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Exporting audit logs ​

Most orgs never need to export audit data — the in-app log goes back far enough for any normal investigation. But three situations make export worthwhile:

  1. Tax season. You want a frozen, off-platform copy of every donation edit for the tax year so you can defend a statement that gets questioned later.
  2. Starter plan retention. The org audit log is pruned to 90 days on Starter. Quarterly exports keep your full history.
  3. Compliance. Some denominations and insurance carriers require retained audit trails for 7+ years. Database backups satisfy this; CSV exports are friendlier for actually reviewing the data.

Exporting the organization audit log ​

From /activity-log:

  1. Apply the filters you want exported (entity type, action, actor email). Skip filters to get everything.
  2. Click the Export CSV button in the page header.
  3. The export runs server-side and emails you a download link when it's ready. Big exports (100,000+ rows) take a few minutes; small ones complete in seconds.

The CSV columns mirror the table:

created_at,actor_email,actor_name,action,entity_type,entity_id,changed_columns,reason

changed_columns is comma-separated inside the cell (quoted). reason is the free-text justification when one was supplied (e.g. workflow run reason); empty otherwise.

TIP

Export is rate-limited to 5 exports per hour per org to keep the email queue sane. If you're doing yearly archive runs, schedule them — don't fire ten at once.

Exporting member activity ​

The member activity log doesn't have an export button per-member — it's designed for human reading, not bulk pulls. If you need the underlying data:

  • Use the API to query member_activity_log filtered by member_id or created_at window.
  • Or export the org audit log and join it to your members CSV externally.

Exporting import history ​

From Data & Logs → Import History, the Export button writes a CSV of every import job (status, row counts, created_at). It does not include the per-row error logs — those are downloaded per job via the Download error CSV button on each row.

If you need the row-level errors for many jobs, the API endpoint /api/import-jobs/{id}/errors returns them as JSON.

Suggested export cadence ​

PlanWhatWhenWhy
StarterOrg audit logMonthlyBeat the 90-day prune
Growth+Org audit logYearlyTax-season archive
AnyImport historyAfter each major import batchSo you have the row-error CSV before the 30-day file-deletion window
AnyMember activity for HR casesAd-hocDocument a specific person's lifecycle

What you cannot export ​

  • The platform audit log is not accessible to orgs; only Genius Church Manager staff. If you have a regulatory request that requires it, contact support — we can provide an extract scoped to your tenant.
  • Before/after column values aren't stored, so they aren't in the export. The changed_columns field tells you what changed; the row's current state plus database backups tell you the values.
  • Read-access logs don't exist in this product. View tracking is an enterprise add-on; contact support if your compliance program requires it.

Storing exports safely ​

CSV audit data contains member names, edit history, and (in import history) potentially PII from your source files. Treat exports the same as a member database backup:

  • Encrypt at rest if you're storing them outside a managed service.
  • Keep them in a folder with restricted access — not a shared drive everyone can read.
  • Retain only as long as your retention policy requires; delete older runs once a fresher one is filed.

WARNING

Do not paste audit log rows into emails, Slack, or AI tools. They contain actor emails and entity IDs that can be cross-referenced back to people. If you need to share an entry for a support case, redact the actor email and entity ID first — the support team can look up the same row by id or created_at.

What about backups? ​

Audit log tables are included in the daily Postgres backup that protects your org's data. Backups are point-in-time recoverable for 7 days on Growth, 14 days on Network, and 30 days on Unlimited. Backups are the right tool for "I need the database as it was on this date"; CSV exports are the right tool for "I need to review the log in a spreadsheet."

See also ​