administrator.
  2. Go to Company, then select Company Setup.
  3. Select Add New Payroll, then enter:
    • Payroll ID: Type BLANK
    • Licence Name: Select your company name
    • Password: Leave blank
    • Frequency: Select any pay frequency
  4. Select Create, then Close.
  5. Go to Help, then select System Information.
  6. Select the Data Directory link.
  7. Open the BLANK folder.
  8. Copy PAYAUDIT.CDX and PAYAUDIT.DBF.
  9. Paste them into your company payroll folder and replace the existing files.