Release Notes: January 2026

Each month, we share a summary of what’s new in Laurel, highlighting the product updates and workflow improvements we shipped to support fast, accurate, and compliant timekeeping.

Below is a look at what we released in January 2026.

⏳ For timekeepers

Feature update: Enhanced Timer Carryover

Laure’s Timer Carryover feature now automatically carries over all timers from your last active workday—not just timers that were actively used. This means every recurring task is ready to go when you start your day, without needing to manually recreate timers.

A new Timer Board Settings panel (located to the left of the "Create Timer" button) allows timekeepers to enable Daily Carryover and customize which details transfer with timers: narrative, codes, and notes. All carried-over timers start at 0.0 hours to ensure accurate billing for the current day.

Learn more about Timer Carryover here.

Feature update: Activity Threading Enhancements

Activity Threading was released in December 2025, and we’ve continued to improve this feature to make it even more useful and customizable.

There are now three Threading settings to choose from in your Work Activity Preferences:

• Threaded: Related activities are “stacked” together in your Work Activity panel, making it fast and easy to pull work done on the same task into a time entry.
• Linked: Related activities are visually “linked” in your Work Activity panel, making it easy to see which activities might belong in the same time entry.
• Off: Related activities are not surfaced in any way and appear individually in your Work Activity panel.

In addition, activities in Work Groups can now be threaded.

Learn more Activity Threading here.

---

💻 For firm administrators

New feature: Initiative Management

Laurel now includes a dedicated Initiatives tab (labeled "Matter Management" or "Project Management") in Customer Settings, where administrators can search for initiatives and view key configuration details synced from your practice management system. This includes initiative status, client association, billable/non-billable status, billing increment, available code types, complete code ranges, and sync dates.

This feature enables fast, self-serve access to initiative information.

Feature update: Restricted Words Enhancements

Administrators can now apply different enforcement levels—Warn, Acknowledge, or Block—to restricted word groups, giving firms more granular control over sensitive language in time entries. The Warn level flags language without blocking release (the current default behavior for all existing restricted word groups). Acknowledge requires timekeeper acknowledgment before release. Block prevents release until the language is corrected.

These enforcement levels help reduce non-compliant entries and downstream billing issues while providing clear guidance to timekeepers.

Learn more about Restricted Words here.

New feature: Delegate Mapping

Laurel can now automatically sync delegate relationships from your practice management system, eliminating the need to manually configure and maintain these relationships in Laurel. When enabled, delegate assignments are imported nightly, ensuring timekeepers and their delegates always have the correct access without administrator intervention. Administrators can configure whether delegates receive timesheet-only access or full timesheet and activities access.

This feature requires implementation by the Laurel team—contact your Customer Success Manager if you're interested in enabling it.

✍️ Requested & released

This important improvement was built and launched based on feedback from our customers.

New feature: Trainer role

Administrators can now assign a Trainer role to designated users who need to run internal training sessions about Laurel. The Trainer role is additive (users can be both a Trainer and hold another role like Customer Administrator).

Trainers can instantly populate their account with 60-100 realistic, industry-specific sample activities by choosing between External Legal or External Accounting data sets. This eliminates the need to use sensitive client data or spend hours manually creating training scenarios.

Check back next month for more updates from Laurel!