Translation - art & business » Interpreting »
How do you charge for 'time lost'
Thread poster: Nathaniel2
Nathaniel2
Nathaniel2
Local time: 10:03
Slovak to English
Feb 1, 2013

How would you go about calculating 'time lost' in this situation: actual interpreting time was a half day, but due to extensive travelling there and back (travel costs paid by client) I was away from my office 2 full days, i.e. couldn't accept any other work. How do I charge for this time lost? Should I charge the client on the basis of local industry standard of 6 standard pages per day at my regular per page rate? I have no actual way of knowing if I missed out on any work whilst away on this ... See more
How would you go about calculating 'time lost' in this situation: actual interpreting time was a half day, but due to extensive travelling there and back (travel costs paid by client) I was away from my office 2 full days, i.e. couldn't accept any other work. How do I charge for this time lost? Should I charge the client on the basis of local industry standard of 6 standard pages per day at my regular per page rate? I have no actual way of knowing if I missed out on any work whilst away on this job but I don't feel I need to donate my time, either. ▲ Collapse
 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 10:03
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Do you have this clause in your PO? Feb 1, 2013

Have you discussed this matter with the client, prior to accepting the task? Or even afterwards?

Small tasks are charged extra for a reason (be it interpreting or translation).
 
Phil Hand
Phil Hand  Identity Verified
China
Local time: 16:03
Chinese to English
You should talk to the client about this beforehand Feb 1, 2013

A certain level of payment for travel days is normal. Some people demand 100% of fees for travel days. I accept less (I can translate on the train/plane). But it should be worked out in advance, really.
 
Diana Coada (X)
Diana Coada (X)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:03
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Yes Feb 1, 2013

Phil Hand wrote:
A certain level of payment for travel days is normal. Some people demand 100% of fees for travel days. I accept less (I can translate on the train/plane). But it should be worked out in advance, really.


Travel days are always charged. The fees are normally between 50-100% of a normal working day.
 
Nathaniel2
Nathaniel2
Local time: 10:03
Slovak to English
TOPIC STARTER
negotiate in advance Feb 1, 2013

I do realise this, there was however no time for this and the client is actually a friend who has told me to bill how I please. I don't want to either over-bill or under-bill and just wondered about the "standard" calculaltion of rates, if there is such a thing. Thanks for your input
 
Parrot
Parrot  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 10:03
Spanish to English
+ ...
If it's any help Feb 1, 2013

Professional congress organizers consider briefing fee and travel time the same (50-60%). This should be about the amount you'd make translating during the same amount of time. (Since PCOs also hire translators, they base it on the rate they give and the performance they expect; i.e., 500 words/hour).
 
Edward Vreeburg
Edward Vreeburg  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 10:03
Member (2008)
English to Dutch
+ ...
time lost = training experience Feb 2, 2013

So you've just learned that 1/2 day work actually cost you 2 days in the office
- a) you need to have some way to check your mail and messages while on route
- b) a messaging or answering service to deal with your potential clients

So basically this was a learning experience.

Ed
 


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How do you charge for 'time lost'







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