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US agencies
Thread poster: David Young (X)
Nicole Schnell
Nicole Schnell  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 10:52
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam
Hi, David! May 22, 2011

David Young wrote:
One of them had payment terms of 45 days, which from a European point of view is stretching it as far as it will go, and were then late. Their explanation was that they had to wait for their client to pay first!


Unfortunately you missed out on working with one of the best and top-notch agencies imaginable (you mentioned their name in your original post).

You simply have to be qualified enough to meet their unsurpassed quality standards, and you might become their "go-to-translator" in your language pair and field, and you will be bombarded with well-paid work (any rate you ask for) on a daily basis for years. The cash-flow depends on how often you send your invoices.


 
David Young (X)
David Young (X)  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 18:52
Danish to English
TOPIC STARTER
Different criteria Jun 1, 2011

Nicole Schnell wrote:

Unfortunately you missed out on working with one of the best and top-notch agencies imaginable (you mentioned their name in your original post).
.....
The cash-flow depends on how often you send your invoices.


Been on holiday so I've just seen your reply, Nicole. I'm glad you're happy with said agency.

Unfortunately, an agency that doesn't have the cash-flow to pay me until their client has paid them doesn't meet my criteria for being classified as "top-notch". What about if their client goes bankrupt and never pays or pays 10c in the $ ? Such terms are totally unacceptable as far as I'm concerned - in fact, I would be surprised if they were legal in the US.
The agency's contract is with me; if I fulfill my side of the contract, they should pay according to the terms agreed - any problems they have with their client is nothing to do with me. The fact that they consider it acceptable to introduce it into my relationship with them is contemptible in my view. And I'm sure my electricity supplier would laugh in my face if I asked them to wait until my customers paid me.

The second part of your reply I've quoted doesn't correspond to my experience or to that of others on the BB (which I should have read more closely in the first place, as has been pointed out to me).

And "any rate I ask for" - nice idea, but I think not


 
Nicole Schnell
Nicole Schnell  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 10:52
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam
Hi David, Jun 1, 2011

I hope you had a great holiday!

David Young wrote:

Unfortunately, an agency that doesn't have the cash-flow to pay me until their client has paid them doesn't meet my criteria for being classified as "top-notch". What about if their client goes bankrupt and never pays or pays 10c in the $ ? Such terms are totally unacceptable as far as I'm concerned - in fact, I would be surprised if they were legal in the US.


It really depends on how much you want to be involved in any project from start to finish. There are translators who want to deliver a job and that's it, and there are the ones who love to attend to the agency's hand-selected clients (world market leaders) over the course of several years, who have a saying when the source text should be changed, how the layout should be changed, who work closely together with editors and proofreaders and who monitor any project to the last PDF, audio file, video and what not before it hits the printing press or before it goes live (and even after) and who went through several generations of PMs and are asked "to break in" the new ones. It's a partnership. BTW, I also outsource very large projects to such business partners in return.

I do admit that it takes a very long time to build up such a partnership, and if you check any of my 5-point BB-entries, I have to point out that I provide such entries after one year of collaboration and/or USD 10,000 in revenues only.

Apparently some companies are spoiled by their regular, long-term vendors and they may expect some special treatment...


And "any rate I ask for" - nice idea, but I think not


You may be well-assured that world market leaders won't go bankrupt from one day to the next. Also, what rates did you ask for? You mentioned something about 10 cents. Well, 9 cents is the rate for mere EDITING. Never blame any outsourcer for your shortcomings in negotiation, please.


 
Peter CHENG
Peter CHENG
China
Local time: 01:52
English to Chinese
Keep an eye on it Oct 22, 2011

It was the case sometimes. Keep an eye on it.

 
David Jessop
David Jessop  Identity Verified
Laos
Member
Spanish to English
+ ...
45 days stretching it from a European point of view?! Nov 10, 2011

David Young wrote:

I'm a bit of a newbie as far as US translation agencies are concerned. I've worked for two now and they've both been a pain in the butt as regards payment.
One of them had payment terms of 45 days, which from a European point of view is stretching it as far as it will go, and were then late.



[Edited at 2011-05-14 21:24 GMT]


45 days is stretching it from a European point of view?! Please. Most of my Spanish clients have 60 day payment policies, 45 days is on the better side of things and there are even some agencies who have stated as having 90 day policies, for which I have declined work. I have clients all over Europe that have 45+ day payment policies as well. Don't get into this "European perspective" superiority rubbish.


