Factors considered when deciding on the charging rates of a translation job:

• Source and target language
• Length of the text (ideally, the word count or number of pages)
• Legibility (for example if the document is a fax, photo copy or hand-written, it can be badly legible)
• Subject and intended use (Is it for information only, publication or advertising? Is it a document that will be intended for wide readership, such as a website, marketing brochure or information leaflet? All such documents require the highest standards and accuracy). I would strongly recommend that you have all your documents intended for publishing proof-read by a second person, who is able to look at the text with "fresh eyes" and double-check the grammar, content and style.
• Does the text contain specialised technical terminology specific to your organisation or industry? If so, do you have a glossary of terms which you have in use to ensure consistency of your company documentation?
• Can you give me the name and contact details for a person in your organisation who would be able to help with any technical queries?
• Does the document contain tables or illustrations that need to be translated?
• Format of the final translation? (I work in Word, Excel and Power-point; I am very good at creating tables in Word, however, I am not presently equipped to work with complicated graphics).
• Can you supply the document in a format which I can simply overtype? For example Word or Excel are ideal and time-efficient, which will save my time and your money.
• How do you want me to deliver the translation: email attachment, fax, post, courier? If in electronic form, would you prefer a PDF (read only) file?
• Will you require that I carry out the work with the use of translation memory tools, such as Trados Workbench or SDLX?
• Deadline for delivery. Please note that if you want the job done thoroughly (translation and revision) I will need to be given sufficient time. As a rough guide I can translate approximately 1,500 to 2,500 words per day which depends on the complexity of the text and how much time I will need to spend researching any specialised terminology. Please take into account how much time will need to be spent on "polishing" the document.
• Rush jobs. If the deadline will require that I work over the weekend or during antisocial hours, I will charge higher rates to allow for this.