Recorded as it happens. Not reconstructed afterwards.
Every action, calculation, submission and approval creates a permanent audit trail. The evidence exists because the work created it - which is the only way it can be complete.
Actor. Timestamp. Reason.
Three properties turn a log into evidence. A record of what changed, without who changed it and why, answers the easy half of the question.
Which file, how many rows, which rows failed and why.
Every change to a worker, rate, assignment or run - with the previous value retained.
Who approved an exception, when, and the basis they recorded at the time.
FPS and EPS filings with HMRC’s response stored against the run that produced them.
What was owed, when it was due, and the funding position at that date.
Payslips, reports and exports, with the parameters that generated them.
Timesheets
Run
Authorised
FPS accepted
BACS
| Event | Actor | Recorded | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timesheet import - 2,842 rows | System | 21 May 09:04 | Complete |
| Rate amendment - Beta Solutions | J. Whitfield | 21 May 09:41 | Logged |
| Exception approved - H. Okafor | A. Mensah | 21 May 10:22 | Approved |
| Payroll calculated | System | 21 May 10:28 | Complete |
| Run validated - 128 controls | System | 21 May 10:42 | Complete |
| Run authorised | R. Duignan | 21 May 10:58 | Approved |
| FPS submitted - HMRC accepted | System | 21 May 11:06 | Accepted |
Evidence you cannot find is evidence you do not have.
A trail that exists but takes three days to assemble fails at exactly the moment it is needed. Everything is addressable by the reference the question will arrive with.
By pay run
One run reference returns its controls, submissions, approvals, liability and outputs.
By worker
Every period a worker was paid, every document held for them, every change made to their record.
By agency
Everything relating to the workers one agency supplied - and nothing outside that scope.
By period
A tax month, a quarter or a year, across every entity you operate.
A trail that can be edited is not a trail.
Audit records are append-only. A correction is a new event that references the one it corrects; the original is retained and remains visible.
No user role can delete or alter an audit record, including administrators.
A reversal or amendment adds to the history rather than replacing it.
Records are retained for the statutory period and remain retrievable after the worker has left.
The trail leaves in a readable format, so an auditor does not need a Precision login to read it.
Rate v3 remains attached to every run calculated before 19 May, so those runs still reconcile against the rate that produced them.