| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Asked to reduce rates for shorter payment times Thread poster: Leah Morano
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Ricki Farn
Germany
Local time: 11:52
English to German
| I told them to go take a running jump | Apr 3, 2017 |
We may have received the same email from the same agency (to get there from the city's main train station, the bus crosses the River Rhine, is that it?), and I took it as an opportunity to tell them that they had actually taken quite a nice discount already by secretly starting to select "internal fuzzies" in their analyses a few years ago, and introducing additional quality checks recently that were traditionally their job not mine, and that I wasn't going to give them a discount over something... See more We may have received the same email from the same agency (to get there from the city's main train station, the bus crosses the River Rhine, is that it?), and I took it as an opportunity to tell them that they had actually taken quite a nice discount already by secretly starting to select "internal fuzzies" in their analyses a few years ago, and introducing additional quality checks recently that were traditionally their job not mine, and that I wasn't going to give them a discount over something I couldn't care less about. The accounting person replied "no problem, thanks for letting me know", and that was it. (Her boss, who had sent the original email from her account, never replied at all.)
*$"§$#%&!!
Edit: Oh, and the same amount of work since.
[Edited at 2017-04-03 15:49 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Michael Newton 
United States
Local time: 05:52
Japanese to English
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| Reduced rates, shorter payment times | Apr 3, 2017 |
I would stick to your old rates. If they try to tinker with rates now, they may also try to tinker multiple times in the future. I was recently told by an agency that had recently been taken over by a "big fish" that unless I dropped my rates by 50 %, I would get no more work. I told the fish to go back into the ocean.
| | | | | no advantage to the translator | Apr 3, 2017 |
Hopefully you have a steady flow of payments from various customers. Getting paid earlier has no real advantages unless you are living hand to mouth. But getting paid less does have a disadvantage since we use money to pay for things we need or want. Less money means less of that.
| | | | | How to answer back | Apr 4, 2017 |
Suggest that you increase rates for the longer period.
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| I actually OFFER that! | Apr 5, 2017 |
The truth is that too many translation agencies - after the outset of the ongoing globalization - still cling to the one-size-fits-all approach. That's why agencies from Delhi offer India rates to translators living in Zurich or Los Angeles.
I live in Brazil and, due to my local circumstances, years ago I decided to separate translation costs from financial costs. Since in translation the supply chain starts with me - the translator - any payment term beyond COD is tantamount to me ... See more The truth is that too many translation agencies - after the outset of the ongoing globalization - still cling to the one-size-fits-all approach. That's why agencies from Delhi offer India rates to translators living in Zurich or Los Angeles.
I live in Brazil and, due to my local circumstances, years ago I decided to separate translation costs from financial costs. Since in translation the supply chain starts with me - the translator - any payment term beyond COD is tantamount to me granting a loan to my client.
Interest rates in Brazil are shockingly high, often in the 15~20% per month (sic!) range.
Funds transfer fees are also hefty. For instance, PayPal deducts 6.5~7.5% of everything I receive through them. Were that not enough, they overtly adopt a 3.5% lower-than-market exchange rate to convert funds into my local currency.
As PayPal is owned by and supposedly devised for eBay, they strictly forbid "sellers" (the translator, in this case) to surcharge "buyers" (the client, in this case) for their fees. Penalties include freezing the account and scooping the existing balance.
My "bare" translation rate assumes the client coming in person to my place to pick up the translation, and handing me a wad of cash in local currency to pay for it. This is the rate I offer to those who ask about my "best rate" - an expression often execrated by many translators. The issue becomes how much it would cost THEM in money and inconvenience to fly all the way here and get that rate, as there are modern, albeit often costly, ways of handling it online.
So, when I'm asked for a quote I give three prices, considering the variable financial costs.
1. Standard - The rate for payment via PayPal within two weeks from delivery with invoice.
2. Sensible - 10% discount on Standard, for payment via bank transfer or P2P services (e.g. Western Union, Moneygram) within two weeks. As PayPal is not involved at all in the transaction, they cannot impose their penalties.
3. Smart - 16.7% discount on Standard, for payment via bank xfer or P2P within two business days from delivery with invoice. If they don't have the cash, and can get a loan with a lower interest rate locally, it's their choice. I have no interest in the money lending business. (pun intended)
To illustrate the role interest plays in this game, I don't know how it is now, but there was a time when interest rates in Argentina were much higher than in Brazil. So a translation agency from Argentina contacted me, and their offer was "We don't care about how high your rates are, as long as you agree to get paid 60 days after month end."
So it's a matter of checking whether the translator's specific financial costs justify reduced rates for faster payment.
I am not an expert in finance, so I cannot understand it, however I see that there are negative interest rates in Switzerland. To me, it mathematically means that a client asking for a discount there should offer to pay, say, one year later than COD. However there is still the issue of the translator's cash flow, having money to pay the bills.
Bottom line, if you live in a place where interest rates are extremely low, your decision to offer a discount for faster payment should rely basically on your cash flow. It becomes easy to say "No, faster payment makes no difference to me" or otherwise. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | need to be more specific | Apr 5, 2017 |
Leah Morano wrote:
Hi everyone,
I just received a group email from an agency that I work with quite often offering shorter payment times for a slightly reduced rate.
Thanks.
What are they exactly asking for? Do they want you to reduce your rate or do they want to apply a reduction on the invoice amount? And what payment terms do they offer?
I for myself would not go with a reduced rate, but a reduction of 2-3% off the invoice amount in case of payment within 3-5 days from sending the invoice might be acceptable IMO, provided the workload/invoice amount is appropriate.
By appropriate I mean this arrangement is useful only if the invoice amount is high enough, i.e. for bigger jobs or for regular monthly workloads.
[Edited at 2017-04-05 15:21 GMT]
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 11:52
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Leah Morano wrote:
I just received a group email from an agency that I work with quite often offering shorter payment times for a slightly reduced rate.
Is the quicker payment worth paying for? If not, simply write a polite mail back telling them that you're perfectly happy with their current payment time.
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