⚡Quick answers

With one thing, not with everything.

Aurora Hive Sales: create twenty contacts you know. Write an email to one of them via the system. That takes you through the cycle once.

Aurora Hive Sites: home page, services, contact, legal notice. Four pages. Everything else comes later.

Aurora Hive Live: sign in and change one sentence. You do not need to be able to do more on the first day.

What you should not do: set everything up before you use anything. The settings you need reveal themselves as you work.

And allow two weeks until it feels normal.

Enlarge

For daily work: one to two hours. For confident use: two to four weeks alongside your work.

What you should be able to do on the first day:

• Find something.
• Record something.
• Send an email.

What takes longer:

• Putting campaigns together confidently.
• Reading evaluations correctly.
• The finer points of rights and responsibilities.

What shortens the learning: practising on real cases instead of sample data. And having someone you can ask.

What lengthens it: wanting to learn everything at once.

In this order:

1. The search up here. Type a keyword, not a whole sentence.
2. The ⓘ symbols in the program. In many places the explanation is right next to it.
3. The tour. It shows how things work step by step.
4. Write a report. On every page you can report a problem — with a page snapshot.
5. Ask someone in the team.

What you should include in a report: which page, what you wanted to do, what happened instead, and when. The time in particular helps.

And what you can spare yourself: half an hour of trial and error. Asking is quicker.

Via the report function available on every page. It automatically takes a snapshot of the page and technical details along with it.

What you should write:

• What you wanted to do.
• What happened instead.
• Whether it is reproducible.

What you should not send along: passwords. Never, in any report.

How urgent? Say so if it is urgent — for example if something is shown incorrectly to the outside world or you cannot work.

And if it is not a fault but a wish: report it anyway. Much of what is in the program today started out as a report.

Report it — with the problem, not the solution.

The difference:

• “I need a field for X” is a solution.
• “I need to know for every contact whether X, and at the moment I write it in the note” is a problem.

Why it matters: often there is already a solution to the problem, just a different one from the one suggested. And if not, a well-described task is easier to solve than a wish for a button.

What you should include:

• How often it occurs.
• What you do instead today.
• What happens if it is missing.

And the honest expectation: not every wish is implemented. But every one is read.

Four things, in this order:

1. Type less. Search for “Mull” instead of “Muller Ltd & Co.”. The shorter, the more hits.
2. Reset filter. A filter from yesterday still narrows things down today — that is the most common cause.
3. Spell it differently. “Meier”, “Mayer”, “Maier”. Umlauts and hyphens make a difference too.
4. Search for something else — phone number, town, email address.

If nothing helps: perhaps the record does not exist. That happens more often than a search error.

And if you then create it: check briefly whether it already exists under a different spelling.

It cannot be recalled. What counts is what you do now:

1. Stop the sending if it is still running.
2. Establish who received it and what it contained.
3. Assess how serious it is. Wrong text: usually harmless. Other people’s personal data visible: serious.
4. In the second case, report it internally at once. A notification to the supervisory authority within a short deadline may be necessary.
5. Only then decide whether to contact the recipients.

Please do not: send a second mail “please ignore” to everyone. That draws more attention than the mistake did.

And afterwards: remove the cause, not just the case.

Do not send. Go back to the selection.

An unexpected number almost always means that a filter is not taking effect. The most common reasons:

• A characteristic that is filled in for nobody — then the filter narrows nothing down.
• A category to which no entry is assigned.
• Two conditions that add up instead of narrowing down.

What you do: set filters one at a time and look at the number after each step. If it stays the same, the filter is not taking effect.

And the rule: better too few recipients than too many. You can add more, but you cannot recall.

Work through it in order:

1. Did it actually go out? Check the sending log.
2. Is there a bounce? Then the address is wrong or the mailbox is full.
3. Is it in spam? Ask the recipient — that is the most common case.
4. Have the sender authorisations for your domain been set up? Without them, a lot gets filtered out. That is the most common technical cause.

What helps if it keeps happening: have the technical setup of your domain checked. That is a one-off effort and works permanently.

