To find edited or deleted vouchers in BUSY, open the audit trail report.
It logs each add, change and delete with the user and the time. It only holds changes made after the Audit Trail option was switched on. For older deletions, look for gaps in the voucher numbers and read the data file for records that were left behind.
A figure looks different from last month, or a bill number is missing from the series. You need to know who touched it and when. BUSY keeps a log for this, but only under certain settings. The steps below show where the log sits and what to do when it is empty.
Who Needs to Find Edited or Deleted BUSY Vouchers?
Pick the case closest to yours. The card takes you to that part.
Year-end is close and you need the list of changes made after posting.
See the report steps →A manager or partner says a figure moved and nobody admits it.
Check the red flags →You hold a copy of the company folder and no program to open it.
Read the data file →Books change for honest reasons, such as a typing slip or a late bill. They also change for reasons that need a closer look. BUSY Accounting Software can log each add, change and delete. What it logs depends on the settings that were on at the time. This guide shows where to look and what the answer can and cannot prove.
What to Settle Before You Look for Changes
- Work on a copyCopy the whole company folder before you open anything. The original then stays as it arrived.
- Know the audit trail historyAsk when the Audit Trail option was switched on. Nothing before that date can appear in the log.
- Name the period and the voucher typesA short list is easier to read. Pick the dates and the types that matter, such as sales or payment.
- Confirm you may read the dataOpen only books that you own or that you have the right to review.
How to Find Edited and Deleted Vouchers Inside BUSY
These steps follow the vendor's audit trail page and its help on missing vouchers. They need BUSY on the PC and a company that has recorded its changes.
- Check that the audit trail was onGo to Settings, then Features/Options and General. The Audit Trail option should be switched on. Recording starts from the moment it was enabled, so an earlier change leaves no entry.
- Open the audit trail reportChoose Reports, then Checklist and Audit Trail Report. The older lost-data page names the path as Display and Check List, so look for either wording.
- Pick what to listIn the summary report, choose the details to show, such as Account Day Book, Inventory Day Book or List of Masters. Read the Add, Modify and Delete entries for the period you care about.
- Open one voucher in detailIn the detailed report, pick the voucher by type, series and number. With the detailed audit trail on, the old and the new version of the voucher can sit next to each other.
- Rule out harmless reasonsBefore you call a missing voucher suspicious, check that you are in the right company and that no filter hides it. Check the user rights too and the incomplete voucher list under Housekeeping.
- Write down each findingNote the voucher number, the user, the time and the reason typed. Keep the report with the books so a second person can repeat your check.
The report lists one report at a time. If you need it in a spreadsheet, the vendor's export FAQ says to press Alt+E on the open report. A full-year export is a different job, covered in our export guide.
What Does the BUSY Audit Trail Not Show?
Three gaps matter most. The log starts late when the option was switched on late. It may hold no reason when the detailed setting was off. A company that never had it on has no log at all. The table shows what each source can answer.
| Source | What it can tell you | What it misses |
|---|---|---|
| Audit trail report in BUSY | Who added, changed or deleted a voucher, with the time | Anything before the option was switched on |
| Gaps in the voucher numbers | That a number is missing from a series | Who removed it and why |
| Incomplete voucher list | Vouchers parked as incomplete, not deleted | Vouchers that were removed |
| Data file read directly | The same audit entries plus the computer name, and deleted records still left in the file | Deleted records that BUSY has cleared |
What Does the Companies Rule Say About the Audit Trail?
Under the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014, Rule 3(1) covers companies that keep books in software. For financial years beginning on 1 April 2023 or later, that software must keep an audit trail and an edit log that cannot be switched off. The auditor then reports on it under Rule 11(g), as this ICAI journal article explains. The vendor's page says sole proprietorships and ordinary partnership firms are outside that rule.
So a company in scope should have an unbroken log for the year. A log that stops or starts partway is itself something to write down.
Can You Find Deleted BUSY Vouchers From the Data File?
In part. Most of a deleted voucher is cleared, and a readable copy stays only if it was saved once more before the delete. Univik BUSY Data Forensic Analyzer lists the records it can still read and marks the ones that kept only a number and a date as partial. It also counts the missing numbers in a series and says how many it found.
It reads the audit trail and the activity log straight from a copy of the folder. Every audit row carries who made the change, from which computer, for what amount and with what reason. It is read-only, it works without BUSY and it sends nothing off the PC. It is not a repair tool and it cannot invent entries that BUSY never wrote.
Univik BUSY Data Forensic Analyzer opens the folder read-only on Windows 11 or 10 and lists audit entries, deleted vouchers and missing numbers.
Download Free Trial Buy Now - $99Each save in the free build ends at ten items per section. A $99 Personal licence covers two PCs and has a 30-day money-back promise. Forensic Analyzer page
Which Edits and Deletions Deserve a Second Look?
Treat each pattern as a prompt to ask a question, not as proof. Write it down and ask the person who made the entry.
| Pattern | Why it matters | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| A figure edited after the bill was settled | The amount moved once the money had changed hands | Audit entry time against the voucher date |
| A delete with no reason typed | Nothing explains the removal | The reason column, or ask the user |
| A missing number inside a series | A voucher left the books | The delete entry, or the file for a partial record |
| Changes late at night or on a holiday | The usual team was not working | The time on each audit entry |
| Edits from a computer nobody recognises | Someone else posted from another machine | The computer name in the audit row |
- Each voucher number you cite appears in the log or in the gap list
- The company and the financial year match the books under review
- You can say when the Audit Trail option was switched on
- A second person repeats one finding from the same copy
Fix Common Problems When You Check for Changes
Do this: The option may have been off. The vendor says the log starts when the option is switched on, and an empty report for the period is a finding in itself.
Do this: Check the company, the filters and the incomplete voucher list first. If those are clear, the deletion happened before logging began or the log was off.
Do this: Copy the folder and read the copy with a reader that works from the files. Our missing company guide covers the program-side checks.
Not sure what a log entry means? Contact our support team with the audit row you are looking at.
Questions About Edited and Deleted BUSY Vouchers
Univik staff helped put this guide together. Menu paths and audit trail facts come from vendor pages that we read on October 11, 2026. The rule text follows the ICAI journal article. Univik reads the audit trail from the data file and does not give legal advice.
Sources: vendor audit trail page · missing vouchers help · lost data help · export FAQ · ICAI rule explainer