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Admins Action History Documentation

Menu Location: Settings > System > Admins Action History

Access Level: Administrator and above

Last Updated: 2026-03-01

Overview

The Admins Action History page provides a complete audit trail of all administrative user actions within the system. This critical security and compliance tool tracks who did what, when they did it, and from where, enabling accountability, troubleshooting, and security monitoring.

Primary Functions:

  • Track all admin user actions system-wide
  • Audit sensitive operations (payment processing, order modifications, customer data changes)
  • Investigate issues and trace changes
  • Monitor security and detect suspicious activity
  • Generate compliance reports for auditors
  • Identify training needs based on user patterns

Page Layout

Header Section

  • Date Range Selector: Filter by action date/time
  • Admin User Filter: Select specific administrator
  • Action Type Filter: Filter by operation category
  • Search Box: Find specific actions or affected records

Main Content Area

Chronological log table showing admin actions with timestamp, user, action type, affected record, IP address, and details.

Summary Dashboard

  • Total actions in period
  • Most active administrators
  • Most common action types
  • Security alerts or flagged activities

Report Data & Columns

Column Description Source
Timestamp Exact date and time of action System clock (timezone aware)
Admin User Who performed action Logged-in admin account
Action Type Category of action System classification
Description What was done Human-readable summary
Affected Record Customer, order, product, etc. Linked record ID
IP Address Where action originated Network log
Success/Fail Whether action completed System status
Details Additional context JSON data or notes

Filters & Search Options

Time Filters

  • Date Range: Specific start/end dates
  • Quick Ranges: Today, Yesterday, Last 7 Days, Last 30 Days, This Month

User Filters

  • Admin User: Select specific staff member
  • Admin Role: Filter by role (Manager, Admin, Kiva Admin)
  • All Users vs Active Only: Include or exclude deactivated admins

Action Filters

  • Action Categories:
  • Customer Changes (edits, deletions, credits)
  • Order Modifications (edits, cancellations, refunds)
  • Product Updates (pricing, inventory, availability)
  • Payment Processing (charges, refunds, manual payments)
  • System Settings (configuration changes)
  • Report Exports (data downloads)
  • Security Events (logins, failed attempts, permission changes)

Status Filters

  • Success Only: Completed actions
  • Failed Only: Errors or blocked attempts
  • Flagged for Review: Suspicious or high-risk actions

Common Use Cases

Use Case 1: Investigate Customer Complaint

Goal: Determine what changes were made to customer account

Steps:

  1. Search for customer name or ID
  2. Review all actions affecting this customer
  3. Check timestamps against complaint timeline
  4. Identify which admin made which changes
  5. Review action details for context
  6. Address issue or correct error

Example: Customer complains about unexpected charge on March 15. Search shows Admin Sarah processed manual payment $45 at 2:13 PM. Review notes: "Per customer phone request - makeup payment for Feb order." Contact Sarah to verify; was legitimate customer authorization.

Use Case 2: Security Audit

Goal: Review admin access patterns for suspicious activity

Steps:

  1. Set date range to last 30 days
  2. Review "Security Events" category
  3. Check for:
    • Failed login attempts (brute force?)
    • Unusual login times (3 AM access?)
    • Login from unexpected IP addresses
    • Multiple rapid permission changes
  4. Investigate any anomalies
  5. Document findings for security review

Use Case 3: Training Identification

Goal: Identify staff needing additional training

Steps:

  1. Filter to specific admin user
  2. Review their actions over last month
  3. Check for:
    • High rate of failed actions (errors)
    • Repeated similar mistakes
    • Actions later reversed by others
  4. Schedule one-on-one training
  5. Follow up with review in 30 days

Use Case 4: Compliance Reporting

Goal: Generate audit trail for compliance review

Steps:

  1. Set date range to audit period (quarter or year)
  2. Filter to sensitive action categories:
    • Payment processing
    • Customer data exports
    • Pricing changes
    • Refunds over threshold
  3. Export complete log
  4. Provide to auditors or compliance team
  5. Respond to any questions with detailed action records

Use Case 5: Tracing Data Change

Goal: Find out when and why product price changed

Steps:

  1. Navigate to product in question
  2. Search action history for product ID or name
  3. Filter to "Product Updates" category
  4. Review chronological list of all changes
  5. Identify price change timestamp and admin
  6. Review details to understand reason
  7. Verify change was authorized

Troubleshooting

Cannot Find Expected Action

Check:

  1. Expand date range (may be outside selected period)
  2. Verify search term spelling
  3. Check if action was by different admin than expected
  4. Some automated actions may not log (system-generated)
  5. Check action type filter isn't excluding it

Too Many Results to Review

Solutions:

  1. Narrow date range
  2. Filter to specific admin user
  3. Filter to specific action type
  4. Use search for affected record ID
  5. Export and analyze in Excel

IP Address Shows Internal Address

Explanation: Admin accessing from internal network shows local IP. Not a problem unless all show same IP (may indicate proxy/load balancer logging issue).

  • Admin User Management - Manage admin accounts and permissions
  • System Settings - Configuration changes tracked in log
  • Security Settings - Login policies and access controls
  • Customer Activity Log - Customer-initiated actions (separate from admin actions)

Permissions & Access

Required Access Level: Administrator or higher

Access Level Capabilities:

  • Administrator: View all actions, export logs, review security events
  • Kiva Admin: All features + access to system-level technical logs

Best Practices

Regular Monitoring

  1. Review action history daily for high-volume operations
  2. Check security events weekly for suspicious patterns
  3. Monthly audit of sensitive actions (payments, exports)
  4. Quarterly compliance review with full export

Security Vigilance

  1. Investigate failed login attempts immediately
  2. Review after-hours access monthly
  3. Verify unexpected IP addresses
  4. Monitor actions by recently terminated staff
  5. Alert on high-risk actions (bulk deletions, permission changes)

Things to Avoid

  • Don't ignore failed action patterns (may indicate attacks)
  • Don't assume all actions are authorized (verify high-risk changes)
  • Don't delete audit logs (legal/compliance requirement to retain)
  • Don't grant unnecessary admin access (limits audit effectiveness)

Quick Reference Card

Task Action/Location
Find customer changes Search customer name, filter to Customer Changes
Review admin's recent actions Filter to admin user, last 7 days
Security audit Filter to Security Events, last 30 days
Trace price change Search product ID, filter to Product Updates
Export for compliance Apply filters, click Export
Check failed logins Filter to Security Events, Status: Failed
Daily review Date: Today, review all categories

FAQs

How long are action logs retained?

Typically 1-7 years depending on compliance requirements. Check with administrator for your specific retention policy.

Can admin users delete their own action history?

No - audit log is immutable for security and compliance. Only system administrators can archive very old logs per retention policy.

Do automated system actions appear in this log?

Some do, some don't. Focus is on human admin actions. System background jobs may have separate technical logs.

Can I see customer actions here?

No - this shows admin staff actions only. Customer self-service actions tracked in Customer Activity Log.

What happens if I see unauthorized actions?

Immediately report to security team and management. Document what you found. Change passwords. Review access permissions.

Can I export audit logs for external review?

Yes, with Administrator access. Export full logs for compliance audits, investigations, or security reviews.

Change Log

2026-03-01

  • Initial documentation created

End of Documentation

For additional help, contact your system administrator or Kiva Logic support.