Releasing time entries is the final step in ensuring that the time your delegator has worked is accounted for. When you release time entries, you're submitting your delegator's work to your firm's practice management system (PMS) for processing. This process typically takes just a few minutes and ensures your delegator's time is accurately recorded.
What you'll need:
Delegate access to your delegator's Laurel account.
Time entries that are marked as "Ready to Release."
Appropriate user permissions to release time.
Understanding the Release Process
Before you release entries, it's important to understand that this action cannot be undone. Once released, entries become read-only and are sent directly to your firm's PMS. The release process has two main phases:
Validation checks that your time entry meets all requirements, including proper billing codes and required fields.
Release happens after validation and actually submits your approved entries to the billing system.
You can only release entries for your delegator that show a "Ready to Release" status, indicated by a yellow label on the time entry.
Method 1: Release the Entire Day
Step 1: Review the Entries
Take a moment to review all the time entries you're about to submit for your delegator. Check that all entries are marked "Ready to Release," verify codes and narratives are correct and complete, and confirm time amounts are accurate.
Step 2: Access the "Release" Function
Navigate to the green "Release" button in the header of your delegator's timesheet. This button will look different depending on the validation status of the time entries.
If some entries aren't releasable yet, the button will show "Release (X/Y)" where X represents "Ready to Release" entries and Y represents total entries prepared for a particular day. Note that you cannot release an entire day's entries unless all entries are in a "Ready to Release" status.
If all of the time entries for the day are in a "Ready to Release" status, the "Release" button will say "Release Day" and list the number of entries to be released in parentheses.
When you click the "Release" button, the "Confirm Release" modal will appear. You'll need to click "Confirm Release" to fully release your delegator's entries.
Step 3: Confirm the Release
If everything looks correct, click "Release Entries" to submit your delegator's time to your firm's PMS.
Method 2: Release Individual Entries
Step 1: Review the Entries
Take a moment to review all the time entries you're about to submit. Check that all entries are marked "Ready to Release," verify codes and narratives are correct and complete, and confirm time amounts are accurate.
Step 2: Select the Entries
Click the checkbox next to each entry you want to release. You can select one entry or multiple entries at once.
Step 3: Access the "Release" Function
Click the "Release" button in the action bar that appears at the top of your delegator's timesheet.
Step 4: Confirm Release
When you click the "Release" button, the "Confirm Release" modal will appear. You'll need to click "Confirm Release" to fully release your delegator's entries.
Method 3: Release Across Multiple Days
Step 1: Access Time Control
Click on your delegator's initials in the bottom right corner of the Laurel web app, then select "Time Control" from the options that appear.
Step 2: Select Days to Release
In Time Control, you can filter entries by date, matter (project, initiative), client, and release status.
Any entry in a "Ready to Release" status can be selected for release.
Step 3: Release Selected Days
When you've selected all of the entries you'd like to release, click the "Release All" button at the top of the page. These entries will be immediately released to your firm's PMS.
Checking Release Status
When you're preparing and releasing entries for your delegator, Laurel offers visual indicators to tell you what release status the entries are in.
On time entries
You'll see one of these statuses on each of the entries in your delegator's timesheet:
Released: Entries that have been fully released to your firm's PMS are marked "Released" in green.
Release pending: Entries that have been released and are on their way to your firm's PMS are marked "Release Pending" in green. This is a temporary state that only lasts a few seconds. No further action to release is required on your part if you see an entry in this status.
Ready to Release: Entries that contain all required details to be released are marked as "Ready to Release" in yellow. You will need to take manual action to release these entries for your delegator.
Status Pending: Entries that are validating are marked as "Status Pending" in gray. Entries enter this status when you've made updates to them. Entries usually only remain in this status for a few seconds. You will need to take manual action to release entries with this status for your delegator.
Rejected: Entries that have failed to be released to your firm's PMS get rejected and are marked as "Rejected" in red on your delegator's timesheet. You will need to resolve issues with these entries and take manual action to release entries with this status for your delegator.
Errors: Entries with errors will be marked with an error message (when it is available) in yellow on your delegator's timesheet. You will need to edit these entries to resolve the error(s) and take manual action to release entries with this status for your delegator.
On the calendar
You can also use the calendar to see the release status of your delegator's time entries.
The at-a-glance view of the Calendar is visible when the Calendar view is populated next to your delegator's timesheet. This view gives you a quick look at your delegator's month, and where there is released, unreleased, and missing time. To make this view visible, click on the hamburger icon (it looks like three lines) in the upper left of the timesheet header.
When you see a green circle around a day on the calendar in this view, that means that all of the entries you've prepared for your delegator for that day have been successfully released.
When you see a dotted yellow circle around a day on the calendar in this view, that means that some entries for that day for your delegator have not yet been released.
When you see no circle around a day on the calendar in this view, that means that no entries have been prepared for that day for your delegator.
A closed white circle around a day on the calendar in this view indicates the day that you're currently viewing in your timesheet.
An open white circle around a day on the calendar in this view indicates the current date.
In the header of the timesheet
The header of the timesheet offers a quick view of released and unreleased time.
Weekly view
When you hover over the numbers under "Week" in the header of your delegator's timesheet, you'll see your "Weekly Breakdown." This allows you to see:
The total amount of time you've prepared in time entries for your delegator for the week you're viewing.
The total amount of prepared time you've released for your delegator for the week you're viewing.
The total amount of prepared time you haven't yet released for your delegator for the week you're viewing.
The total amount of billable time you've prepared for your delegator for the week you're viewing.
The total amount of non-billable time you've prepared for your delegator for the week you're viewing.
Daily view
The view titled "Day" is to the right of the weekly view in the header of your delegator's timesheet. This view allows you to see how much time you've prepared for your delegator on the timesheet for the day you're viewing.
You can see billable and non-billable time for the day you're viewing for your delegator at a glance; the number on the right under "Day" represents your delegator's billable time, and the number on the left under "Day" represents non-billable time.
When you hover over the numbers under "Day", you'll see your delegator's "Daily Breakdown." This allows you to see:
The total amount of time you've prepared in time entries for the day you're viewing for your delegator.
The total amount of prepared time you've released for your delegator for the day you're viewing.
The total amount of prepared time you haven't yet released for your delegator for the day you're viewing.
The total amount of billable time you've prepared for your delegator for the day you're viewing.
The total amount of non-billable time you've prepared for your delegator for the day you're viewing.
If You're Having Trouble
If an entry won't release: Check that the entry shows a "Ready to Release" status, verify that all required fields are completed, and ensure all codes are correct and active.
If an entry shows as "Release Pending" for longer than a few minutes: Wait for your billing system to process the entry (this can take time).
If an entry was rejected after release: Review the rejection reason provided by your PMS, edit the entry to correct any issues, then try again to release the entry. If you get another rejection, reach out to the billing administrator at your firm to ensure that the details you included in your entry are correct and up-to-date.
What Happens Next
Successfully released time entries for your delegator will appear in your firm's PMS, though it may take some time for them to show up there.
Remember that releasing time entries for your delegator also helps train Laurel's AI to make better predictions for work Groups and narratives. The more consistently you release time for your delegator, the smarter Laurel becomes at understanding your delegator's work patterns.