By Moez Sghaier
Updated August 18, 202 3:04 p.m.
As a professional translator, my fair rate of an English – French business translation should:
· Be not too low.
· Be not too high.
· Take into account the client’s willingness to pay for such a service.
· Allow for a discount for large projects.
· Allow for a minimum charge.
· Allow for an overcharge for rush projects.
My English – French business translation rate is not too low
A fair rate of an English – French business translation cannot be too low. To be cost effective, it has to cover the costs that my translation services business, Moez Translations usually has.
Those costs include:
· Smartphone with a reliable internet connection (to get the requests answered timely and efficiently).
· Hardware (desktop, back-up laptop, printer/scanner, paper shredder).
· Office software (MS Office suite and the like, antivirus, antimalware, invoicing, etc.).
· CAT tools (Trados Studio, memoQ, and the like),
· Office supplies and overheads.
· Memberships (in professional bodies such as the American Translators Association).
· Marketing (in translators’ platforms such as ProZ.com, social media, own website).
· And attending professional development events (webinars, conferences, etc.).
My English – French business translation rate is not too high
A fair rate cannot be too high either. To be competitive, my proposed rate has to be higher than the rate of an English – French business translator proposing a lower translation quality.
It has to be roughly the same as the rate of an English – French business translator who is proposing the same quality.
Finally, it has to be lower than the rate of an English – French business translator who is proposing a better quality.
My English – French business translation rate takes into account my client’s willingness to pay for such a service
A fair rate has to take into account the client’s willingness to pay for such a service. To do so as an English – French business translator, I have to know and acknowledge what my client can afford to pay for my services.
A kind reminder in this regard is that a higher quality deserves a higher price.
On another note as a business, Moez Translations legitimately seeks and tries to onboard the highest paying clients possible in its portfolio.
My English – French business translation rate allows for a discount for large projects
A lower price for large projects seems reasonable to me too. For instance, negotiating a threshold of a few thousand words with the client from which offering a discount of a few percentage points is perfectly reasonable.
The rationale behind offering such a discount is to encourage onboarding new clients, to better cover the costs especially the fixed ones e.g. software, and to give a client with a large volume the obvious priority compared to a standard one.
My English – French business translation rate allows for a minimum charge
It is also fair to have a minimum charge per hour, page, or dollar amount for an English – French business translation project.
The rationale behind this is that very small projects (not exceeding 100 words) are difficult to fit in my busy schedule as an English – French business translator.
Also, the time spent on small projects has to be justified business-wise. Finally, projects always compete against each other as time to work on them is a limited resource.
My English – French business translation allows for an overcharge for rush projects
It is legitimate also to charge a higher price for rush English – French business translation projects, the ones that have to be delivered the same day for example. A negotiated overcharge of a few percentage points would be reasonable in this regard as well.
The rationale behind this is that the English – French business translation project accepted in a rush becomes a priority compared to other projects.
Also as a professional translator, I have no choice but to work under pressure to deliver the project on time while still maintaining high quality standards.
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