How to "contract" with a client in case of a short deadline/express communication? Thread poster: Anna Jirásková
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Hi everyone,
I need an advice regarding contracts as a translator.
A few months ago I had this issue with a company. They send me a document, which they need translated in two days. It was a large volume and I had to begin immediately, without prolonging the communication. They received it on time and promised to pay at the end of the month.
Meanwhile I communicated with them further, discussing possible edits to make the text sound more natural in the first pl... See more Hi everyone,
I need an advice regarding contracts as a translator.
A few months ago I had this issue with a company. They send me a document, which they need translated in two days. It was a large volume and I had to begin immediately, without prolonging the communication. They received it on time and promised to pay at the end of the month.
Meanwhile I communicated with them further, discussing possible edits to make the text sound more natural in the first place, providing feedback for the work of another translator (who worked on the other half and had some obvious mistakes in their work). Not even a single mention of my work being somehow inadequate.
But... at the end of the month, after writing to them to check on it, they apologized and promised to pay at the end of the next month.
And when that did not happen either, I wrote to them again, asking where my payment is (but politely ofc).
They said that the payment will NOT be made "because the quality is too bad and we can't pay you for this machine quality". No other details provided. And I totally deny that. I spent several hours of my free time (the only weekend I could visit my parents after not seeing them for a year due to COVID, btw) working on this with great effort, creativity and resilience. It was definitely NOT a "machine quality".
I asked them to re-check - perhaps they mismatched my work with the other translator? - but they only said something about "trying to make the discount" with the client. No other response since then, basically ghosting me.
Long story short, I feel scammed. Should I just send them the invoice for my work? How do you think I should proceed?
However, the main question of this post: How do you resolve contracting in case of a very short deadline? Do you have a pre-made "contract", wait for an electronic signature and start the work only after receiving it signed? What is even the standard for this?
I have been translating for about 9 years already, but I never had the experience of such a large... well... bummer. I feel dumb about it and want to prevent such things from happening in the future.
Thank you for your answer! ▲ Collapse
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I only accept rush jobs from my regulars and I don’t take a big volume project from a first-time client unless it’s a well-known organization, I always start with one or two small ones (max. 5,000 words) just to “test the waters”…
| | | | Jean Lachaud 
United States
Local time: 08:57
English to French
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| I have a Work Order template | Sep 29, 2021 |
In the USA, even a mere verbal agreement over the phone is a valid contract, valid in court. A fortiori, an E-mail stating "OK," "Proceed," "go-ahead" or similar words.
I use a simple Word form, on which I enter the date, name/address/etc. of customer, description of work, delivery date, etc. which I ask prospective all new customers to sign before I start any work. I've been burned before.
Surprisingly, no customer has ever argued about sending me back that doc... See more In the USA, even a mere verbal agreement over the phone is a valid contract, valid in court. A fortiori, an E-mail stating "OK," "Proceed," "go-ahead" or similar words.
I use a simple Word form, on which I enter the date, name/address/etc. of customer, description of work, delivery date, etc. which I ask prospective all new customers to sign before I start any work. I've been burned before.
Surprisingly, no customer has ever argued about sending me back that document with a signature. I wish that more 21st-century forms of electronic signature were available for smaller businesses like ours. And, no, I'm not ready to pay to use Docusign or other.
J L
Anna Jirásková wrote:
Do you have a pre-made "contract", wait for an electronic signature and start the work only after receiving it signed? What is even the standard for this?
[Edited at 2021-09-29 15:07 GMT]
[Edited at 2021-09-29 15:07 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 06:57
Dutch to English
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I think that if you want to get any payment at all, you may have to go along with the discount. Tell them again that you did a good job on the translation but you will give them the discount anyway. Have them confirm when the payment will be made. I understand that you feel scammed but it is not because you are dumb, it is because there are bad people and bad companies out there.
In general, I agree with Teresa, that accepting a large volume of work from a company you have never wor... See more I think that if you want to get any payment at all, you may have to go along with the discount. Tell them again that you did a good job on the translation but you will give them the discount anyway. Have them confirm when the payment will be made. I understand that you feel scammed but it is not because you are dumb, it is because there are bad people and bad companies out there.
In general, I agree with Teresa, that accepting a large volume of work from a company you have never worked with before is risky. Tell the prospective client that you are not available at that time but that you would like to work with them in the future. Then wait and see if they ever contact you again. If this was a company outside Europe or North America contacting you about a translation into czech you might a little doubtful to begin with: how did they get a client with that language combination?
In my experience, giving further suggestion for edits or changes after you have already submitted the translation to a translation company will rarely be considered. They have already moved on to another job. I suggest doing that only with a direct client you have worked with before.
I hope your next job will be more satisfying and will be paid promptly. ▲ Collapse
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