🔄 Release Notes: Bi-Directional Sync

We are excited to announce the release of Bi-Directional Sync (Aderant), a powerful new feature designed to ensure seamless data consistency between your Laurel timesheets and Aderant Practice Management System.

What's New?

Automated Multi-Daily Sync: Laurel now automatically synchronizes with Aderant multiple times per day. This ensures that any changes, additions, or deletions made to entries in Aderant are promptly reflected in Laurel.

Comprehensive Entry Field Synchronization:

• Updates to Existing Entries: Changes to client information, initiative (matter), duration (with recalculation of all associated totals), description, and code fields (activity, task, etc.) made in Aderant will now update corresponding released entries in Laurel.
• New Entry Creation: Entries created directly in Aderant for a timekeeper will now appear in Laurel, marked as "created via sync" and set to a "released" status.
• Entry Deletion: When an entry is deleted in Aderant, it will also be removed from Laurel (soft deletion), ensuring your records are always in sync.

Clear User Visibility: Timekeepers will see distinct visual indicators in both the Timesheet and Time Control when entries have been modified or created via the sync. Days containing any sync-modified or created entries will also be flagged for easy identification.

Enhanced AI Model Training: The changes and new entries flowing from Aderant provide valuable training data for Laurel's AI models. This continuous feedback loop will further improve the accuracy of our AI-powered narrative generation and code/initiative predictions, leading to even smarter suggestions for your future entries.

Key Benefits

• Reduced Manual Effort: Eliminate the need for duplicate data entry and manual reconciliation between Laurel and Aderant.
• Improved Data Accuracy: Ensure your Laurel timesheets always reflect the most current and accurate billing information from Aderant.
• Increased User Confidence: Trust that Laurel provides a complete and reliable view of your time, regardless of where entries originated or were modified.
• Smarter AI Suggestions: Benefit from Laurel's continuously improving AI, learning directly from your firm's actual billing adjustments.

Important Notes:

• This initial release focuses on integration with Aderant PMS. Support for other PMS systems will be considered in the future.
• Real-time synchronization is not part of this release; multiple scheduled syncs per day are implemented to minimize complexity while meeting core user needs.
• Bi-directional deletion (deleting in Laurel deletes in Aderant) is not included in this phase.

❓FAQs

How often does the sync run?
The system will run multiple times per day. The specific cadence is configurable by Laurel.

What fields are synchronized?
Initiative (matter), duration (with recalculation of totals), description field, and code fields (activity, task, etc.) are synchronized.

What happens if an entry is changed in both Laurel and Aderant?
If an entry has been modified in both systems since the last sync, the Aderant version takes precedence.

Will I be notified when my entries are changed?
Yes, entries modified or created via PMS sync will be marked with a distinct visual indicator in Timesheet and Time Control. Days containing any sync-modified or created entries will also be flagged in the calendar.

Does deleting an entry in Laurel delete it in Aderant?
No, bi-directional deletion is not supported in this phase. Deleting an entry in Aderant will delete it in Laurel, but not vice-versa.

Our firm setup has automated processes that entries after they’re released from Laurel (e.g., adding codes or trimming narratives). How does the sync handle these?
The bi-directional sync is designed to reflect all changes made within Aderant back into Laurel. This includes modifications applied by automated logic or integrations (like those set up in Boomi) that occur post-release. So, if your firm's processes modify an entry in Aderant, Laurel will receive and display that updated version, and the entry will be marked with a visual indicator to show it has been synced and updated.