- Free Version: Available for teams of up to 10
- Pricing: Premium plan $24/month (with a free 30-day trial period)
- Platforms supported: Available on mobile app (iOS and Android) or a web-based software
Why use SafetyCulture?
SafetyCulture is a powerful platform for maintaining a reliable and consistent audit trail. Through the platform, you can conduct uniform audits on schedule using checklists. That way, there’s no stone left unturned. On top of that, you can save the data from all these audits, generate reports, and send them to relevant stakeholders immediately.
Features:
- Minimize the chance of incomplete information during audits by using comprehensive and consistent digital checklists when conducting inspections.
- Store data from audits and inspections in the cloud to create an audit trail and allow easier retrieval of information.
- Report issues spotted during inspections and assign them corrective actions with an activity log with timestamps and version control to prevent tampering.
- Establish accountability in the workplace by attributing different actions and workflows to specific workers to know who should be performing tasks and when it should be performed.
- Seamlessly connect with existing systems using native integrations.
Why use Form?
Form is a powerful auditing software that works on the computer and the phone, making it a flexible tool for any organization. It enables organizations to maintain an authoritative record of events, ensuring transparency and accountability throughout various processes.
Features:
- Image recognition features
- Role-based access controls
- Integration with form-building capabilities
- Free Version: None
- Pricing: Custom pricing
- Platforms supported: Web, On-premise, iOS, Android
Why use Isolocity?
Isolocity allows you to save time and effort by automating repetitive tasks but also maintains the integrity of your audit trail. It’s an excellent choice for organizations aiming to streamline processes and enhance traceability through audit trail software.
Features:
- Document version control
- Electronic signature support
- Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) management
- Free Version: None
- Pricing: Starts at $159/user/month, billed annually
- Platforms supported: Web, iOS, Android
Why use Workiva?
Workiva is designed to handle the most important tasks of an organization, which include maintaining compliance and a reliable audit trail. It’s a collaborative platform, offering real-time insights and thorough investigations to users.
Features:
- Multiple data views
- Compliance reporting
- Task assignments and tracking
- Free Version: None
- Pricing: Contact vendor for pricing
- Platforms supported: Web, iOS, Android
Why use Cura?
Cura is a powerful platform with a simple user interface, which makes the process of maintaining an audit trail much easier for organizations. While it has a simple interface, it also comes with powerful features for maintaining a consistent audit trail.
Features:
- User activity monitoring
- Automated audit reporting
- Incident response management
- Free Version: None
- Pricing: Contact vendor for pricing
- Platforms supported: Web
Why use Tipalti?
Tipalti offers various convenient and powerful automations focused on finance management, while still giving you full control over your audit trail. It offers robust capabilities for preventing unauthorized activities and ensuring compliance, making it an ideal choice for organizations handling complex payment processes.
Features:
- Supplier and vendor onboarding
- Real-time payment status tracking
- Multi-entity support
- Free Version: None
- Pricing: Starts at $129/month
- Platforms supported: Web, iOS, Android
Why use Qualio?
Qualio is a quality management software for the medical and pharmaceutical fields that has audit trail capabilities, making it a great option for compliance as well. It offers a range of features for tracking user actions, ensuring data integrity, and facilitating investigations.
Features:
- In-app guides for quality management and audits
- Training record management
- Change control management
- Free Version: None
- Pricing: Contact vendor for pricing
- Platforms supported: Web
What Is Audit Trail Software?
Audit trail software is a platform that tracks and records important events and activities within a digital system. Also known as audit logging software, these platforms capture the chronological sequence of events, providing companies with a clear and accurate record of their activities. This is critical for finding areas of improvement, managing risks, and maintaining compliance with relevant governing bodies. These platforms also facilitate the auditing process, which is critical when gathering accurate data sets.
Importance
Maintaining an accurate and comprehensive trail of activities is a critical aspect of managing an organization. This is to help stay compliant with the regulatory framework and to ensure transparency in your operations as well. Here are some more reasons why using this type of platform is important:
Enhanced Accountability
These platforms promote transparency and accountability by enabling organizations to trace the origin and evolution of critical events. With the right audit trail software, organizations can better foster a culture of responsibility among stakeholders.
Compliance
Regulatory compliance mandates, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), EU General Data Protection Regulation
(GDPR), and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), necessitate meticulous record-keeping and data governance practices. Audit trail software helps organizations adhere to these standards by capturing and retaining audit trails in accordance with regulatory requirements.
Risk Mitigation
By identifying anomalies, unauthorized access attempts, and suspicious activities, audit trail software serves as a proactive risk management tool, allowing organizations to address security vulnerabilities preemptively.
Key Features
It’s always best to choose an audit trail software that will work best for your industry or organization. However, there are some key features that are must-haves, regardless of your industry. These features include the following:
Comprehensive Logging Capabilities
Audit trail software must offer comprehensive logging capabilities to efficiently capture a wide range of activities. Data such as user logins, file modifications, configuration changes, system events, and administrative actions should be easily collected and logged to ensure a complete audit trail.
Real-Time Monitoring and Alerting
Real-time monitoring and alerting functionality enable organizations to stay abreast of critical events and security incidents as they unfold. Audit trail software can generate alerts for suspicious activities, policy violations, and unauthorized access attempts, empowering stakeholders to take immediate remedial action and mitigate potential risks.
Secure Storage and Integrity Preservation
To ensure the integrity and confidentiality of audit trails, audit trail software should come with secure storage mechanisms, encryption protocols, and access controls. By using the right robust data protection tools, organizations can safeguard audit logs against tampering, unauthorized access, and data breaches, preserving their evidentiary value and integrity.
Choosing the Right Software
Here’s a breakdown of the software above to make it easier to select the best option.
| Audit Trail Software | Free Version | Paid Plan | Mobile App |
| SafetyCulture | Yes | $24/user/month* | Yes |
| Form | None | Custom pricing | Yes |
| Isolocity | None | $159/user/month | Yes |
| Workiva | None | Contact vendor for pricing | Yes |
| Cura | None | Contact vendor for pricing | No |
| Tipalti | None | $129/month | Yes |
| Qualio | None | Contact vendor for pricing | No |
* billed annually
Leon Altomonte