Entry Release Status: Ensure Your Time Is Compliant

A release status is a simple, smart way to see if you need to add information to an Activity or Entry to make sure it’s compliant and ready to be released. 

Time by Ping is packed full of features that help you avoid mistakes and save time in your working day. Release statuses are a great example – they make it easier to focus your time on what matters when you need to and help ensure you don’t accidentally release Entries that will be rejected because they’re incomplete. In one quick glance the release status tells you which Activities and Entries need more information and which have already been released to the Practice Management System (PMS).

What’s a release status?

Every time TBP captures an Activity or Entry and assigns it to a Client / Matter, we give it a release status. This quickly lets you know if the Entry has all the information it needs before you can release it to the PMS, which helps ensure your bills don’t get rejected.

Every Entry needs to have certain information attached to it before release to the PMS:

• Client / Matter
• Duration
• Narrative

Some also require Work Codes – but don’t worry TBP not only knows which Entry needs them but also what codes are available when they do, saving you the time and hassle of working it out yourself.  

You can see the release status on the right-hand side of an Activity bar in your Timeline or Entry bar on your Timesheet:

How does release status work?

A release status can exist in five different states depending on what information an Activity or Entry has attached to it. Here’s what they look like:

	Needs Review The Activity or Entry needs some more information before you can release it to the PMS. This is usually because an Activity or Entry is missing a Work Code, but could also be for a missing Duration or Narrative. Note that any Activities assigned to a Temporary Matter will remain in a ‘Needs Review’ status until they’re re-assigned to a Client / Matter.
	Ready to Release The Activity or Entry has all the information it needs and is ready for you to release to the PMS.
	Pending You’ve released the Entry to the PMS and it’s waiting to be accepted.  This usually happens in a flash so you probably won’t notice it, but it’s there to help make sure you don’t accidentally release an Entry twice, just in case.
	Released The Entry has been successfully released to the PMS. Any edits to the Entry will need to be done directly in the PMS.
	Rejected The PMS has rejected the Entry.  Hover your cursor over and if the PMS has given TBP a reason for the rejection, we’ll tell you in an error message (like the one you see on the left). You’ll need to edit the Entry before you can try to re-release it to the PMS.

Attempting to release Entries in Needs Review state

If you try to release your entire day or a group of Entries with an Activity or Entry that Needs Review then you’ll see a notification like this in the Release Confirmation Modal. 

How will I know why the PMS has rejected an Entry?

To help make it easier for you to know exactly what’s happening, TBP has a series of release errors that tell you what’s gone wrong with a release.

Release Error	Error Text Shown
Connection error	Network error. Ensure you are connected to your firm's network.
Invalid timekeeper error	Your timekeeper ID is not valid. Please contact support.
Invalid narrative error	Entries must have non-empty narratives.
Closed matter error	Unable to release to a closed or invalid matter. Please contact support
Invalid phase task code error	Phase/Task code isn't valid for the matter.
Hours exceeded error	You cannot release more than 24 hours in one day.
Base hours below minimum error	Duration is below the minimum.
Invalid action code error	Invalid action code (did you select one?).
Invalid activity code error	Invalid activity code (did you select one?).
Invalid matter error	The matter is invalid. Please contact support.
Unauthorized access error	This matter is restricted. Unable to release.
Transaction date error	Unable to bill time for this date.
Unknown error	Unable to release, please contact support.
Unknown billing system state	The entry is put into a “pending” state where the user can’t edit the entry.
Matter status = OC (open for cost entry only)	Matter is open for cost entry only
No endpoint listening	You are not connected to your firm's network. Please try again.
A subtask code is missing or invalid	Subtask code is invalid or empty (this is not yet available in TBP).
The Matter is not currently supported in TBP	The Matter is not currently supported in TBP.
The Transaction Date is outside the range allowed by your administrator	Unable to bill time for this date.
Matter is open inactive	Matter is open inactive.
The selected Timekeeper is not a valid Working Timekeeper	You are not a valid working timekeeper on this matter.
Has exceeded the allotted timeout	Your billing system was busy. Please try again.
The HTTP request is unauthorized with client authentication scheme 'Ntlm'	Request requires valid authentication. Please contact support.
The Timekeeper's Rank does not permit the use of that Action Code on this date	Your timekeeper rank doesn't allow that action code on that date.
The response message does not match the content type of the binding	Request requires valid authentication. Please contact support.
Request for principal permission failed	Request requires valid authentication. Please try again or contact support.
Data is Null. This method or property cannot be called on Null values	One or more fields is blank. Please try again.
Execution Timeout Expired. The timeout period elapsed prior to completion of the operation or the server is not responding	Your billing system was busy. Please try again.
The Timekeeper is not allowed to enter time	Your timekeeper is not set up to enter time. Please contact support.
The timekeeper is invalid	Your timekeeper is not set up to enter time. Please contact support.
The selected Matter does not allow time entry	Unable to release to a closed or invalid matter. Please contact support.
Unable to read data from the transport connection: An existing connection was forcibly closed by the remote host.	Network error, please try again.
An error (The request was aborted: The request was canceled.) occurred while transmitting data over the HTTP channel	Network error, please try again.
3E Specific Errors
Error in the application.-Matter and Client must exist, be open as of WorkDate and allowed for Time Entry	The matter is invalid or not open. Please contact support.
Error in the application.-Narrative value is required	Entries must have non-empty narratives.
Error in the application.-Activity 2 value is required	The Matter is not currently supported in TBP
Error in the application.-Phase 2 value is required	The Matter is not currently supported in TBP
Error in the application.-Task 2 value is required	The Matter is not currently supported in TBP
Elite Enterprise Specific Errors
Invalid timecard activity code	Invalid action code (did you select one?).
Invalid user-defined field 2	Phase/Task code isn't valid for the matter.
Invalid user-defined field 3	Subtask code is invalid or empty (this is not yet available in TBP).
Invalid user-defined field 4	Invalid activity code (did you select one?).
Invalid matter	The matter is invalid. Please contact support.
Matter status = OC (open for cost entry only)	Matter is open for cost entry only.
Walls Specific Errors
Conflicts management system is unreachable.	Conflicts management system is unreachable. Check with your administrator.
User not added to conflicts management system.	Add user to conflicts management system.

Unknown Error Message

In the rare case where we don’t know what’s caused the problem, you’ll see an "Unable to release, please contact support" message. The error message will appear like this when you hover your cursor over the error icon. 

The detailed error message can be used by your firm to troubleshoot.