The Power of using Payment, Fee and Workflow History and Inspection Log on a Record

Payment, Fee, and Workflow History and are available as tabs on individual records thru Navigation and include date and user details that can be extremely helpful when you are trying to problem solve an issue or explain changes on a record.  Fee History provides a line-by-line log of every fee-related update made on the record including things that are done thru scripting in the database such as the automation of fees at intake.  Payment History provides the same detail for anything related to payments including payment action information such as the payment simply being posted, then when it’s applied, and if it’s ever voided, etc.  Lastly is Workflow History and this is very necessary when trying to backtrack why the workflow was advanced, when, and by whom – down to the timestamp for sequence of events so you can evaluate what might have happened.  Also in Workflow History, a task comment (not task status) can be actively changed or edited by certain user groups so mistakes like typos or missing information can be corrected and saved. 

The Inspection Log is available thru the Inspections tab on a record or thru the Inspections page.  Select the View Log button > Inspection Log.  If on an individual record, a pop-up comes up with the log history for the record you are specifically on – consider backdating the start date if the record is older than the default one month.  If on the Inspections page, checkbox the particular inspection you want to view log history on and then select Inspection Log to run it.  The start date may have to be adjusted here as well.  In both cases, you will be shown a complete audit log of any and all updates made to that inspection including who scheduled it and when, what the status is and when, any request comment made, which inspector it was assigned to and much more.
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We use all of these logs daily in ePermitting to better assist in problem solving helpdesk tickets with agencies and to gather the necessary details that aren’t immediately available in other areas in the system or on the record.  Note that you can export all of these from the Menu button as CSV Exports into Excel and further analyze the data, etc.  Getting familiar with each of these will definitely help to advance your problem solving skills in Accela!