My approach towards my fee structure is to remain as flexible as possible within specific commercial constraints. The following is intended to provide potential clients with a basis for calculating a rough order of magnitude budget for specific translation projects, by quoting a basic fee per 100 words, and to provide some examples of how payment plans may be structured depending upon the size and duration of the project. But please feel free to make alternative suggestions that may work better for you within your own commercial constraints: my objective is to enter into business with you on a basis that works for both parties rather than to attempt to force people into accepting my fee proposals as if these were chiselled in stone.

Please note that the word counts indicated in the following paragraphs refer to the number of words in the source text, which is of course the only basis we have of estimating the size of the project because the final translation may well end up longer or shorter depending upon the choices made during the translation process.

The Basic Calculation

If you are considering engaging my services for a specific translation please base your rough calculations on a basic fee of £8 per 100 words pro rata. I have to apply a minimum charge of £20 for any project because there are certain administrative tasks to be carried out regardless of the size of the document to be translated. Effectively this means that anything up to 250 words will cost £20 and everything over that will either be calculated on the basic pro rata rate or on a discounted rate (see below).

The following are some examples of how this works out for projects of varying sizes:

• 195 words = 195/100 x £8 = £15.60 rounded up to minimum charge of £20

• 250 words = 200/100w x £8 = £16 rounded up to £20

• 3,025 words = 3025/100w x £8 = £242

• 10,739 words = 10739/100w x £8 = £859.12

To complete your basic calculations please add VAT calculated at the current rate and, depending upon how you wish to receive the completed translation, you may need to reckon with postal charges.

Calculating Cash Flow

Because I can only remain in business and can only continue to provide this service if I am able to maintain a fairly regular cash flow, I find it necessary to modify the basic fee calculation outlined above depending upon the size of the project in question and its likely duration. This will affect your own cash flow projections and you should take it into account when making your basic calculations or when comparing my service offering to that of another translator. The following guidelines will help you to refine your calculations.

For translations between:

• 1 & 16,999 words I will only request full payment upon completion of the project

• 17,000 & 60,999 words I will ask for a deposit of £500 in advance and the remainder upon completion, based on a reduced rate of £7 per 100 words

• For projects of over 70,000 I would require advance payment of £1,400 for every 70,000 words, pro rata, and the remainder upon completion based on a reduced rate of £6 per 100 words

Some example payment plans:

• 15,578 words – fee = 15,578/100 words x £8 = £1,246.24 (net of VAT) to be paid upon completion of the project

• 47,963 words – fee = 47,963/100 w x £7 = £3,357 total fee (net of VAT)

• Advance payment = £500

• Balance = £2,857

• 117,822 words – fee = 117,822/100 w x £6 = £7,069 total fee (net of VAT)

• Advance payment = 117,822/70,000 = 1.68 x £1,400 = £2,352

• Balance = £7,069.32 - £2,352 = £4,717

Explanation

The payment plans outlined above are based on my average translation rate of between 3000 & 4000 words per day depending upon the complexity of the text and any associated complications such as formatting for the insertion of diagrams, the creation and insertion of tables or for example the inclusion of a bibliography or references.

Based on this expected average the projects alluded to above could take the following times to complete:

• 15,578 words between 4 & 5 days

• 47,963 words between 12 & 16 days

• 117,822 words between 29 & 39 days

As will be readily understood, working the equivalent of a week in hand, as in the first example, is unlikely to cause me any cash flow problems, whereas having to work for almost 40 days (in normal circumstances this means working days only, i.e. about 2 months), without any income whatsoever, could lead to serious problems, especially when one considers the fact that some time will elapse between presenting the finished project to the client and receiving payment.

Summary

I hope that the information presented on this page is sufficient to enable you create a rough order of magnitude estimate for any translation projects for which you may be considering commissioning my services. I trust also that the example payment structures I have offered for illustration purposes and the explanation as to why these are necessary appear to be reasonable and commercially justified.

At the same time I cannot emphasise enough my willingness to consider alternative arrangements, so please do approach me with your own ideas.