The change history

What a change is

At each snapshot PeriodGuard asks for the records changed since the last one and compares each with the version it kept. A record that differs becomes a new version, and the difference becomes a change: which fields changed, each with its value before and after. A record that is new since the last snapshot shows as Created; a status change shows as Voided, Deleted, Archived or Status changed.

Who made it

For each change PeriodGuard reads the record's own history in your accounting software and takes the names written there between the two snapshots. It shows one of:

• the person's name (or the name of the app that made the change);
• Being looked up, for a few minutes or hours after the change is found;
• No entry for it, when the history has nothing in that window;
• No history for this kind of record, for the chart of accounts, which keeps none.

When several people changed the same record between two snapshots, all their names are shown.

Closed periods

A change is in a closed period when the record was dated in one before the change, or is dated in one after it: an edit or void of a record in a closed month, a new record back-dated into one, or a date moved into or out of one. A day is closed when it is on or before the latest of:

• the period lock date of your accounting software;
• its end-of-year lock date;
• the Closed through date you set in PeriodGuard.

Each closed-period change is emailed once to the addresses you chose, with what changed and who made it. PeriodGuard also emails when a lock date is moved earlier or removed, because that reopens closed days.

Filters

Filter by business, kind of record, the dates the change was made, person, closed periods only, or a word (an invoice number, a contact, an amount). Every filter is part of the page's address, so a filtered view can be bookmarked.

What it cannot show

• Changes made before you connected the business: there is no earlier version to compare with.
• A record your accounting software stops returning, such as a deleted draft: its last version stays in the history.
• Payroll, attachments, fixed assets, projects, tracking categories, tax rates and items are not covered yet.

How long it is kept

Paid plans keep every change for as long as the business stays connected. Free keeps the last 30 days. Disconnecting a business deletes its history; download the CSV first if you want to keep it.