How should I get paid as a project manager? Thread poster: Rea Bartlett Tandon
|
Hi everyone! So I’m a translation student (Master’s level, if that makes any difference) and am just starting a freelance partnership with a company. On top of performing translations for them myself, they also want me to act as a project manager for the language combinations I cannot translate between personally. As I am charging per word for my translation services, I’m not sure how I should charge for the project management part for other translations. A small... See more Hi everyone! So I’m a translation student (Master’s level, if that makes any difference) and am just starting a freelance partnership with a company. On top of performing translations for them myself, they also want me to act as a project manager for the language combinations I cannot translate between personally. As I am charging per word for my translation services, I’m not sure how I should charge for the project management part for other translations. A small percentage of the overall project price, or a small price per word? Does anyone have and ideas or experience with this kind of setup? Thank you in advance! ▲ Collapse | | |
I would charge by the hour. All other forms of pricing are just an approximation of an hourly labour rate anyway. I’m intrigued by this arrangement though. It is pretty unusual... | | |
Good point, thank you Yeah it's not something I've come across much before either. As it's a startup web-based company I'll be working with, I think they just want to employ someone to deal with the whole translation side of things while they work on developing the actual product. Thank again for your input! | | | Joakim Braun Sweden Local time: 22:52 German to Swedish + ... By project + percentage? | Nov 13, 2020 |
Your customer will strongly prefer a fixed cost. I suggest a base fee per project, covering perhaps half an hour's work, plus a percentage of the project price (when price > some amount). Or, if you're a gambler, a (higher) fee per project. Maybe agree to this for X projects (at least 20-30) with the understanding that you may want to renegotiate later. If you turn out to have been wildly optimistic, that's a useful beginner's experience. | |
|
|
IrinaN United States Local time: 15:52 English to Russian + ... Do you know what you are about to manage? | Nov 13, 2020 |
Sorry but I doubt that you fully realize what project management is. Their approach is very strange indeed. This is the case when you have nothing to guess about until the client presents an offer followed by a very detailed and specific description of duties and responsibilities. Half an hour? Are you about to deal with translators, editors, proofreaders and end clients? Monitor deadlines, invoices and payments? Handle delivery of glossaries, take calls and emails with questions? B... See more Sorry but I doubt that you fully realize what project management is. Their approach is very strange indeed. This is the case when you have nothing to guess about until the client presents an offer followed by a very detailed and specific description of duties and responsibilities. Half an hour? Are you about to deal with translators, editors, proofreaders and end clients? Monitor deadlines, invoices and payments? Handle delivery of glossaries, take calls and emails with questions? Be available 24/7 before the project is all done and delivered? Or simply work as the last in the assembly line and a shipper after everyone else did their job? Without knowing the above there are no boundaries to how they can take advantage of you in the future. ▲ Collapse | | | Tina Vonhof (X) Canada Local time: 14:52 Dutch to English + ...
Don't start a sentence with 'So' - it is superfluous. | | | Barbara Carrara Italy Local time: 22:52 Member (2008) English to Italian + ...
Rea Bartlett Tandon wrote: As it's a startup web-based company I'll be working with, I think they just want to employ someone to deal with the whole translation side of things while they work on developing the actual product. (emphasis mine) Having read Rea's comment and her profile, it appears that she will be helping the company with their machine translation development and set-up across a number of languages, even 'those language combinations I cannot translate between personally' (quoted from Rea's initial post). As a (human) translator, I am strongly averse to MT and MTPE (which I truly abhor, having had a few nightmarish experiences in the past), so all I can do is wish Rea good luck. Barbara out! | | | Mervyn Henderson (X) Spain Local time: 22:52 Spanish to English + ...
So difficult to decide? I don't think so. You're being paid by the word on the other bit, right? Then, as Chris S said right at the beginning here, you just work out how much you earn in an hour from that, add a bit on because why not, they'll never know, and keep a close watch on your hours. At the beginning, tell them you did X hours today, Y hours yesterday, and Z hours the day before, to give them an idea of what you're going to be charging, to give them the chance to say, What, whoa ...!. <... See more So difficult to decide? I don't think so. You're being paid by the word on the other bit, right? Then, as Chris S said right at the beginning here, you just work out how much you earn in an hour from that, add a bit on because why not, they'll never know, and keep a close watch on your hours. At the beginning, tell them you did X hours today, Y hours yesterday, and Z hours the day before, to give them an idea of what you're going to be charging, to give them the chance to say, What, whoa ...!. "act as a project manager for the language combinations I cannot translate between personally." Do you even know how many languages there are, or what kind of workload you'll have? Best to ask right at the start. Most translation outfits "handle" translations from just about any language to just about any language.
[Edited at 2020-11-14 10:31 GMT] ▲ Collapse | |
|
|
Ivana Kahle Germany Local time: 22:52 Member (2007) German to Croatian + ... | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » How should I get paid as a project manager? Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.
More info » |
| Anycount & Translation Office 3000 | Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |