Project management software for a small translation agency Thread poster: Petya Ivanova
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Petya Ivanova 
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:47
Bulgarian to English
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Hello,
I represent a small translation agency.
I would be happy if someone can help me with information on project management software which I can use to track projects, freelancers, invoices (overdue, outstanding).
I deleted the price related sentence so not to cause any discussion on prices of software.
[Edited at 2009-06-06 12:37 GMT]
[Edited at 2009-06-06 12:38 GMT]
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| Sorry - a bit off-topic | Jun 6, 2009 |
Petya Ivanova wrote:
...since we are a small company we cannot afford EUR 800 software.
I find it a bit disconcerting that a company doesn't feel it has enough capital to invest €800 in its business.
At the same time many translation agencies (please note that I'm generalising here and don't in anyway refer to your agency) demand that freelancers buy expensive CAT tools. Some of them costing more than $800.
I would be very hesitant to work for an agency which is unable/unwilling to invest such a "small" amount in its business. My main worry would be: does this agency have enough resources to pay its freelancers promptly? Even if the agency ends up with a defaulting end client? As I'm sure you're aware, defaulting end clients are the agency's problem, not the freelancer's.
[Edited at 2009-06-06 12:25 GMT]
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| Sorry - a bit off-topic | Jun 6, 2009 |
Double posting
[Edited at 2009-06-06 12:32 GMT]
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Petya Ivanova
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:47
Bulgarian to English
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TOPIC STARTER | @Madeleine - Good point | Jun 6, 2009 |
I completely agree with all you have said. But:
- We are willing to invest more that EUR 800 and we have done it so far but "at this stage" we want a temporary solution for project tracking until we made the decision to buy a software.
- We are not defaulting our clients.
- We do pay our freelancers, actually I tend to work as a team with them.
Thanks anyway, Madeleine
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 03:47
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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Petya Ivanova wrote:
I would be happy if someone can help me with information on project management software which I can use to track projects, freelancers, invoices (overdue, outstanding).
I wonder if it is wise to rely on software to track these things if you haven't done so manually yourself before. I mean, if you don't know how to bookkeeping (for example), do you think a bookkeeping program will help at all? I have had a personal experience of this when I had to do project management, and none of the project management software that I tried was of any use... because they all assume that I already know how to do project management. So, I wonder if project management software isn't more aimed at people who already know how to do project management. Even if the tool was designed for translators and agencies -- how much of the tool is newbie education and how much of it is existing skill?
I know there are some good stuff on the market but since we are a small company we cannot afford EUR 800 software.
I do agree with Madeleine somewhat, but I also agree that EUR 800 is a lot of money to spend on something you're not sure will have any benefit.
I wonder if I would be giving bad advice if I were to suggest that you use Excel spreadsheets and pen-and-paper to keep track of projects for a few months, so that you know what is involved before you buy (or test) a project management system.
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Williamson
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:47
Flemish to English
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Not in every E.U.-country, the income/salary is as high as in Sweden and other Western-European Countries.
That said: Projetex (www.projetex.com) costs about 600 euros. The software from AIT usually is not that expensive. There is a 30 day free-trial period.
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| Not meant to reflect on you and your agency Petya | Jun 6, 2009 |
Petya Ivanova wrote:
- We are not defaulting our clients.
- We do pay our freelancers, actually I tend to work as a team with them.
Sorry Petya, didn't mean to insinuate that you and your agency default or don't pay. Just giving voice to the feelings I get when hearing about agencies unable/unwilling to invest in their business.
@Williamson
Not that this thread has anything to do with relative income in various geographical locations.
Gross income/salary has little to do with actual money earned. Net income/salary in Sweden (where I don't currently live - see my profile) is not that high if you take into account taxation and social fees. When I worked as a freelancer in Sweden four years ago I paid roughly 65% before deductions.
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Attila Piróth
France
Local time: 03:47
Member
English to Hungarian
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| You should have a look at Beetext Flow SaaS ( 99$/mth/pm access) | Jun 6, 2009 |
You should look at Beetext Flow SaaS workflow application. If you need more info about this application you can visit Beetext.com website or you can watch the overview intro video on the Beetext marketing banner on the proz.com page.
I also know that Beetext/proz.com currently offer a 30 days free trial with unlimited support to all proz.com members.
If you want to know more about this Workflow solution let me know.
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| Another possibility | Jun 7, 2009 |
Have a look at Project ]open[ Translation. I rejected this ages ago, but more recently I'm taking another look, as the VMWare image setup is rather easy.
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