The answer is already on the record
When finance or a sponsor asks why a date slipped or a cost moved, you do not reconstruct it from memory: the actor, the change, and the reason are already logged against the item.
GOVERNANCE ON THE RECORD
Project audit trail software that records who, what, when, and why
Project audit trail software in Phaselo writes an immutable event for every meaningful change to a project: status, dates, cost, assignment, and re-baseline. Nobody edits the record after the fact, so when a number or a date moves the reason is already there.
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Phaselo · Activity
ActivityFacility Upgrade · 6 changes
- FAC-1Baseline captured at go-live
You · 6 Oct · Facility Upgrade
- FAC-12Due date moved 3 days later
Sam Rivera · 8 Oct · Procurement · supplier delay
- FAC-3Status changed to In progress
Dana Lee · 8 Oct · Execution
- FAC-9Cost updated $42,000 to $48,500
You · 9 Oct · Switchboard Install · variation VO-2
- FAC-12Re-baselined by 18 days
You · 10 Oct · Procurement · outage window extended
- FAC-5Assigned to Priya Nair
Dana Lee · 10 Oct · Commissioning
Append-only. Entries are never edited or deleted.
What it does
What the audit trail is
The audit trail is the append-only history behind every project. When someone moves a due date, changes a status, edits a cost, reassigns a task, or re-baselines, Phaselo writes a permanent event that captures the actor, the timestamp, the exact before and after, and the reason where one is required. There is no edit button and no delete on those events. The problem it removes is the after-the-fact reconstruction: instead of digging through inboxes to work out who moved a date and why, you read it straight off the item or the project activity stream.
How it works
How the audit trail works
- 1
One write path, insert only
Every accountable change runs through a single recordEvent function that does one thing: insert. There is deliberately no update or delete helper, so the history can only ever grow. An entry, once written, is the entry forever.
- 2
It captures the four facts
Each event stores the actor who made the change, the timestamp it happened, and a payload holding the exact before and after value, for example due 12 May to 26 May or committed $40k to $52k. For governed changes like a re-baseline, the written reason is captured in the same event and is required before the change goes through.
- 3
It writes inside the same transaction
The event is recorded in the same database transaction as the change itself. The state change and its audit record commit together or not at all, so you never get a moved date with no record of who moved it, or a record with no change behind it.
- 4
The record outlives the thing it describes
Events do not foreign-key to the item, project, or user they reference, by design. Delete a task or remove a teammate and their history stays intact. An audit log that disappears when you delete the item is not an audit log.
- 5
Read it two ways
Events are indexed by item and by project plus time. On any item you see its full History tab grouped into Schedule, Cost, People, Dependencies, Governance and more. At project level the same events form an activity stream of everything that has happened, newest first.
Why it matters
Why it matters
Nobody can rewrite history
Because events are insert-only and never edited or deleted, the record cannot be quietly cleaned up before a review, which is the whole point of an audit trail.
Re-baselines carry their reason
Moving the baseline is a governed event: it will not commit without a written reason, so every reset of the goalposts is documented next to the slip it explains.
In the product
What you get
- Immutable event for every status, date, cost, assignment, and re-baseline change
- Actor, timestamp, exact before and after, and reason captured on each event
- Per-item History tab grouped by category: Schedule, Status, Cost, People, Dependencies, Scope, Files, Comments, Governance
- Project-wide activity stream of every change, newest first
- Written reason required before a re-baseline is recorded
- History survives deletion of the item or removal of the user
Phaselo · Activity
ActivityFacility Upgrade · 6 changes
- FAC-1Baseline captured at go-live
You · 6 Oct · Facility Upgrade
- FAC-12Due date moved 3 days later
Sam Rivera · 8 Oct · Procurement · supplier delay
- FAC-3Status changed to In progress
Dana Lee · 8 Oct · Execution
- FAC-9Cost updated $42,000 to $48,500
You · 9 Oct · Switchboard Install · variation VO-2
- FAC-12Re-baselined by 18 days
You · 10 Oct · Procurement · outage window extended
- FAC-5Assigned to Priya Nair
Dana Lee · 10 Oct · Commissioning
Append-only. Entries are never edited or deleted.
Pricing
Every feature, one price
$8 per user per month, flat. No tiers, no caps. The critical-path engine, baseline governance, the audit trail, slip alerts, the money roll-up, and all five views are in every plan. 14-day free trial, no credit card.
FAQ
Questions about audit trail
What does project audit trail software actually record on each change?
Each accountable change writes one immutable event holding the actor who made it, the timestamp, and a payload with the exact before and after value. For governed changes like a re-baseline it also stores the written reason. That covers status, dates, cost, assignment, dependencies, baseline, and more.
Can someone edit or delete an entry in the audit trail?
No. The trail is append-only by design. The single write path only inserts, and there is intentionally no update or delete helper for these events. Once an entry is written it stays, so the history cannot be cleaned up before a review.
Does the history survive if I delete a task or remove a teammate?
Yes. Audit events deliberately do not foreign-key to the item, project, or user they describe. If you delete a task or a person leaves the workspace, their recorded history stays intact. An audit log that vanishes with the item it tracks would not be an audit log.
Where do I read the audit trail in Phaselo?
In two places from the same events. Every item has a History tab grouped into Schedule, Status, Cost, People, Dependencies, Scope, Files, Comments, and Governance. At project level the same events form an activity stream showing everything that has happened, newest first.
Is a reason required for every change?
A reason is required for governed changes, most importantly re-baselining: Phaselo will not record the new baseline without a written reason. Routine edits like a date or cost change are still logged in full with actor, time, and before and after, even where a reason is not mandatory.
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Read the guide →The record that backs the projected finish
Phaselo gives you the projected finish, the honest slip, and the record to back both. The audit trail is that record: append-only, attributed, and there before anyone thinks to ask.
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