tranfree issue 2 - 8 May 1999

"Payment Issues for Translators"

Welcome to issue 2 of tranfree - the newsletter for translators.

This tranfree deals with different aspects of Payment - a subject close to all our hearts! I hope you enjoy it and get some useful information out of it.

Alex Eames
tranfree editor, Author -
How to Earn $80,000+ per Year as a Freelance Translator

this tranfree contains...

• Hot Topic - Payment Terms - What is "Normal" Practice?
• Senior Staff Column
• Payment Methods
• The 4 T's - Tips, Tactics, Tricks and Techniques to improve your translation business

Hot Topic - Payment Terms - What is "Normal" Practice?

By Alex Eames

When Will I Get Paid?

The simple answer is it depends where you are, or more precisely, where the customer is. from what I have gleaned from various sources it seems that "normal" payment terms are roughly...

• 30 days in the USA
• 30 days from end of month in the UK
• 60-90 days in the Netherlands 60-90 days from end of month in Belgium
• 60-120 days from end of month in Italy

Of course this is only a guide and different agencies behave in different ways so you cannot automatically assume...

"company B is in Belgium so I won't see my money for 2-3 months"

For example I have (in my capacity as freelancer) one or two agency customers in the UK who pay within two weeks, a few who pay strictly at 30 days and a few who try to get away with 60 days from end of month. About 75% pay 30 days from the end of the month. You can probably assume the above figures will be similarly distributed for most countries.

If you make sure you ask what the client's payment terms are before you start an assignment you can decide whether or not they are acceptable to you. If they are not you can try to negotiate or not accept the work - it really is up to you! If the client sticks to your agreed terms and pays you on time - GREAT! If not he is a "late payer" (or worse - a non-payer, but these are quite rare and often well-publicised). Some agencies may take a long time to pay, but if that has been agreed they are not "late" until the deadline has been missed.

How can I minimise payment delays?

• invoice promptly - make sure that your invoice goes out the same day as you send the job files, particularly if it is the last week of the month. If you're working for an agency that pays 30, 60 or 90 days from end of month you'll get paid a month earlier if you get your invoice to them quickly. If they get your invoice after the start of the new month you might have to wait a whole month longer for your money. Make their system work for you!

• put your relationship on a professional footing by sending terms and conditions (T & C) before you start work. Not only will this give you more recourse in the event of something going wrong, but it will get you more respect as well. I was amazed at how people who were previously fairly "relaxed" about payment deadlines started paying on time when I sent out T & C to all my customers.

• give excellent service and they'll have no 'excuses' to delay your payment

• build relationships with your clients. If you can get closer to your clients in a genuine way you should take every possible opportunity to do this. Then they are more likely to sort out your payment problems as well as give you more work. It doesn't cost much to be nice!

When should I chase payment?

When it's overdue. I would recommend any time between 3 and 10 days after the agreed deadline - depending on how hungry you are!

How should I chase payment?

1. Email is the gentlest and easiest to ignore
2. Faxing is next strongest
3. A letter is quite strong - a bit more than fax
4. A phone call is very hard to evade - but don't be too aggressive and put it in writing too!

Choice of technique depends on the nature of the relationship you have with the client, how 'scared' you are of the client, and how much is the outstanding amount. I would usually start with a fax or email, wait a week or two and then phone them. You don't ever know if you got through to the right person unless you speak to them in 'real time'. Emails, faxes and letters can all be ignored or overlooked. Phoning is not used as often as it could be, presumably because people find it difficult to chase money in this way (I know I do). But it is quite effective in combination with a fax.

The more professionally you treat your business, the less likely it is that you will experience problems. This applies to payment and many other issues.

Senior Staff Column - Payment For Translation

This senior agency staff column comes from SM who works for a leading London translation agency. SM@translatortips.com (this is a forwarding address to protect SM's anonymity)

Most translators in Continental Europe (except Germany) charge by standard pages (which vary from country to country). This article talks about rates per 1000 words, but is still relevant to you if you charge by standard pages because you may want to work for a US or UK agency some day. If you do, you will have to quote a rate they can understand (per 1000 words).

When taking on a job, of course the first thing on your mind will be payment! How much, when? All these things have to be clarified when you first agree to take a job. However, it's surprising just how often people forget to discuss minor details when it comes to payment, and make everyone's life - their own included - difficult into the bargain.

