How to charge a translation work Thread poster: EmiliaF
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EmiliaF
Canada
Local time: 13:33
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Hello Everyone,
I am not sure how to charge a translation work for a new client. Usually I get a purchase order from the client and they already set the rates for each type, so I just invoice them the amount.
For i.g.:
Perfect Match = 10% of Rate
Repetitions = 10% of Rate
95% - 99% Matches = 50% of Rate
85% - 94% Matches = 50% of Rate
75% - 84% Matches = 50% of Rate
50% - &4% Matches = 100% of Rate
New words = 100% of Rate
... See more Hello Everyone,
I am not sure how to charge a translation work for a new client. Usually I get a purchase order from the client and they already set the rates for each type, so I just invoice them the amount.
For i.g.:
Perfect Match = 10% of Rate
Repetitions = 10% of Rate
95% - 99% Matches = 50% of Rate
85% - 94% Matches = 50% of Rate
75% - 84% Matches = 50% of Rate
50% - &4% Matches = 100% of Rate
New words = 100% of Rate
Can you please let me know if this is right and if I should use a similar rate for all clients?
And should I charge HST tax if the client is not Canadian? I have my translation business registered in BC.
Thank you for now!
[Edited at 2012-11-25 04:40 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | LEXpert 
United States
Local time: 15:33
Member (2008)
Croatian to English
+ ...
Charging the same rate to all clients doesn't make sense. Direct clients should be charged more (and usually don't even care or know about CAT grids) because you are bearing the administrative and QC burden that would normally fall within the agency's ambit. Some clients give you highly specialized work requiring special expertise, others give you general, easier texts. This makes a difference. Since rates are notoriously "sticky" once agreed with clients, often the only way to increase rates af... See more Charging the same rate to all clients doesn't make sense. Direct clients should be charged more (and usually don't even care or know about CAT grids) because you are bearing the administrative and QC burden that would normally fall within the agency's ambit. Some clients give you highly specialized work requiring special expertise, others give you general, easier texts. This makes a difference. Since rates are notoriously "sticky" once agreed with clients, often the only way to increase rates after a certain period is to start quoting higher rates to new clients.
As for the CAT grid, it seems typical enough of what agencies propose. This, too, is negotiable. You also have the option of refusing to offer CAT discounts at all, though this will obviously impact the volume of work you receive from certain clients. The grid you give is not too terrible, considering the recent trend from many agencies toward paying nothing at all for 100% matches (and in the rather disturbing case set out in a memo I received last year, at least a couple agencies don't want to pay anything for 95-99% matches either!). Many translators quote reps and 100% matches at ca. 30%. Personally, 50% for the middle range of reps seems a little low in terms of the benefit derived from 75-94% matches, which I more often that not find to be worthless in terms of achieving any time savings. 100% matches in a TM can be useless if they were poorly translated by others. Even your own, correct, 100% matches can be of minimal use if you are translating the same segment into a different register (say, a document aimed at patients vs. one aimed at medical professionals) than you did the first time, or if your TM is not specialty-specific.
[Edited at 2012-11-25 06:10 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | EmiliaF
Canada
Local time: 13:33
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you Rudolf!
The information helped a lot.
| | | | | 100% match does not imply zero work | Nov 26, 2012 |
Rudolf Vedo CT wrote:
from certain clients. The grid you give is not too terrible, considering the recent trend from many agencies toward paying nothing at all for 100% matches (and in the rather disturbing case set out in a memo I received last year,
[Edited at 2012-11-25 06:10 GMT]
Paying nothing for 100% matches is a bit unfair, in my opinion. Even correctly translated 100% matches may require editing (in addition to proofreading). For example, translation of Finnish sentence "hän on voittaja" would be in English either "he is a winner", "he is the winner", "she is a winner", or "she is the winner". All the mentoned translations may be correct, depending on the context. Clearly it is quite normal that 100% matches require editing.
Niko
MULTILIZER
Automatic estimation of MT quality: http://mt-quality.multilizer.com
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NancyLynn
Canada
Local time: 16:33
Member (2002)
French to English
+ ...
Moderator of this forum | Agree with Multilizer | Nov 26, 2012 |
Having agreed, only once, to no payment for 100% matches, I swore I would never, ever do that again. Time is money. Your time is your money. Be careful whom you give it to.
| | | | EmiliaF
Canada
Local time: 13:33
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Yes, I agree with you guys in regards that "100% match does not imply zero work"... Portuguese is the same, we have female and male words, so everything changes according to the noun.
Thank you all for the posting!
Now I am more confident in how to charge my work.
Thanks again! Have a great week!
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