How do I charge for transcription and translation combined?
Thread poster: Anders Uhlin
Anders Uhlin
Anders Uhlin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:54
Member (2013)
English to Swedish
+ ...
Aug 20, 2017

A company that originally asked for my price per word, has subsequently told me they've got both text and audio files to be translated.

It's not too late to tell them that the fee for audio is going to be higher, but I'm unsure about how to charge for the audio, as it involves both translation and transcription, and translating from audio takes me about 4 times longer than translating from a text file.

What I understand is that some add a per-minute fee, based on the le
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A company that originally asked for my price per word, has subsequently told me they've got both text and audio files to be translated.

It's not too late to tell them that the fee for audio is going to be higher, but I'm unsure about how to charge for the audio, as it involves both translation and transcription, and translating from audio takes me about 4 times longer than translating from a text file.

What I understand is that some add a per-minute fee, based on the length of the audio. So for example, if you charge $5 per minute, a five minute audio would cost the client $25 in addition to the translation fee.

Any advice would be much appreciated.
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Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 09:54
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Pretty much spot on, I'd say Aug 20, 2017

Anders Uhlin wrote:
What I understand is that some add a per-minute fee, based on the length of the audio. So for example, if you charge $5 per minute, a five minute audio would cost the client $25 in addition to the translation fee.

That's pretty much exactly what I'd charge for the transcription. The only slight problem with transcription plus translation is that you can't give them the translation fee until you've done the transcription, as you don't know how many words will be spoken.


 
Lincoln Hui
Lincoln Hui  Identity Verified
Hong Kong
Local time: 17:54
Member
Chinese to English
+ ...
Per minute Aug 20, 2017

Without a script, I like to offer $10/minute. Or they could provide the script/transcript for you to charge by word.

Xiaochen Zhang (X)
 
Anders Uhlin
Anders Uhlin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:54
Member (2013)
English to Swedish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Sheila Aug 20, 2017

I've told them how much I charge per target word, so after I've delivered the translation they would, in the case of an audio translation, pay for the final amount of target words + the transcription fee.

Many thanks to all for your contributions!


 
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:54
French to English
Difference between estimate and quote Aug 21, 2017

There are two stages here. Firstly, you can estimate the time it will take to do the transcription and provide an estimate for that part of the job. At that time, you can indicate your translation rate per source word. Secondly, once you have noted the original text, you can then provide a quote for the number of words to be translated.

Time alone is difficult as a 5-minute video may have lots of blank spaces. It is also possible to have someone who speaks very quickly and packs in
... See more
There are two stages here. Firstly, you can estimate the time it will take to do the transcription and provide an estimate for that part of the job. At that time, you can indicate your translation rate per source word. Secondly, once you have noted the original text, you can then provide a quote for the number of words to be translated.

Time alone is difficult as a 5-minute video may have lots of blank spaces. It is also possible to have someone who speaks very quickly and packs in a lot of words into a small space. The only accurate way I have found of doing this is as above. Once it is explained to the client, they can understand the logic behind it.
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Kristen Canavan
Dmitriy Celt
 


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How do I charge for transcription and translation combined?







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