The one classic which springs to mind is the age-old "source or target" debate. Many translators just assume that they'll get paid on their preferred option, which is in fact not always the case. Many companies charge their clients by source word count and therefore pay on that, while others prefer to bill on target. It can't be emphasised enough that you must find out which you'll be paid on before quoting your rate per 1000 words! If you quote a rate, you must stick to it or run the risk of appearing unprofessional to your clients.

In fact, an idea which many translators don't seem to have considered is that of having two different rates, depending on whether the client pays by source or target. When approached about a job, when the client asks what your charges are, your ideal response would be not "$xx per 1000", but "will you be paying on the source or target word count?" The client automatically thinks "hmm, here's someone who knows what they're doing", and you ensure you get paid for the work you do. Easy! Everyone happy, client gets a good impression of you and your service.

If you quote a rate per 1000 words anyway and then discover unexpectedly that the client is paying on the shorter word count, it's very much to your advantage if you can be honest, call the client and say "well, sorry, but I under-quoted you on this job because I didn't realise you were paying on the target word count. I quoted you my rate for the source word count. I'll do this particular job at this rate, but please bear in mind for the future that I charge $xx if you pay on target". You'd be amazed at the good impression this creates - you don't think "huh, that'll cost me more in future then!", you think "fair enough, what a nice gesture! Must use this person again".

The cardinal sin in this instance is completing the job and allowing the client to invoice it before saying anything about the rate! Clients base their quotes on what you quote them, and to move the goal-posts after the event compromises their professional position - or their profit. Again, if a mistake has been made, it's much more professional to be honest, say that you under-quoted on this one but won't make the same mistake again, and to charge what you quoted. The value of goodwill in this business cannot be underestimated, and you're 100% likely to keep a client if you take this attitude rather than arguing that you always charge $xx and you must be paid $xx. A little favour goes a very long way.

At the end of the day, if you can remember to find out whether you should be billing on source or target count, you'll save yourself a lot of hassle and your clients will look upon you as honest and reliable. Which is, after all, the impression you're trying to create.

Payment Methods.

By Alex Eames

In the newsgroup sci.lang.translation someone recently asked about how people get paid by agencies not located in their own country. Here are a few common methods (although there must be others which I have missed)...

1. International Bank Transfer. This is quite expensive for the client. In the UK a "Priority Payment" outside the EU costs ~16 pounds ($26). Inside the EU one can use SWIFT which is a bit cheaper (~10 pounds $16). This is only really worthwhile for fairly large projects/transactions.
   
   
2. Eurocheque In Translator's Currency (if you are in Europe). [this one is not really an option any more, but left for historical completeness] As far as I know this is just the same as being paid by cheque in your own country, at least it is in the EU. So it should be a cheap option for all concerned. It has to be done 'unofficially' though because the banks 'theoretically' can levy a charge on the person writing the cheque, if they are not in the country where the cheque is cashed (although how they think they can find out is anyone's guess).
   
   
3. Ordinary Cheque In Client's Currency. Check how much your bank will charge you for paying-in this before agreeing to it. I sent a cheque in pounds to Canada recently and the bank charges to pay it into a Canadian bank were quite small (a couple of Canadian dollars). If I send a cheque to somewhere like Poland it costs the recipient nearly 20 pounds ($30) to pay it in. So do make sure you find out first.
   
   
4. Set Up A Credit Card Merchant Account. This is very secure but it costs about 4% per transaction and a minimum monthly fee - no bad debts though! This is great if you have a lot of international traffic since you won't have to worry about not getting paid. Being able to...

   ... sleep at night should be worth 4%.

   Surprisingly few European translators accept cards - our American cousins are way ahead of us in this area.
   
   

5. Set Up A Bank Account In Your Client's Country. This is great if you expect to get a lot of work from a particular country. Your clients can then pay money directly into this. This performs 2 great functions...
   
   
   1. your client pays little or no bank charges and this makes you an attractive choice as translator
      
      
   2. you can shelter the money 'off-shore' as long as you don't need it to live on [according to UK tax law you only pay tax when you bring the money into the UK - I don't know what happens in other countries]