And what does not help: sending the same mail again.

Usually your browser is still showing the old version.

In order:

1. Reload thoroughly: Ctrl + Shift + R, on a Mac Cmd + Shift + R.
2. Open it in a private window.
3. Look at it on another device.

If it appears there: it was the cache.

If it does not appear anywhere:

• Did you save?
• Did you publish? Saving and publishing are two steps.
• Were you on the right page?

And when you point customers to this: name the key combination. “Reload the page” is usually not enough.

Then it has not been released for editing — that is usually intentional.

What is typically not released:

• Legal notice and privacy notice.
• Navigation and footer.
• Everything that carries the design.

Your next step: contact whoever looks after your site and say which part you want to change. If it makes sense, it will be released.

If no pen appears at all: are you signed in? Without signing in, you see the site like any visitor.

And if it is urgent — a wrong price, a wrong number — say so.

Use the reset function on the sign-in page. It sends an email to the stored address.

If no email arrives:

• Look in the spam folder.
• Check whether the stored address is still correct.
• Wait a few minutes.

If the stored address no longer exists — for example after a staff change — only support can help.

What you had better avoid:

• Passing a password on to colleagues by email.
• Using the same password as elsewhere.

And the precaution: a password manager. It solves this problem permanently and is the most effective single security measure there is.

Act immediately, in this order:

1. Change your password — from a device you trust.
2. Switch on two-factor sign-in, if not already done.
3. End active sessions, where possible.
4. Report it internally.
5. Check what has happened — sent mails, changed data, new accounts.
6. Check other accounts where you used the same password.

What we advise against: waiting to see whether anything else happens.

And what comes afterwards: unauthorised access to personal data may have to be notified. The responsible body assesses that — your task is to report it quickly.

That depends on the legal basis — and you must know it before you send.

Ask yourself:

1. Where did I get the address from?
2. Is there a business relationship?
3. Is there consent, and can I prove it?
4. Has an objection been recorded?

For point 4 the answer is clear: after an objection, no more advertising. Without exception.

With business recipients more is possible than with private individuals — but “more” does not mean “everything”. The exact limits depend on the individual case.

The practical rule: if you cannot explain why you are allowed to write, do not write.

And always: a working unsubscribe notice in every promotional message.

Take it seriously, record the date and pass it on to the responsible person.

What you do immediately:

1. Note the date of receipt — there is a deadline.
2. Do not delete anything hastily. There may be retention obligations that stand in the way.
3. Pass it on.

What you can implement immediately in any case: an objection to advertising. It applies at once and regardless of whether anything is deleted.

What is often overlooked: deleting means everywhere — not only in the main system. Also mailboxes, exports, spreadsheets on drives.

And what you should not do: ignore a message because it was phrased casually. “Take me off that list” is an objection.

As little as possible, and no specially protected data.

The rules:

• Leave out names and contact details if they are not needed for the task. To improve a text, the AI does not need a real name.
• No health data, ethnic origin, religion, political opinion.
• No complete application documents in a tool not intended for them.
• No third-party tool that has not been approved — not even a free one.

What you must always check: the result. The AI occasionally invents details that sound convincing. You are responsible for what it writes.

And a particularly sensitive area: AI in the selection of applicants. Increased requirements apply there, and the decision must stay with a human.

A small amount per request — little in total if you use it normally.

Good to know:

• Usage is recorded and can be viewed.
• There are limits that prevent a lot from building up unnoticed.
• Long inputs cost more than short ones.

What drives usage:

• Very long texts handed over in full.
• Repeated runs because the result did not fit.
• Automatic processes that run frequently.

What you can do:

• Ask precisely — then one run is enough instead of four.
• Hand over only the relevant extract.
• Look at the usage now and then.

And if you do not want to use it at all: the AI functions can be switched off.

Everyone in the business who has the corresponding rights — not the public and not other customers.

Specifically:

• Colleagues with access see your notes. Write accordingly.
• Who has which rights is configured and can be viewed.
• The history shows who changed what.

What also applies: data subjects can request access. Then even an internal note may have to be handed over.

