How to Audit Fields in SugarCRM/SuiteCRM & View Audit Log?

After auditing the fields in the SuiteCRM and SugarCRM modules, the user will be able to see the history of changes done to the fields. For this, they’ll be required to go into the edit view, and from there, click on the Actions menu and select the “View Audit Log” option. In this article, we’re going to show you how to audit fields in SugarCRM and its open-source fork i.e. SuiteCRM.

How to Mark Fields as “Audit” in SuiteCRM?

In the demonstration below, we are going to show you an example of how to mark the audit fields in any module in SuiteCRM. After this, you will be able to see all the changes in the audit log/change log of this particular module.

Follow all the steps mentioned below meticulously.

• First of all, go to the admin panel.
• Then, click on the Studio option.
• After that, select any module. We are going to choose the Leads module.
• Next, choose the field(s) that you want to mark as an audit.
• For example, we are going to choose the “Last Name” field.
• Put a checkmark in the “Audit” field and then click on the Save button.

Now, you know how to make fields auditable in SuiteCRM, now we are going to show you real-life applications of this feature. In the coming next section, we have shown how to mark fields for audit in the SugarCRM.

Application of the Audit Fields

To show you how this works, we will first go to a SuiteCRM module for example Leads. Here, we will change the value in the last name field. Let us remind you again, we have already made this field auditable. Also, make sure to save the changes you made.

Now, in the detail view of the record, click on the Actions drop-down menu and select the “View Change Log” option at the bottom. Once you click on that option, a new window will appear where you will be able to see all fields that are marked as an audit.

In the change log, you can see fields that are modified. In addition to this, there is other information like old values and new/modified values, the name of the person who changed it. From here you can also see the specific date and time when the changes were made.

At the top of the Change Log window, you will see all the fields audited in this module.

Tip: We recommend not to audit all the fields because it would result in too much data in the audit log and can compromise the performance of your software. Instead, we suggest finding the important fields and auditing them.

Field Auditing in SugarCRM

You need to follow the instructions mentioned below carefully to mark fields for Audit in any SugarCRM module. In this example, we will show you how to mark the field for audit in the Accounts module.

1. Go to the Admin section of SugarCRM.
2. Then, click on the Studio option and select the preferred module, which in this case is Accounts.
3. After that select the field that you want to mark for audit.
4. At the bottom, you will see the checkmark for the Audit.
5. Once done, click on Save to make your changes.

How to View Audit Log in SugarCRM

In order to view the field that you choose for auditing, first, you need to go to the module. In our case, the module is the Accounts module. Then click on the drop-down arrow next to the edit option. Here, you will see the “View Audit Log” option. In this log, at the top of the page, you will be able to see the SugarCRM user’s name for whom audit fields are listed.

On the Audit log page, you will see all the fields that you have chosen for auditing. Here, you will see the old values of the fields and the new values as well. In addition, you can also see who made those changes and at which time and date.

Concluding Note

For SugarCRM users who are using versions older than v8.0, the audit log was then known as “The Change Log”. And back then, it could not be able to record information about the source of the field change and neither provides the access to the email address audit log. Furthermore, we also like to add that activity modules like Calls, Meetings, Notes, and Emails don’t have the view audit log option.