How much should I charge for transcription+translation? Thread poster: Guilherme Barbosa da Silva
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I would like to know what is a fair rate per minute from transcribing a medical market research interview from Portuguese to English. Once a client asked me how much I would charge per minute for transcribing interviews from Portuguese to English. Because I did not know how much I should charge (I had never transcribed before), I answered £1. Since then, I had been assigned three projects from the same UK agency. Now, searching about how much colleagues charge, I realized my rate is VERY low an... See more I would like to know what is a fair rate per minute from transcribing a medical market research interview from Portuguese to English. Once a client asked me how much I would charge per minute for transcribing interviews from Portuguese to English. Because I did not know how much I should charge (I had never transcribed before), I answered £1. Since then, I had been assigned three projects from the same UK agency. Now, searching about how much colleagues charge, I realized my rate is VERY low and the client had the guts to ask for a discounted rate for a huge project (More than 10 audios, around 60 minutes each). So, after being that stupid, how much should I charge for both transcription and translation? I did not finish the project yet, do you think is unprofessional to tell them that I will not give them a discount for the amount of audio?
PS: I live in Brazil, so besides that, I need to pay to convert Sterlings Pounds to Real. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sheila Wilson 
Spain
Local time: 20:22
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Transcription + translation is two steps, invoiced in different ways normally. | Jul 2, 2019 |
Guilherme Barbosa da Silva wrote:
I would like to know what is a fair rate per minute from transcribing a medical market research interview from Portuguese to English.
The way you refer to it isn't helping your notion of what's involved. Transcription involves converting the spoken word into the written word; you listen and you type what you hear. In the same language. Then you may or may not need to translate the text (the transcript) into a second language.
Because I did not know how much I should charge (I had never transcribed before), I answered £1.
You mean transcribing AND translating a one-minute audio/video would earn you £1.00? Goodness me! I personally would want more than double that (and more likely £3-8, depending on multiple factors) for the transcription alone, and then I'd charge my normal per-word rate for the translation.
I did not finish the project yet, do you think is unprofessional to tell them that I will not give them a discount for the amount of audio?
You mean you haven't concluded negotiations about the rate yet, even though you've started work? That's a very dangerous thing to do. You've given up most of your negotiating power by starting work. By doing so, you've given tacit agreement to the client's request.
Although, maybe I've misunderstood the scenario. Do you perhaps mean that you started working on the basis of the usual rate, and now the client has changed his mind and wants to pay less? In that case you're in a much stronger position because the agreement was at the old rate. You can refuse to deliver at the discounted rate, putting your client in a difficult position.
A tip for the future. When facing quoting for a new type of job, it pays to invest some of your time in the first quote. For transcription, you should work on a sample, timing yourself. You could either:
a) transcribe a set length of audio (say 5 audio minutes), or
b) work for a set period of time on the audio file (say 30 minutes).
Add in the time it takes to proofread your text against the audio.
Whichever method you choose, the aim is to end up knowing:
a) how long it takes you to process each minute of audio - so you get an idea of (very roughly) how much to charge per audio minute, and
b) roughly how many words are going to need translation in the next step. That step will need to be paid for by the client too. The best way is if they agree to your normal per-word rate for whatever volume is generated. But if they insist on a set price before you start work, you'll need to estimate - and include a margin for error to make sure you don't lose out.
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 21:22
Member (2009)
English to German
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| Too low a rate | Jul 2, 2019 |
£1 per audio minute for the amount of work involved in transcription is indeed much too low. Even more so if you are expected to translate while you transcribe. These are 2 separate jobs, and should be paid separately.
Your rate should also include the currency conversion fee. However, I'm afraid that a rate increase will not be feasible with this agency because they've been receiving you transcripts and translations for a few pence.
You need to figure out how long i... See more £1 per audio minute for the amount of work involved in transcription is indeed much too low. Even more so if you are expected to translate while you transcribe. These are 2 separate jobs, and should be paid separately.
Your rate should also include the currency conversion fee. However, I'm afraid that a rate increase will not be feasible with this agency because they've been receiving you transcripts and translations for a few pence.
