Activity & Audit Logs

Follow

At times, it can be extremely important to have record of user interactions with the PensionPro application, be they an Employee updating Plan information or a Contact sending a Secure File Exchange. PensionPro tracks this activity, and can provide this information in the form of a log.

 

Tier Availability: Track, Team, Business

 

Article Contents

 

 

 

Overview

 

Logs are maintained for each PensionPro user. This includes both Employees who utilize the PensionPro application as well as Contacts who use PlanSponsorLink. Records of these events can be retrieved on a per-user basis, or can be exported at a firm-wide level.

 

Note: PensionPro retains each logged event for six months. Logs cannot be retrieved prior to this point.

 

PensionPro provides three different types of logs: Activity, Audit, and Authentication logs.

 

 

Activity Logs

 

The Activity Log tracks general user actions while using PensionPro and the date and time that they were performed. This includes the following activities:

 

  • Viewing records
  • Performing a search
  • Using Data Deletion
  • Executing a Power Tool
  • Creating a Merge Document
  • Sending a Secure File Exchange
  • Sending a Blast Email
  • Viewing a report
  • Executing a saved Fetch query
  • Enabling/disabling Multi-Factor Authentication
  • Viewing PlanSponsorLink tabs & Data Collection

 

 

Audit Logs

 

An Audit Log tracks changes made to PensionPro records such as Clients and Plans. This log details whether a record was added, updated, or deleted, as well as the date and time the action occurred.

 

Note: Unlike the other logs, which update instantaneously, Audit logs are updated every five minutes.

 

 

Authentication Logs

 

The Authentication Log stores a record of each time authorization was granted to a user attempting to access PensionPro. In most cases, this will be when the user logs in to the application. PensionPro records the IP address and timestamp, as well as the area where authorization was granted, including the following:

 

  • PensionPro
  • Fetch
  • PlanSponsorLink

 

 

Viewing Individual Logs

 

Activity, Audit, and Authentication logs can be viewed in PensionPro for both Contacts and Employees. The process is similar for each:

 

  1. Open the appropriate tab based on the individual in question:
    • Contact logs are found on the Contact tab.
    • Employee logs are found on the Employee tab.
  2. Expand the Logs view category in the list on the left.
  3. Select either Activity, Audit, or Authentication. The appropriate log displays in the grid.

 

Note: Contact records linked to Employees do not contain any logs; these must instead be accessed from the Employee tab.
Note: Viewing an Employee's logs requires the Add/Edit Employee Security Right.

 

By default, the grid displays any log entries made on today's date. To view entries for other time periods, use the dropdown above the grid; PensionPro can return entries for the prior day, the current or prior week, or the current or prior month. As stated earlier in this article, PensionPro stores log entries for 6 months; to view older entries, select the Custom Day or Custom Range options. A custom range cannot exceed a 1-month period of time.

 

To export logs for the chosen time period into an Excel workbook file, use one of the following options found within the Moremore_options.png menu at the top-right of the grid:

 

  • Export will honor any filters currently applied to the grid.
  • Export All will export all applicable grid items regardless of applied filters.

 

 

Exporting Firm Logs

 

Firm-wide Activity, Audit, and Authentication logs cannot be viewed in PensionPro directly, but can be exported when necessary.

 

Security Rights Required: Maintenance

 

  1. Navigate to Maintenance > Firms/Locations. The Firm tab opens to the General view.
  2. Select Moremore_options.png at the top-right of the grid, then select one of the following options:
    • Activity Logs Export
    • Audit Logs Export
    • Authentication Logs Export
  3. In the corresponding Export window, use the dropdown to select the desired time period.
    • PensionPro stores log entries for 6 months; to export older entries, select the Custom Day or Custom Range options. A custom range cannot exceed a 1-month period of time.
  4. Select Export. The exported log will be downloaded in .csv format.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

  • When I attempt to retrieve log entries for a date range, I'm receiving an error that says "the requested range is too large" or that I've "exceeded the maximum record count". This occurs even when I choose a range smaller than two months. Why?
    If the number of records that fall within the chosen date range is sufficiently high, PensionPro may limit how many records are returned to prevent the request from timing out. To avoid this, choose a smaller range, or use the Export feature.