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TRADOS rates Thread poster: Ana SIERRA VINUESA
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One translation company has recently contacted me, they needed medical freelance translators. Everything was good until they "suggest" my rates are too much high (0.08). So, they informed me 0.045 maximum 0.050 was "their" rate. I explained them that with TRADOS you loose money because they count as 0.05 only the new words....but they said me that i can use the memory....This people don´t understand anyway repeated you must analyze the context. My question is if you have a lower rate when you w... See more One translation company has recently contacted me, they needed medical freelance translators. Everything was good until they "suggest" my rates are too much high (0.08). So, they informed me 0.045 maximum 0.050 was "their" rate. I explained them that with TRADOS you loose money because they count as 0.05 only the new words....but they said me that i can use the memory....This people don´t understand anyway repeated you must analyze the context. My question is if you have a lower rate when you work for agencies instead direct client? And if you accept a lower rate when you work with TRADOS?
many thanks in advance¡¡¡¡
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Daniel Šebesta 
Czech Republic
Local time: 17:52
Member (2007)
English to Czech
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| Rates for agencies and Trados discounts | Oct 5, 2007 |
anasv wrote:
My question is if you have a lower rate when you work for agencies instead direct client? And if you accept a lower rate when you work with TRADOS?
I do have slightly lower rates for agencies than for direct clients. A good agency takes care of lots of things, which saves my time. Good agencies are usually able to offer technical support. They prepare all files to a ready-to-translate format. They manage a terminology database. They maintain the contact with the end client. They find a suitable proofreader. An agency is usually a regular client, so you don't need to send an invoice for each project separately. Thus, I have a good enough reason to offer a somewhat lower rate.
I don't accept a lower basic rate when working with Trados. However, I do offer discounts for repetitions and "high matches" of course.
Daniel
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| No lower rates for using Trados | Oct 5, 2007 |
You are the one who paid all that money to buy it.
The benefit of using Trados is supposed to be the ability to control terminological consistency by using Multiterm and also by using the concordance search. As you are likely to produce a better translation with Trados than without it, the agency already gets their money's worth.
However, it will not do you any good to work, as they suggest, for half price. Why entertain them, when there are plenty of other agencies who... See more You are the one who paid all that money to buy it.
The benefit of using Trados is supposed to be the ability to control terminological consistency by using Multiterm and also by using the concordance search. As you are likely to produce a better translation with Trados than without it, the agency already gets their money's worth.
However, it will not do you any good to work, as they suggest, for half price. Why entertain them, when there are plenty of other agencies who will pay a fair rate?
Astrid ▲ Collapse
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| That is more than a discount! | Oct 5, 2007 |
You are the one who paid all that money to buy it.
The benefit of using Trados is supposed to be the ability to control terminological consistency by using Multiterm and also by using the concordance search. As you are likely to produce a better translation with Trados than without it, the agency already gets their money's worth.
However, it will not do you any good to work, as they suggest, for half price. Why entertain them, when there are plenty of other agencies who will pay a fair rate?
I totally agree with you, Astrid. Apart from that, I think that when an agency offers such a low price they are not serious... They are a waste of time. You will end up working almost for free! Sorry, Anasv, if my words sound a bit hard, but if we go on working for agencies like that, we will have to abandon our profession and do something else.
Good luck!
Luciana
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Margreet Logmans (X)
Netherlands
Local time: 17:52
English to Dutch
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| Language pair? | Oct 6, 2007 |
Hi,
I'm afraid in this case the language pair is important.
English to Spanish (and the other way around) is not very well paid, because there are so many people working in that pair.
Your other language pairs are a different story; I'd think you could ask for more than 0.08 there. What language pair is this about?
As for Trados: that's an ongoing discussion. I myself usually agree to a discount, but I've set some limits. No discount for anything belo... See more Hi,
I'm afraid in this case the language pair is important.
English to Spanish (and the other way around) is not very well paid, because there are so many people working in that pair.
Your other language pairs are a different story; I'd think you could ask for more than 0.08 there. What language pair is this about?
As for Trados: that's an ongoing discussion. I myself usually agree to a discount, but I've set some limits. No discount for anything below 75% match, and I don't do 100% matches for free. That's just unfair.
With direct clients, I don't apply Trados discounts. Agreement to a discount is my way of acknowledging the work an agency does that I'd have to do myself otherwise (see Daniels comments on agencies). In the end, it's all a matter of calculation. Agree to discount, lower rates - all that matters is the final amount of money you get for doing the job.
Having said that, I don't accept jobs at 0.05 per word, in either EUR or USD. With or without the use of Trados.
