I have been translating for ages, and have usually never had any difficulties in keeping track of documents (ie which have been translated and which are pending translation/proofreading/spellcheck etc), hours worked, words translated, payment due and so on.
When working on large projects I have a standard spreadsheet I use to keep track of these things, in which I usually enter the names of all the documents and then mark them as translated, proofread, spell-checked, sent etc. Howe... See more I have been translating for ages, and have usually never had any difficulties in keeping track of documents (ie which have been translated and which are pending translation/proofreading/spellcheck etc), hours worked, words translated, payment due and so on.
When working on large projects I have a standard spreadsheet I use to keep track of these things, in which I usually enter the names of all the documents and then mark them as translated, proofread, spell-checked, sent etc. However, I have lately begun to translate help files, instruction manuals and whatnot using Trados, and now receive a zip file with a bunch of files and a total analysis of how many Reps, 100% matches, 99-95% matches etc.
My problem is that my spreadsheet system has now become obsolete - unless I want to spend time entering over a 100 files individually into a spreadsheet, analyze them separately in Trados and enter all their specifics...! Ugh!
Of course, I am sure there must be a much better way to keep track while working with files like these!!!
Is there anyone kind enough to share tips and tricks of the trade, or indicate if there is a site where I could download a time sheet or something, that might work better for this purpose?
What I want to keep track of is:
1) How many hours do I spend on each project? (to make sure it pays enough compared to regular translation)
2) What is my progress? (to know how much is left at the end of the day, or to keep track of how much I have translated during the week, day or hour).
3) Is the analysis correct and am I getting paid for what I should receive payment for or am I being screwed? (I had a bad experience with erroneous analyses from a client, and if I hadn't kept track myself I would have been underpaid.
I really enjoy this work, as a respite from the legal/financial work I have been doing for years, but don't want to spend more time on administering projects than on actual translation! =)
Thanks a million for any and all input - it is much appreciated!
Susanne
PS If this should have been posted elsewhere, my apologies, and please redirect me ASAP! =) ▲ Collapse
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