---
id: KB-PS-011
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/getting-started/the-first-hour
idioma: en
categoria: primeros-pasos
subcategoria: empezar
audiencia: usuario
nivel: basico
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-PS-003, KB-PS-010]
citadoPor: [KB-MA-014, KB-PS-018, KB-PS-022]
---

# The first hour

_What to do right after logging in to find out whether this helps, without setting anything up._

**Responde a:** i have just logged in for the first time · what do i do first on the platform · trying the platform without setting anything up · first hour of use

The normal reaction on first logging in is to start configuring: add the team, import contacts, build the structure. That is exactly what not to do yet, because you would be deciding how to organise something you do not yet know the workings of.

## What is worth doing, in one hour

1. **Take a real case of yours, a small one** — A specific supplier, a specific document. Nothing invented: invented cases teach nothing.
2. **Upload a genuine document** — One of the ugly ones: scanned, skewed, stamped. That is the one that shows you how it behaves.
3. **Send something for signature to yourselves** — So you see what the recipient sees, which is half the decision.
4. **And search for something you uploaded** — By a value inside it, not by the filename.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> That fourth step is the one most people skip and the best predictor of whether this will help you. If you can find a document by what it says inside, you have solved half your problem even with nothing else configured.

## What can wait

| Can wait | Why |
| --- | --- |
| Inviting the team | Better once you know what you will ask them to do |
| Importing all contacts | Three are enough to try it |
| Building the final structure | It will change once you use it for two weeks |
| Integrations | It nearly always turns out they were not needed at first |

> [!WARNING]
> The classic day-one mistake is loading the whole historical archive. It eats an afternoon, teaches nothing new, and fills the house before you know where anything goes. Old material comes later, and often only part of it was needed.

## What to look at when the hour is up

**En corto**

- Did the ugly document read reasonably well?
- Is what the other party receives understandable without explanation?
- Did you find what you uploaded, searching the way you really would?

If all three are yes, the decision is made and you can move on to setting up. If any is no, that is exactly the conversation to have before going further.

> [!NOTE]
> This hour's actions consume like any other: uploading, sending for signature and reading a document cost the same in a trial as in production. It is little, but worth knowing before repeating the test thirty times.

**Do I need to install anything?**

No. It runs in the browser and on a phone.

**Can I delete the trial material afterwards?**

Yes, though it usually stays: it is real documentation of yours.

**What if I am not sure which module I need?**

Try the case that hurts most today; the module follows by itself.

## Ejemplos

**A company spends day one importing five years of archive.**

- Stops and tries a real case: one supplier, one ugly scan, one signature to themselves
- Searches the document by tax ID

→ Decides on evidence within an hour, and brings the archive once it knows where things go.

**You want to know whether automatic reading works on the company's real documents.**

- Uploads the worst scan to hand
- Looks at which fields come out and which do not

→ The decision uses your own material rather than a demo example.

**Nobody knows whether a supplier will manage to upload something unaided.**

- Sends themselves a request and completes it from a phone

→ You see the other side's experience before sending it to anyone.

**There is doubt about whether a signature will be enough.**

- Signs a test document and looks at the trail it leaves

→ The doubt is settled by looking at the evidence, not the description.

**You want to check whether a document can be found again afterwards.**

- Searches by something in the content rather than the file name

→ It becomes clear whether search will help day to day.

**The first hour goes on browsing menus.**

- Walks one complete case from start to finish

→ You come out with an opinion rather than a guided tour.