You need to figure out how long it takes you to transcribe and then translate 1 audio minute. Multiply this by the hours of a normal working day and figure out how much you will need to earn per month in order to pay your bills, Social security, taxes, and lead a decent life.
Also take into consideration how much work this one agency gives you per month, and how many other customers you have.
P. S. There is no such thing as being stupid, only a certain amount of inexperience. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 21:22
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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Guilherme Barbosa da Silva wrote:
I would like to know what is a fair rate per minute from transcribing a medical market research interview from Portuguese to English. So ... how much should I charge for both transcription and translation?
The best way to charge for transcription plus translation is to split it up into two tasks (the transcription by calendar hour, the translation by word), but none of these low-pay agencies will accept an open-ended quote. They want a fixed, predictable rate. So, if you're asked to quote a fixed rate for a job that carries with it a high risk that it will take longer than expected, you should neutralise that risk by assuming high average values.
Transcription:
It takes 6 to 10 minutes to transcribe 1 minute of audio. To calculate a reasonable per-minute transcription rate, take your usual per-hour rate, multiply that by 10 (or 8, or 6), and divide it by 60.
Translation:
The high average speaking speed is 150 words per minute. To calculate a reasonable per-minute translation rate, take your usual per-word rate and multiply it by 150.
(Of course, you now know how many words per minute there are in this client's audio, and you know what the audio and speech quality is, so you can adjust your rates to suit this client's audio.)
Because I did not know how much I should charge (I had never transcribed before), I answered £1. Since then, I had been assigned three projects from the same UK agency.
You should back out of this agreement as soon as you honestly can. It would be ethically acceptable, I believe, if you have misjudged the amount of time or effort, to tell the client "sorry, I misjudged the amount of effort required for this job" and then withdraw from it. You can try to soften the blow by offering to complete any work that you were given so far (or to complete the recording that you're currently working on), but only if that means that you can stop doing this fairly quickly (i.e. within hours or within days).
...and the client had the guts to ask for a discounted rate for a huge project.
Well, it's normal for clients to ask for discounts on large projects. The most common advice from other translators are: do not offer discounts for large jobs, because translators' productivity is generally not tied to the volume of work.
I did not finish the project yet, do you think is unprofessional to tell them that I will not give them a discount for the amount of audio?
If you haven't agreed to a discount yet, and your question is "is it unprofessional not to give discounts", the answer is: it is not unprofessional not to give discounts.
[Edited at 2019-07-03 06:43 GMT]
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MollyRose
United States
Local time: 14:22
English to Spanish
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| Transcribing into another language | Jul 8, 2019 |
Does anyone ever listen to the audio in one language and just type it into the target language? I think this is risky, but just wondering if that is expected by people who ask you to "transcribe from ___ to ____ language." I understand that even if that is what they expect (probably wanting to cut corners and pay less), one might refuse and divide it into two tasks, as others have already mentioned (transcribing monolingually and then translating).
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 21:22
French to English
I think that's what they think we'll do, after all interpreters translate as they speak, why shouldn't we translate as we write?
I remember at the agency, when we found interpreters for clients, they often wanted to record and transcribe what the interpreters said, and the interpreters always refused.
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Thank you very much for your answers, now I know how to proceed when something new appears. In fact, the agency thinks there is only one step because the lady keeps saying ''transcribing from Portuguese to English''. When I replied to her, saying my rate was already low and I had colleagues that charged a lot more, she answered me exactly this "to be honest I don’t know who is charging £3,£5 as a freelancer in the UK, companies charge £1.50 for Portuguese into English so the rates your coll... See more Thank you very much for your answers, now I know how to proceed when something new appears. In fact, the agency thinks there is only one step because the lady keeps saying ''transcribing from Portuguese to English''. When I replied to her, saying my rate was already low and I had colleagues that charged a lot more, she answered me exactly this "to be honest I don’t know who is charging £3,£5 as a freelancer in the UK, companies charge £1.50 for Portuguese into English so the rates your colleagues are getting are very are lucky, they paid more than companies."
I would like to know why they belittle our work so much thinking they can pay whatever they want and whenever they want. ▲ Collapse
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