| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4] | 3 biggest painpoints in the translation business? Thread poster: Monika Konopka
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LEXpert 
United States
Local time: 07:45
Member (2008)
Croatian to English
+ ...
| To round, or not to round | Oct 16, 2013 |
Nicole Schnell wrote: Tom in London wrote:
I'm happy charging per word. But the estimate for a translated manual will read $5000.00 flat, instead of $4,917.42 or $5,077.17. Not even the IRS is interested in pennies when I file my taxes, whereas a PM from the East Coast once managed to call me long distance to tell me that my invoice exceeded the word count by two words. I am not making this up.
Oh, I believe you, Nicole. Once a client wanted me to resend an invoice that was 10c off in their favor - just reading their e-mail about it cost me more than that.
Unless the client has requested a word or general rate, I try to give a flat rate. I wonder if there might be some benefit to giving a specific number (e.g., 4950) rather than a round number (e.g., 5000). Controlled experiments of negotiation scenarios suggest that entering a negotiation with a more specific number will yield a better final result compared to coming in with a round number, because precision conveys that you have done your research and know the value of your service, and are thus less likely to haggle.
Tyler Cowen's econ blog contains an interesting discussion about this at http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2013/06/do-not-bargain-with-round-numbers.html
Of course, this assumes that you are in fact willing to negotiate. If not, a round number is believed by some researchers to convey greater value for high-end items, even compared to items with that may have a slightly higher but more precise price listed.
[Edited at 2013-10-16 19:58 GMT]
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Pain in the arse: late payments, continuous offers of ridiculously low rates and colleagues who are willing to work for them. And all those nice clients with 45 to 90 days payment terms (after the receipt of the signed paper invoice). And then they are late by two weeks.
No, thanks.
Why the indignation about the final round number and this discussion about charging per word?
As far as I can see, we have far bigger problems in our profession. It is not important if you a... See more Pain in the arse: late payments, continuous offers of ridiculously low rates and colleagues who are willing to work for them. And all those nice clients with 45 to 90 days payment terms (after the receipt of the signed paper invoice). And then they are late by two weeks.
No, thanks.
Why the indignation about the final round number and this discussion about charging per word?
As far as I can see, we have far bigger problems in our profession. It is not important if you are charging in pennies, per page or per line, the important thing is how many pennies you are charging.
Know the chess legend? Pay per grain resulted in a BIG amount of rice.
http://www.dr-mikes-math-games-for-kids.com/rice-and-chessboard.html ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Why 3? Fighting courts at the court | Nov 6, 2013 |
and sometimes Public Prosecutors' Office
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 14:45
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
1. Online invoicing systems that require a lot of extra work (even if the clients pay like clockwork).
One client's system only works in Internet Explorer and requires me to perform several steps for each job, that includes "accepting" the job (although the job only appears in the system after I deliver it) and filling in the "progress" (always 100%, but I have to fill in the exact word count that is stated somewhere else on the same page). Another client's system generates POs a... See more 1. Online invoicing systems that require a lot of extra work (even if the clients pay like clockwork).
One client's system only works in Internet Explorer and requires me to perform several steps for each job, that includes "accepting" the job (although the job only appears in the system after I deliver it) and filling in the "progress" (always 100%, but I have to fill in the exact word count that is stated somewhere else on the same page). Another client's system generates POs automatically with all the necessary information on it, but instead of letting me submit just the PO number, I have to retype or repaste all manner of information into the online system. Yet another client's system only works in Chrome and is extremely slow and forces me to select each time things like my currency (and I can't just fill in the currency, but have to match it against a code table).
2. Ten page long e-mails for 10-word jobs
Some clients resend all of the glossary and reference materials all over again each time, never telling me whether they are exactly the same as the previous time or if there is some new word in it or some new style guide paragraph in it that I must implement from now on. Others send a list of instructions so long that I'm sure it'll cover ten printed pages, with the only really relevant information buried somewhere in there, e.g. their word count and their proposed deadline.
3. Not telling me the size of a job in the e-mail
I have lots of repeat clients who send me sometimes little bits of stuff or sometimes quite large chunks of stuff, often in esoteric file formats (e.g. SDLXLIFF or TTX), and then asks when I can deliver it. Well, I trust those clients enough to know what type of text they're sending me, so I don't really need to look at the source text, but it takes me 5-10 minutes just to open all the files (in their associated viewers, to boot) and sometimes perform analyses against my or the client's TMs, etc, before I can tell whether I can deliver the same day, the next day, or some time next week. Often, those clients know exactly what the size of the job is, but they don't tell me (or rather: they tell me what their estimate is after I tell them what my estimate is). And this is from agencies whose judgment I actually willingly trust when it comes to estimating job size. ▲ Collapse
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| Say what you like, but my pet peeves are invoicing, invoicing and chasing late payments... | Nov 7, 2013 |
I have never seen what there is to enjoy about invoicing. It is almost enough to send me back to working for an employer, but I am unemployable. I simply can't can't get my head round figures.
I try to do all the work in advance, but at the end of the month, which suits several of my clients, the nightmare begins.
I have to calculate the rates - or check that I did it right when agreeing to the job, and that I agree with the client's calculations if any. VAT should be ... See more I have never seen what there is to enjoy about invoicing. It is almost enough to send me back to working for an employer, but I am unemployable. I simply can't can't get my head round figures.
I try to do all the work in advance, but at the end of the month, which suits several of my clients, the nightmare begins.
I have to calculate the rates - or check that I did it right when agreeing to the job, and that I agree with the client's calculations if any. VAT should be easy - 25%... but I can get that wrong too.
Then I have to make out the invoice itself either in my system or the client's. My system is more or less painless, but a bore.
No two clients have identical systems, and if I manage to log in successfully I cheer loudly!
OK, there are two that work reasonably well. Another needs a new password every time, with numbers, capitals and ¤"#¤§¤#% signs.
I used to write the first expletive that came into my head, but now the system has seen them all before  So I have to spell them backwards or something.
My vocabulary of expletives IS very limited - something missing in my upbringing, and my in-laws certainly did not teach me any either. There is always more to learn when you work with languages...
I ought to add the price of half an hour's work to the invoice for that client at least.
Next I have to print out all the invoices - a dozen or so - and get them approved by my husband. He always finds some errors, so I have to sort those out and print new copies.
Finally I have to mail the invoices to the clients who do not have weird systems to generate their own... By this stage I am terrified of sending another client's invoice to one of them, so I check five times that the name on the invoice matches the recipient of the mail....
I hate chasing late payments too, but luckily I do not have to do it very often. After I have done all the work of invoicing, paying late is simply adding insult to injury.
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| | | | Robert Dunn
United States
Local time: 08:45
Member (2013)
German to English
+ ...
| Payments, converting PDFs, imposition of price | Dec 14, 2013 |
Chasing payments is definitely number one on my list. I absolutely detest clients that give me the run around when it comes to payment (usually translation agencies).
Another point of contention are PDF files that are difficult or impossible to OCR and require manual transcription. Even worse is when there is no extra compensation to be had for the arduous task of transcribing it by hand, in which case I just reject the assignment altogether.
My last point o... See more Chasing payments is definitely number one on my list. I absolutely detest clients that give me the run around when it comes to payment (usually translation agencies).
Another point of contention are PDF files that are difficult or impossible to OCR and require manual transcription. Even worse is when there is no extra compensation to be had for the arduous task of transcribing it by hand, in which case I just reject the assignment altogether.
My last point of contention is "imposition" of price and how people say "we're looking to pay XX amount". Well I'm looking to find another client then, have a nice day. ▲ Collapse
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