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Poll: Do you normally round the total value of your invoice?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
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Jun 1, 2016

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you normally round the total value of your invoice?".

This poll was originally submitted by ferreirac. View the poll results »



 
Michael Harris
Michael Harris  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 17:02
Member (2006)
German to English
No Jun 1, 2016

Why would I do that?

 
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 17:02
Member (2012)
English to Danish
+ ...
No Jun 1, 2016

why would I do that?

Well, coming to think of it, sometimes it crossed my mind with amounts like $ 285.03

[Edited at 2016-06-01 08:37 GMT]


 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
No - the opposite Jun 1, 2016

Charging £254.36 suggests a more scientific and professional approach than a round £250, gives the customer the impression they're getting a fair price, and gets you an extra £4.36. No-brainer.

 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:02
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Only if I quoted a flat fee Jun 1, 2016

Sometimes I quote a flat fee for a PDF that can't be converted for a word count. Or a minimum.

 
Katrin Bosse (X)
Katrin Bosse (X)  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 17:02
Dutch to German
+ ...
No Jun 1, 2016

Flat fee - yes, but then that was agreed upon beforehand.

Rounding - no. I really don't see why I should. Also, it could be confusing for both parties, after all, the calculated price for my services and the amount charged on the invoice wouldn't correspond accurately anymore.


 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 17:02
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Generally no, but there are exceptions Jun 1, 2016

But I frequently agree beforehand on a round figure for the whole job.

E.g. 1037 words with a little terminology already in Trados, and a couple of pages of proofreading, good quality English written by a fluent non-native.
I invoice for 1000 words translation and an hour's proofreading.

Decimals may suggest a scientific approach, but round fees sometimes suggest the language consultant charging fees by the hour, not a pieceworker in a cottage industry.
It d
... See more
But I frequently agree beforehand on a round figure for the whole job.

E.g. 1037 words with a little terminology already in Trados, and a couple of pages of proofreading, good quality English written by a fluent non-native.
I invoice for 1000 words translation and an hour's proofreading.

Decimals may suggest a scientific approach, but round fees sometimes suggest the language consultant charging fees by the hour, not a pieceworker in a cottage industry.
It depends which makes the most favourable impression on your client, and probably which subject area you work in!

If I do calculate a round fee before I start, I nearly always round UP, to allow for administration and all those little things you can't specify on the invoice. These jobs generally come from my favourite clients, however, so if it is only a small amount above a round figure, and they are paying a good basic rate to start with, I round down to keep the balance.
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Charlie Bavington
Charlie Bavington  Identity Verified
Local time: 16:02
French to English
Better yet Jun 1, 2016

Chris S wrote:

Charging £254.36 suggests a more scientific and professional approach than a round £250, gives the customer the impression they're getting a fair price, and gets you an extra £4.36. No-brainer.


Charging £255.00 gives you a whole extra fiver, and also helps avoid giving the impression one is some kind of nitpicking word-count obsessive. I'm very much in favour of lump-sum quoting where possible (direct clients, mostly, but not exclusively), although it does tend to be based on the word count, which makes it easy to justify or explain the price on those rare occasions one is asked "where did you get that figure from?".

Note to all readers - rounding can be up as well as down

Quite a chunky discussion on the topic here https://nikkigrahamtranix.com/2016/01/17/lump-it-and-like-it/ if one is so minded, or having a slow day


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 16:02
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No! Jun 1, 2016

Why?

P.S. I have just remembered that some years ago as I accepted cash payments for sworn translations it was often easier to round the total up or down to a convenient amount, but even then this was the exception not the norm...

[Edited at 2016-06-01 13:50 GMT]


 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Cards on table Jun 1, 2016

Charlie Bavington wrote:


Charging £255.00 gives you a whole extra fiver, and also helps avoid giving the impression one is some kind of nitpicking word-count obsessive.


Fair point. Just think what you could do with that extra 64p!

I was only messing, as usual. I'd actually quote £300 and pocket an extra £50.


 
EvaVer (X)
EvaVer (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 17:02
Czech to French
+ ...
Depends Jun 1, 2016

In Czech crowns, certainly, except when the client wants otherwise. In EUR or USD, no.

 
Sara Maghini
Sara Maghini  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:02
English to Italian
+ ...
No, why would you?! Jun 1, 2016

I find this question kind of puzzling, to be honest.

 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 17:02
Spanish to English
+ ...
Other Jun 1, 2016

In life in general, I usually prefer to err on the side of generosity whenever possible, and among friends, tend to round down or up in their favour, for example if I pay for a meal and it comes to 12 quid each (Spanish prices), I'll say 'just give us a tenner'. However, bills issued to clients are another thing entirely.
I might round down the wordcount for favoured clients, for example if it's 740 words, bill them for 700, things like that. The other week another translator - friend of a
... See more
In life in general, I usually prefer to err on the side of generosity whenever possible, and among friends, tend to round down or up in their favour, for example if I pay for a meal and it comes to 12 quid each (Spanish prices), I'll say 'just give us a tenner'. However, bills issued to clients are another thing entirely.
I might round down the wordcount for favoured clients, for example if it's 740 words, bill them for 700, things like that. The other week another translator - friend of a friend - asked me to do a job for him. I quoted him my basic rate and he accepted. When it was time to bill him, I gave him a 12.5% discount simply because I felt like it and as a gesture of good faith.
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Ana Cravidao
Ana Cravidao
Local time: 16:02
Member (2012)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No Jun 1, 2016

No. Why should I? There are no bank notes and coins involved.

 
Jeff Whittaker
Jeff Whittaker  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 12:02
Member (2002)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Yes Jun 1, 2016

I always get rid of the .xx because it makes accounting easier.

 
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Poll: Do you normally round the total value of your invoice?






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