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Rules for a translation job in belgium
Autor de la hebra: Francesco Damiani
Francesco Damiani
Francesco Damiani  Identity Verified
Bélgica
Local time: 07:15
francés al italiano
+ ...
Aug 13, 2014

Good evening. Since two months I have been living in Bruxelles, and someone had choiced me for a

French>Italian translation. Doesn't some rules change abroad, do they? I mean: as soon as I finish my

translation, my client will pay me, but until the delivery can't I charge him anything but a cash advance,

can I?

Best

Francesco


 
Paweł Hamerski
Paweł Hamerski
Polonia
Local time: 07:15
inglés al polaco
+ ...
Everything is a question of an agreement Aug 13, 2014

between the parties. End of the story

 
Gerard de Noord
Gerard de Noord  Identity Verified
Francia
Local time: 07:15
Miembro 2003
inglés al neerlandés
+ ...
Nothing has changed Aug 13, 2014

Nothing has changed if you're still operating from Sicilia.

Cheers,
Gerard


 
Francesco Damiani
Francesco Damiani  Identity Verified
Bélgica
Local time: 07:15
francés al italiano
+ ...
PERSONA QUE INICIÓ LA HEBRA
From Sicilia? Not Aug 13, 2014

No. I have been operating from Bruxelles, not from Sicilia.

 
Francesco Damiani
Francesco Damiani  Identity Verified
Bélgica
Local time: 07:15
francés al italiano
+ ...
PERSONA QUE INICIÓ LA HEBRA
Thank you to everybody, of course................. Aug 13, 2014

..............but nobody can answer from Belgium?
Best
Francesco


 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
España
Local time: 06:15
Miembro 2007
inglés
+ ...
I think Pawel summed it up Aug 13, 2014

I've operated in France and Spain and there are no different "rules", just different things to write on the invoice.

If you're getting paid on receipt rather than waiting 30+ days then you're doing nicely, IMO. If you reckon you can get an advance too then you're onto a real winner.


 
Gerard de Noord
Gerard de Noord  Identity Verified
Francia
Local time: 07:15
Miembro 2003
inglés al neerlandés
+ ...
Compliments Aug 13, 2014

Francesco Damiani wrote:

No. I have been operating from Bruxelles, not from Sicilia.


My compliments for setting up your business in Belgium within two months. In your (discount) niche of the translation industry nobody will pay you upon delivery and nobody will pay you in advance. So, I guess, nothing will change for you.

Cheers,
Gerard


 
Francesco Damiani
Francesco Damiani  Identity Verified
Bélgica
Local time: 07:15
francés al italiano
+ ...
PERSONA QUE INICIÓ LA HEBRA
I had thought Aug 14, 2014

Good morning Gerard and good morning to everybody. Perhaps I could get my translation, but I

could avoid sending it before seeing my money.

Francesco

PS Sorry, Gerard, what does it mean

"nobody will pay you upon delivery?"

Francesco


 
Woodstock (X)
Woodstock (X)  Identity Verified
Alemania
Local time: 07:15
alemán al inglés
+ ...
It's not customary Aug 14, 2014

Francesco Damiani wrote:
"what does it mean 'nobody will pay you upon delivery'?"
Francesco


Hello,

Certainly in the countries I'm familiar with, the normal payment target is 30 days after receipt of invoice, and that is general EU policy. However, some countries have different payment modalities and conventions, i.e. 45 or 60 days - it depends on what the two parties agree to. Advance (partial) payments can be arranged with new customers, but again, both sides have to agree to it. It is not obligatory. Technically, you possess the rights to the translation until you are paid for it. That can be used as leverage in a dispute, but - as far as I know - only then and only on the advice of a lawyer. Ideally you want to build long-term relationships with your clients. Pressuring them to pay you BEFORE you submit your work is highly unusual, and would probably end any potential working relationship on the spot.

I'm not sure what Gerard means by "in your (discount) niche of the industry...", I may be missing something here, but I didn't study your profile. If you have been working in this industry as a freelancer for awhile, it might seem a bit unusual to others that you are unfamiliar with such basic translation business practices.


 
Francesco Damiani
Francesco Damiani  Identity Verified
Bélgica
Local time: 07:15
francés al italiano
+ ...
PERSONA QUE INICIÓ LA HEBRA
OK Aug 14, 2014

Thank you, Woodstock.
Francesco


 
Michael Wetzel
Michael Wetzel  Identity Verified
Alemania
Local time: 07:15
alemán al inglés
Try the French forum? Aug 14, 2014

Francesco,

It might be easier to find answers from Belgians and to formulate your question a little more clearly if you post it in French in the French forum.

Different countries have very different customs regarding payment, and Italy seems to have some of the worst and slowest payers, so things may be better with Belgian clients. As others have mentioned, though, it does not matter where you are - it matters where your clients are, what their expectations are and what
... See more
Francesco,

It might be easier to find answers from Belgians and to formulate your question a little more clearly if you post it in French in the French forum.

Different countries have very different customs regarding payment, and Italy seems to have some of the worst and slowest payers, so things may be better with Belgian clients. As others have mentioned, though, it does not matter where you are - it matters where your clients are, what their expectations are and what conditions you can get them to accept.

Michael
Collapse


 
Francesco Damiani
Francesco Damiani  Identity Verified
Bélgica
Local time: 07:15
francés al italiano
+ ...
PERSONA QUE INICIÓ LA HEBRA
Right Aug 14, 2014

Right, Michael, and thanks you for your explications

 
Steven Segaert
Steven Segaert
Estonia
Local time: 08:15
Miembro 2012
inglés al neerlandés
+ ...
Most Belgians do speak English :-) Aug 14, 2014

If you work as a freelancer (self-employed), your clients will have to pay your invoice. How you invoice (payment terms, etc) is between you and your client. Including whether or not you get paid an advance, or in instalments.

If you are an employee, that is a different story.

[Edited at 2014-08-14 10:39 GMT]


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 06:15
Miembro 2007
inglés al portugués
+ ...
Rules? Aug 14, 2014

I have been living and working as a translator (in-house and freelance) in Belgium for the last 30 years and as far as I know clients in Belgium are as diverse as anywhere else in the world. The same goes for their payment practices, though the normal payment target is 30 days after receipt of invoice. I hardly ever asked for an advance and payment terms are always agreed before starting translating. The bulk of my customers pay as agreed. I may have had to send a few reminders over the years, b... See more
I have been living and working as a translator (in-house and freelance) in Belgium for the last 30 years and as far as I know clients in Belgium are as diverse as anywhere else in the world. The same goes for their payment practices, though the normal payment target is 30 days after receipt of invoice. I hardly ever asked for an advance and payment terms are always agreed before starting translating. The bulk of my customers pay as agreed. I may have had to send a few reminders over the years, but not too many and certainly not regularly. In 30 years, I only faced 2 serious non-payment issues (in both instances I had to hire a lawyer).Collapse


 
Francesco Damiani
Francesco Damiani  Identity Verified
Bélgica
Local time: 07:15
francés al italiano
+ ...
PERSONA QUE INICIÓ LA HEBRA
Està bom, Teresa Aug 14, 2014

Obrigado.
Vejas tambèm o que acabo de escrever.

See what I had written, please.


 
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