Audit Trail

Some industries are legally required to keep an immutable record of every change to their data. US FDA Title 21 CFR Part 11 is the best-known example, but the need is broader: anyone who has to show who changed what, and when, benefits from an audit trail they cannot tamper with.

PartsBox records one automatically. Every change to the database becomes an audit entry, and the entries cannot be edited or removed. Each one captures:

• Timestamp — when the change happened
• User — the account that made it
• Operation — create, update, or delete
• Record — the type and ID of what changed
• Changes — the old and new values

So at any point you can see exactly how the database reached its current state, step by step, with a name against every step.

Beyond the stock history

PartsBox on every plan keeps a permanent stock history: stock operations are recorded and old entries cannot be edited, because retroactive changes are how inventories drift from reality. The audit trail extends that regime from stock to everything. Renaming a part, changing a BOM line, editing a storage location, adjusting a setting — each becomes an entry with the old and new values side by side. Nothing in the database changes without leaving a record.

Export and signing

The audit trail exports in a standard format, and the export can be cryptographically signed. A signed export is evidence: an auditor can verify it has not been altered since PartsBox produced it. Together, the immutable trail and the signed export are what a regulated manufacturer needs to demonstrate record integrity — and combined with lot control and traceability, they cover the record-keeping questions an audit actually asks.

The audit trail is on the Compliance plan. If it is the only thing you need from that plan, get in touch.