Working document
The quote-ready file checklist
Twenty checks that stand between an incoming file and a price you will not regret, grouped in the order you actually do them.
Free resources
Resources for translators and small language companies
Free calculators, honest tool comparisons and a working quoting checklist, plus the reporting in Source and Target on rates, deadlines and certification rules.
Everything gathered here answers a question that comes up before the translating starts. What should this file cost, given the fuzzy bands and my minimum fee. Can this deadline be met with the hours I have this week. Which of the tools this trade actually buys is sized for a shop like mine. What did I forget to ask before I sent the price.
The calculators and the checklist are free and need no account. The comparison pages name real products and describe them at the level of scope and approach rather than inventing feature claims, because you will check their sites anyway and a comparison that oversells helps nobody. Source and Target carries the longer reporting on rate cards, certification requirements and where post editing work is heading.
Free tools
Free calculators for translators and small language companies
Two calculators that answer the questions that come up before you accept a job: what should this cost, and can it actually be delivered on time.
Comparisons
How WordRate compares with the other tools translators buy
WordRate is a quoting tool with client rate cards and glossary storage, so the honest question is whether your bottleneck is the quote or the rest of the business.
Main guide
How to Build a Translation Rate Card With Minimums and Rush Tiers
This guide settles what belongs on a translation rate card, from the per word bands and the minimum fee to rush tiers, fuzzy grids and the hourly lines that keep small jobs profitable.
Magazine
Source and Target
Rates, deadlines, terminology and certification rules for freelance translators and the small language companies that hire them.
About
Who writes all of this
The author page covers who writes Source and Target and why per word rates, fuzzy grids, certified filings and the working week of a small language company are the only subjects this site pays attention to.
Keep the calculators, see the rest
The tools, the comparison pages and the quoting checklist are here to be used with no account, and plenty of translators work that way for years. If the part that wears you down is hunting for what you charge this agency, what the minimum fee was, and which glossary version is current, a short demo shows all three living on one client record.