Brivo Access Event Tracker vs Journal: Who Opened the Door vs Who Changed a Setting

If you're still getting your bearings, our guides to who has access to your building and adding and removing Brivo administrators are good companions. Roles decide who can see these screens.

At a glance

• Event Tracker answers: Who came in? Was someone denied? Which door?
• Journal answers: Who changed a schedule, a user or a setting? When?
• Where to find them: Events, then Event Tracker or Journal.
• What you need: a role with the matching permission.
• How far back: Brivo says 90 days for each.

What the Event Tracker shows

Brivo calls the Event Tracker its primary tool for live situational awareness. It's a running log of events such as access grants, forced doors and system alerts, across the sites assigned to your administrator account. Each row shows:

• Timestamp: the exact time of the event.
• Event: what happened, such as Access Granted.
• User: the name of the person associated with the event.
• Site and device: where it happened, such as a main office front door.
• Status and media: indicators for video, if video is integrated, or hardware states.

You can filter by site, event type (for example, Access Denied) or device. Click an event and a Details tab slides out with more data, internal notes, and links to the user's profile or related video clips.

Two extras depend on your setup. Brivo says the Trends graph, a 48-hour overview at the top of the page, needs the Enhanced Reporting feature pack, which is included in the Professional or Enterprise editions. And Verify User pulls the photo on file for the person, if there is one.

A practical use: if someone says their card isn't working, watch the Event Tracker as they try it. Brivo says the Access Denied reason, such as Invalid Schedule or Unknown Credential, tells you what to fix.

What the Journal shows

Brivo describes the Journal as an audit log that records every action an administrator takes in Brivo Access. For each entry it shows:

• Timestamp: the exact date and time.
• Action details: what was changed, such as Updated User Group or Deleted Schedule.
• Administrator: the full name and email address of the administrator who did it.

By default, the Journal shows the current 24-hour period. To look further back, click the Date field and pick a start date. Brivo's FAQ also describes a Journal Report, which gives the same kind of audit trail as a report, for example when you need to see who changed a door schedule or deleted a user.

Who can see which

Not every administrator sees both. Brivo's Event Tracker and Journal pages list them separately:

• Event Tracker: Brivo says your role needs the Event Tracker Table permission set to Full, and you only see events for the sites assigned to your administrator profile.
• Journal: Brivo's Journal page says your role needs the Journal permission.

If an event you expected isn't there, the site may not be assigned to you. If a screen is missing, your role may not include it. Someone with permission to manage administrators and roles can change that.

If nobody at your company can log in, or the administrator email belongs to someone who left: if you are a PAX customer, we can change or add Brivo administrator emails. If you are not, call us and we will talk through your options. Our guide on what to do when you have no admin login covers the rest.

Which screen for which question

• A door was forced open overnight: Event Tracker.
• A card was denied at the front door: Event Tracker.
• A door schedule changed and no one knows why: Journal.
• A user disappeared from the list: Journal.
• You want to know whether an old vendor or former manager changed something in the last 90 days: Journal, then see your old security vendor may still have access.
• You need door activity for an insurance or police request: Event Tracker, then see how to handle a footage request.

How far back you can look

Brivo's Data Retention page says both the Event Tracker and the Administrative Journal show 90 days. Brivo also keeps event data for a default retention period based on your edition: 1 year for Standard, 2 years for Professional and 3 years for Enterprise. Its pages we read don't say which screen shows entries older than 90 days. If an incident matters, don't wait. Run a report and save a copy now, if your role includes reports.

Brivo's report types include an Activity Report (the last 24 hours), a User Activity Report (up to the last 90 days) and the Journal Report (administrative changes).

One warning. Don't shorten your data retention while you sort things out. Brivo says that when retention is reduced, older event data is permanently deleted after a seven day grace period, and Brivo Technical Support can't recover it. Brivo recommends exporting your history through Reports before you reduce retention.

Keep the logs private

These logs name real people. Share them only with the people who need them. Don't paste screenshots into group chats. If you're talking about a method with staff or a vendor, describe the steps and leave names out.

If you'd rather not do it alone

If you can't find an entry, can't see these screens, or aren't sure who your administrators are, call PAX at (855) 440-5353 or email info@paxsecurity.com. You can also reach us through https://paxsecurity.com/contact-us. Our access control page explains what we install and support.

Sources

• Brivo Support, Using the Event Tracker in Brivo Access (Feb 16, 2026): https://support.brivo.com/s/article/Events-Using-the-Event-Tracker-in-Brivo-Access
• Brivo Support, Accessing the Journal in Brivo Access (Feb 9, 2026): https://support.brivo.com/s/article/Events-Accessing-the-Journal-in-Brivo-Access
• Brivo Support, Data Retention in Brivo Access (Jun 11, 2026): https://support.brivo.com/s/article/Data-Retention
• Brivo Support, Brivo Access Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) (Apr 14, 2026): https://support.brivo.com/s/article/Brivo-Access-Frequently-Asked-Questions-FAQ
• Brivo Support, Creating a New Report Configuration in Brivo Access (Jul 8, 2026): https://support.brivo.com/s/article/Reports-Creating-a-New-Report-Configuration-in-Brivo-Access
• Accessed 2026-11-03. Vendor pages change, so check the current page before you follow a step.