 
Tony M
Tony M
France
Local time: 18:52
Member
French to English
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
Yet there are moves... Nov 10, 2011

David Jessop wrote:

I have clients all over Europe that have 45+ day payment policies as well. Don't get into this "European perspective" superiority rubbish.


However, at least here in France, there have been great moves to support shorter payment lead times, and I believe one is even legally entitled to apply a certain rate of interest to late payments.

Certainly, with most of my FR customers, they are pretty good about paying promptly, and are almost pitifully grateful if I offer them even a small settlement discount!

I do think, however, this is a particualr problem with working through agencies; many of them try to justify longer payment terms by explaining that they have to wait till they get paid before they can pay me. Well, sorry, but any self-respecting business ought to be able to manage its cash-flow better than that! And the proof is, that most of them do!

If I have a job that is going to take over a month, then I usually request stage payments, to keep my own cash-flow healthy; and so far, I've never had any problems with that.

Perhaps I'm just lucky...


 
Michelle Kusuda
Michelle Kusuda  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 13:52
English to Spanish
+ ...
Mea colpas not needed! Oct 29, 2012

David Young wrote:

Yes, Tomas, if you want to ascribe blame, I will take it all on my broad shoulders. Personally, I think life is too short for blaming.
I just described my experiences and asked if I had been unfortunate.
But you are right - I didn't investigate enough, or I preferred to believe other translators' good experiences with one of these companies instead of the warning signs.
And I have learnt from the experiences. I'm especially grateful to Tony for drawing my attention to my responsibility to set my own terms and conditions and stick with them. Accepting bad conditions only leads to resentment. Especially when those conditions are breached and cheques are bounced!



Take it with a grain of salt. I saw a job offer posted by Tomas offering a meager $.02 cents per word.

I had to edit post because I looked, the job is now closed but rate was .02 cents!


[Edited at 2012-10-29 15:58 GMT]


 
David Young (X)
David Young (X)  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 18:52
Danish to English
TOPIC STARTER
Almost an anniversary :) Oct 29, 2012

Well thanks Michelle. A lot of water under the bridge since I first posted.
What I've learned is to state my terms, be a bit flexible on rates for the larger jobs, but insist on my payment terms - 30 days by direct bank transfer. And also be a bit more humble and not assume that Denmark is the whole of Europe. Incidentally, my best client in terms of volume pays within 15 days, and I have another who has paid me by return every time, so I guess I've been spoilt. I have in fact been offered
... See more
Well thanks Michelle. A lot of water under the bridge since I first posted.
What I've learned is to state my terms, be a bit flexible on rates for the larger jobs, but insist on my payment terms - 30 days by direct bank transfer. And also be a bit more humble and not assume that Denmark is the whole of Europe. Incidentally, my best client in terms of volume pays within 15 days, and I have another who has paid me by return every time, so I guess I've been spoilt. I have in fact been offered work by European agencies who stipulate 45 or 60 days. I just say no.
I can't/won't compete with people who are willing to work for peanuts. Fortunately, I don't have to - the universe seems to send me work when I need it, on my terms, even with the economic situation as it is.
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Catherine Brix
Catherine Brix
Local time: 18:52
Swedish to English
+ ...
FYI Oct 30, 2012

I registered with a UK-based agency - excellent BB ratings - about a month ago. They sent me various contracts to sign. According to their Terms and Conditions they are entitled to impose a penalty for late delivery (10% deduction on fee (they call it a 'discount') for a 1-hour dela and so on up to 100% deduction for a 24-hour delay), you must update the project manager at least once a day if a project is greater than 5,000 words, they impose a 65-90% deduction for 3+ minor errors or 3+ typograh... See more
I registered with a UK-based agency - excellent BB ratings - about a month ago. They sent me various contracts to sign. According to their Terms and Conditions they are entitled to impose a penalty for late delivery (10% deduction on fee (they call it a 'discount') for a 1-hour dela and so on up to 100% deduction for a 24-hour delay), you must update the project manager at least once a day if a project is greater than 5,000 words, they impose a 65-90% deduction for 3+ minor errors or 3+ typograhical errors, payments are sent 60 days from date of invoice (invoices are to be issued only once a month), and they charge a minimum GBP 10 per payment transaction for wire transfers...

I wrote back that there had been some misunderstanding and that I dictate terms and conditions as service provider.

Oh, and a larger Swedish agency has recently announced "We will not pay invoices arriving more than one month after the final delivery of a job."
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David Young (X)
David Young (X)  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 18:52
Danish to English
TOPIC STARTER
Gob-smacking Oct 30, 2012

No other word for it

 
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