The practical rule: do not write anything you would not read out to the person.

And if something really should concern only you: then it does not belong in a system in which several people work.

Yes — there are regular backups, and restoring has been tested.

What you should still know:

• A backup does not replace undo. If you delete something by mistake, reporting it quickly matters — the later you do, the more work is lost in a restore.
• Say when it happened. With a time, the right backup is found quickly.
• Do not carry on working until it is clear how it will be restored.

What you can do yourself:

• Export important lists now and then.
• Let people know briefly before a major change.

What runs in the background: your installation is backed up daily, and restoring is tested regularly. A backup that has never been restored is only an assumption — that is why it does not stop at creating it.

The mandatory details that apply to your legal form and activity — and there are more of them than many people assume.

As a rule:

• Name and address at which you can actually be reached.
• Authorised representative for companies.
• A means of contact — phone or a second quick channel besides the email address.
• Register and registration number, where registered.
• VAT identification number, if there is one.
• For certain professions, additionally the chamber, professional title and professional regulations.

Important here: a PO box is not enough as an address. And the legal notice (Impressum) must be reachable from every page.

What you will not find here: a binding list for your case. Have it checked once — it is one of the few places where a mistake can directly lead to a formal warning (Abmahnung).

Practically always, as soon as a website is reachable — because data is already processed when it is opened.

What belongs in it, roughly:

• Who is responsible.
• Which data is processed for what purpose.
• On what basis.
• For how long.
• Which rights exist and how to exercise them.
• Which third-party services are included.

The last item in the list is the one most often wrong: if a service is included — fonts, maps, videos, analytics — it belongs in it. And if it is not necessary, it is better to remove it than to describe it.

Our recommendation: keep the notice up to date. It is not a text you write once.

And the most common gap: a service that has been included without the notice being updated.

With patience and five unspectacular things:

1. Distinct, meaningful page titles for every page.
2. Text that answers the question someone has.
3. Location and service in normal sentences.
4. A complete map listing — for local businesses the most effective thing of all.
5. Entries in suitable directories.

How long it takes: for your company name, usually quickly. For competitive terms, months to years.

What nobody can guarantee you: a ranking. Anyone who promises one is not reputable.

And what does harm: hidden text, keyword lists, bought links, many near-identical pages.

Yes, both in the Visibility area, and both only when you click.

• Search volume: Google’s estimate of how often a term is searched for per month. Found in the “Keywords” tab of a project.
• Backlinks: who links to a website, compared with competitors and with a search for gaps. The tab is switched off by default.

Both use Data queries, a separate monthly budget whose size depends on the plan. Before every button it says what the click costs.

By enquiries and orders — not by visits, opens or the number of contacts.

Three figures are enough:

1. Enquiries per month.
2. How many of them become orders.
3. What an order is worth on average.

And one more thing: with every enquiry, ask how the person found you, and record the answer. After three months you will know which route actually works.

What you can leave out: elaborate evaluations nobody reads.

And the honesty rule: write down beforehand what you expect. Otherwise the result afterwards turns into what you had set out to achieve.

First read exactly what it says — the notices mean different things.

A notice about an upcoming end: you have time. Sort out the renewal before the deadline runs out.

A notice that there is no contact with the licence server: that is usually temporary. There is a grace period in which you can carry on working normally.

A notice about an exceeded limit: for example more users than agreed. That can be adjusted.

What to do next: contact your point of contact with the exact wording of the notice. The wording says what it is about.

What you should not do: click the notice away and hope. The deadlines keep running.

In short:

Aurora Hive Sales is for everything to do with customers, contacts and sales: keeping contacts, sending campaigns, tracking opportunities and applications, evaluating.

Aurora Hive Sites is for websites: building pages, maintaining content, publishing.

Aurora Hive Live is the narrow access for customers who are meant to change texts and images on their finished website themselves — without having to learn a system.

How they work together: a website is built in Aurora Hive Sites and handed over to the customer, who maintains it with Aurora Hive Live. Enquiries from this website can end up in Aurora Hive Sales.

What you need depends on what you do: many people only need one of them.