Best,
Margreet
[Edited at 2007-10-06 08:33] ▲ Collapse
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| To accept or not. | Oct 6, 2007 |
Thanks for your advices. As Margreet said, English to Spanish is a very common pair, but i must say one of the most active on the medical field. I translated very few texts into/from Serbian and French. As you and Luciana said, 0.05 euros per word is really a low rate and i refused that even if it is one agency but I am in the position to make that: I work full time as doctor and do not have a lot of time to spend in a bad payed translation. The problem of translators and Translation profession ... See more Thanks for your advices. As Margreet said, English to Spanish is a very common pair, but i must say one of the most active on the medical field. I translated very few texts into/from Serbian and French. As you and Luciana said, 0.05 euros per word is really a low rate and i refused that even if it is one agency but I am in the position to make that: I work full time as doctor and do not have a lot of time to spend in a bad payed translation. The problem of translators and Translation profession is you do not have any laboral rule, any regional translation council that regulate the rates and other topics related, so even if I agree with you maybe if I was a full-time freelance translator I would accept this job: better this than nothing¡¡very sad indeed. It is a good idea to negociate the repetitions terms when you work with TRADOS, Margreet and Daniel.
Good luck to all and thanks a lot¡¡¡
[Edited at 2007-10-06 09:01] ▲ Collapse
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 17:52
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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| Two questions deserve two answers | Oct 6, 2007 |
anasv wrote:
My question is if you have a lower rate when you work for agencies instead direct client? And if you accept a lower rate when you work with TRADOS?
1. Yes, I accept lower rates from agencies than from direct clients.
2. Yes, if the rate offered seems fair, I will accept it, but if it is unacceptable, I will not accept it.
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 17:52
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Your logic makes little sense | Oct 6, 2007 |
Luciana Lovatto wrote:
I think that when an agency offers such a low price they are not serious...
Who would you think is likely less serious... a client that promises much more than normal, or a client that offers much less than normal? I think the second client is more likely to pay (i.e. they are more serious). A client that promises high rates may be making empty promises, but a client that offers a low rate is more likely in the position to keep its promise, don't you think?
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| and one question more.. | Oct 6, 2007 |
Thanks Samuel for your direct answers, but what is a "fair rate" and what is "unacceptable"? Do you consider it after consult a little sample of the text they are proposing you to translate?Could you be more precise on that sense?
Best,
Ana
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Speranza
Local time: 17:52
Spanish to Russian
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| Are you serious? | Oct 6, 2007 |
A client that promises high rates may be making empty promises, but a client that offers a low rate is more likely in the position to keep its promise, don't you think?
Do you mean you decide whether to keep a promise depending on what exactly you have promised?
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Heidi C
Local time: 11:52
English to Spanish
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| Payment, rates, business, promises and "being serious" | Oct 6, 2007 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
Who would you think is likely less serious... a client that promises much more than normal, or a client that offers much less than normal? I think the second client is more likely to pay (i.e. they are more serious). A client that promises high rates may be making empty promises, but a client that offers a low rate is more likely in the position to keep its promise, don't you think?
What you are saying:
Someone who offers a very low payment is more serious than someone who offers reasonable rates
So I ask: a customer who knows and values what translation is and what regular market prices are is less likely to pay you than someone (direct client or outsourcer) who will pay you a lousy rate?
Not getting paid has nothing to do with how much is owed. You have to screen your customers based on other things, not the rate "promised".
A professional business deal should be considered to be a business deal, not a "promise".
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| In my humble opinion | Oct 7, 2007 |
I have actually had more problems with the low paying agencies, I think their low rates show their general lack of seriousness.
0.05 a word is low, even for Spanish.
And I do not agree with offering discounts for CAT tools and have plenty of work without having to offer these discounts. I think, especially with the price of Trados and the difficulty of learning it, that it is not rational that agencies and clients should be the only ones to get any benefit from it.
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Listen to Lesley! This makes a lot of sense. For once, I have nothing to add!
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 17:52
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Fair rate and unacceptable | Oct 7, 2007 |
anasv wrote:
...but what is a "fair rate" and what is "unacceptable"?
These questions are part of another discussion, I think. What is fair to me may not be fair to you. You should decide for yourself what you will accept as fair or not. Some translators have a very strict rule about that, but in my case I tend to judge every job offer on various factors (including, for example, the general impression I get from the client's e-mail).
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 17:52
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Of course not | Oct 7, 2007 |
Nadejda Sokolova wrote:
Do you mean you decide whether to keep a promise depending on what exactly you have promised?
I don't make promises I can't keep. But some clients might.
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