Quoting translation for a document you cannot see yet

2 days ago
3 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Introduction

A client asks for a price to translate twelve thousand words. Quoting from that number alone ignores everything that determines the work: whether the source is a clean editable file or a scanned photograph of a contract, whether the terminology is standard or requires research, whether the layout has to be rebuilt, and whether the client will query every third sentence.

Two jobs at identical word counts can differ by a factor of two in hours. The per-word rate is the same and the effective hourly rate is not. Only one of those figures pays your rent.

Asking to see the file before quoting is not obstructive. It is the only way to price the actual job. Clients who understand that respect the question.

1. Quoting translation for a document you cannot see means asking first

A few questions replace a guess.

Ask for the file, or a representative sample

Even two pages tells you the register, the terminology density and the format. Ask for the middle of the document rather than the first page. Most clients send it willingly. Refusing to send it is itself informative.

Ask what it is for

Publication, internal use, legal filing, marketing. The purpose changes the standard required and therefore the time. Marketing copy needs rewriting, not translating.

2. Price the format, not just the words

Production work is invisible in a word count.

Charge separately for unusable source formats

Scanned PDFs, images, locked files, presentations with text in graphics. Ask for the original wherever one exists. Recreating layout is not translation. Quote it as production.

Quote DTP and formatting as its own line

In hours rather than words. Clients understand it once it is separated. Show both lines on the quotation.

3. Handle terminology and research explicitly

Specialist work is where the hours go.

Price research where the subject demands it

Technical, legal, medical and financial texts require terminology work. So does anything with a house style. That is expertise, not overhead. Say how much research a text needs.

Offer a glossary as a deliverable

Building one takes time and it is genuinely valuable to the client for future work. Charge for it and hand it over. It also makes you harder to replace.

4. Set the revision terms before starting

Endless review cycles destroy the margin.

Include one round of client review

Further rounds charged at an hourly rate. Say so in the quotation rather than discovering it later. One round covers most reasonable projects.

Distinguish corrections from preferences

An error is yours to fix. Fix it without argument and without charge. A change of stylistic preference after delivery is new work. Say that kindly and in advance.

5. Quote a project figure where you can

Word rates invite comparison on the wrong basis.

Give one figure for the whole job

Translation, formatting, terminology, one review round. List what is included underneath it. Clients think in documents rather than in words. A single figure is easier to approve.

State a validity period and a delivery date

Both protect you, and a stated date is worth more to the client than a rate. Then meet it.

Conclusion

Word count determines almost nothing, so ask to see the file or a representative sample before quoting — two pages tell you the register, the terminology density and whether the format is usable.

Ask what the translation is for, because publication and internal use demand different standards and therefore different time. Charge separately for unusable source formats and quote formatting in hours rather than words. Price terminology research where the subject demands it, and offer the glossary as a paid deliverable. Include one review round with further rounds charged, distinguish your errors from the client's changes of preference, and quote a single project figure with a validity period and a delivery date.