Admin Reports

System administration reports provide visibility into user activity, system health, and audit trails essential for maintaining secure and reliable inventory management operations. These reports help administrators monitor system usage, diagnose issues, track security events, and ensure compliance with audit requirements.

Understanding Admin Reports

Admin reports focus on system operations rather than inventory data. They help administrators:

• Troubleshoot Issues: Identify application errors and their frequency
• Monitor Security: Track user logins, failed attempts, and session activity
• Audit Communications: Verify email delivery and review message content
• Track System Changes: Review modification history and data updates
• Ensure Compliance: Maintain audit trails for regulatory requirements

These reports are typically restricted to users with administrative permissions (Security ID 100) and provide access to sensitive system information.

Key Reports

Error Log Reports

Track application errors, exceptions, and system warnings to maintain system health and quickly diagnose issues.

Key Filters:

• Date Range: Focus on specific time periods
• Error Type: Filter by severity (Error, Warning, Info)
• User: Identify user-specific issues
• Page/Module: Narrow down problem areas

Best Practices:

• Review error logs daily to catch issues early
• Group by error message to identify systemic problems
• Cross-reference with session activity for user context
• Export critical errors for developer review

Email Log Reports

Monitor outbound email activity to ensure notifications are being delivered and troubleshoot email delivery issues.

Key Information:

• Sent Date/Time: When email was queued
• Recipient: To/CC/BCC addresses
• Subject: Email subject line
• Status: Sent, Failed, Pending
• Error Message: Delivery failure details

Common Uses:

• Verify purchase order emails reached vendors
• Confirm shipping notifications were sent to customers
• Troubleshoot SMTP configuration issues
• Monitor automated notification volume

Login Activity Reports

Track user authentication events to monitor security and analyze usage patterns.

Key Filters:

• Date Range: Focus on specific periods
• Username: Track individual user activity
• IP Address: Identify access location
• Success/Failure: Filter authentication results

Security Monitoring:

• Review failed login attempts for unauthorized access patterns
• Monitor login times to detect after-hours access
• Track IP addresses to identify unusual access locations
• Verify session timeouts are working correctly

Session Activity Reports

Monitor active user sessions and application usage to understand system load and user behavior.

Tracked Information:

• Session Start/End: When user logged in and out
• Session Duration: Total active time
• Pages Accessed: Navigation patterns
• Actions Performed: Transaction types
• IP Address: Access location

Usage Analysis:

• Identify peak usage times for system maintenance planning
• Monitor session duration to optimize timeout settings
• Track feature usage to guide training efforts
• Analyze page access patterns to improve navigation

System Audit Reports

Comprehensive audit trails of data modifications, configuration changes, and user actions for compliance and security.

Audit Information:

• Modified Date/Time: When change occurred
• Modified By: User who made the change
• Table/Record: What data was changed
• Before Value: Original data
• After Value: New data
• Action Type: Insert, Update, Delete

Compliance Uses:

• Maintain audit trails for regulatory requirements (SOX, ISO)
• Track inventory valuation changes for accounting
• Verify data integrity and identify unauthorized modifications
• Document change control processes

Report Customization

All admin reports support standard customization features:

• Column Selection: Choose which fields to display
• Sorting: Order by any column
• Filtering: Create complex filter criteria
• Scheduling: Automate report generation and email delivery
• Export: Download as Excel, PDF, or CSV

Custom report filters can be saved for quick access to frequently-used views.

Security Considerations

Admin reports contain sensitive information and should be restricted:

• Permission Required: Admin Reports security permission (Security ID 100)
• Data Sensitivity: Contains user passwords (hashed), email content, error details
• Access Logging: Admin report access is itself logged in the audit trail
• Export Controls: Consider restricting export permissions for sensitive reports

Recommendation: Limit admin report access to IT administrators and designated security personnel.

Performance Tips

Admin reports can return large datasets. To improve performance:

• Use Date Ranges: Limit queries to specific time periods
• Filter Early: Apply user or module filters before running
• Export Large Results: For data analysis, export to Excel rather than viewing in browser
• Schedule Off-Peak: Run large reports during non-business hours

Error logs and session activity tables grow continuously; older data may be archived based on retention policies (typically 90-180 days).

Common Tasks

Daily System Health Check

1. Run Recent Errors report for last 24 hours
2. Review any failed login attempts for security concerns
3. Check Failed Emails to ensure notifications are working
4. Verify active sessions are within expected range

Monthly Security Audit

1. Export Login Activity for the full month
2. Review failed login attempts grouped by user and IP
3. Check Audit Trail for unexpected configuration changes
4. Verify user session patterns align with work schedules

Incident Investigation

1. Identify timeframe of the incident
2. Run Error Log filtered to the specific time period
3. Check Session Activity to see what the user was doing
4. Review Audit Trail if data integrity is in question
5. Cross-reference with Email Log if notifications are involved

Compliance Reporting

1. Export Audit Trail for the audit period
2. Filter to specific tables or users if required
3. Include before/after values to show change history
4. Supplement with User Activity Summary for overview

Related Topics

• Users and Security - Managing user accounts and permissions
• Security Groups - Assigning admin report access
• Admin Options - System configuration settings
• Report Search - Finding and running reports
• System Maintenance - Database cleanup and archiving

See Also

Report Categories

• Purchasing Reports
• Inventory Reports
• Shipping Reports
• Work Order Reports

Administration

• User Management
• Email Configuration
• Security Best Practices