Poll: A new client without a Blue Board record contacts you for a project. Do you accept their payment con Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "A new client without a Blue Board record contacts you for a project. Do you accept their payment con".
This poll was originally submitted by Sandrine Zérouali. View the poll results »
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I always exercise due diligence in researching a new client and looking at their Blue Board record is usually the first step, but not the only one, there are many other sources information out there. So working with an agency with no entries (what about direct clients?) will depend on the warning signs I might get from other sources and on my gut feeling (over the years I developed a sixth sense when it comes to bad payers). I must say though that some of my long-standing customers are not liste... See more I always exercise due diligence in researching a new client and looking at their Blue Board record is usually the first step, but not the only one, there are many other sources information out there. So working with an agency with no entries (what about direct clients?) will depend on the warning signs I might get from other sources and on my gut feeling (over the years I developed a sixth sense when it comes to bad payers). I must say though that some of my long-standing customers are not listed in the Blue Board. I usually start with a small job just to test the waters when I'm dealing with a new agency. Regarding payment conditions, it’s up to the client to accept my terms not the other way around...
P.S. All options are possible but I must say that “impose” seems harsh and I like things to be clearly defined but pleasant. ▲ Collapse
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It depends very much on the offer.
Today an offer came in, someone looking for a Danish native speaker, offering four hours' work for 75 US dollars.
No way, straight in the bin! Others are easy to trace, give a good impression, and offer realistic rates or ask me to give an estimate.
As Teresa Borges says, there are several forms of due diligence, and it is sometimes possible to start with a small job. I look at a lot of factors besides rates - do they have a port... See more It depends very much on the offer.
Today an offer came in, someone looking for a Danish native speaker, offering four hours' work for 75 US dollars.
No way, straight in the bin! Others are easy to trace, give a good impression, and offer realistic rates or ask me to give an estimate.
As Teresa Borges says, there are several forms of due diligence, and it is sometimes possible to start with a small job. I look at a lot of factors besides rates - do they have a portal with a lot of hassle, or do they have one that works effectively? Can I contact a PM easily if I need to negotiate deadlines or anything else? How about formatting, and do they send files ready for me to work with?
Otherwise, it depends very much on the offer. If the rate is on a level with mine for similar work and the deadline is feasible, I check them out, and probably accept. Sometimes I try to negotiate, but it is impossible to impose rates. Agencies simply go and look elsewhere if they do not like my rates. ▲ Collapse
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It depends on many facts including how big the project is.
After many years in the industry I also rely a great deal on a certain acquired intuition.
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| Impose my conditions including advance payment | Jul 16, 2021 |
I nearly got scammed when I started so now I have my Terms and conditions document ready to send it to new customers, conditions which include upfront payment for new clients.
If it is an agency the question is inexistent since you have to abide their conditions if you want to work for them.
| | | | | I Avoid Start-ups | Jul 16, 2021 |
I was recently contacted by what, after I did the research, seemed to be a couple of start-ups. One was a translation agency, the other an educational book dealer. The people who contacted me were very friendly, and in one case, overly enthusiastic about having me work on their project (all kinds of exclamation points, and the like, in their correspondence). I eliminated the book dealer from the list because it seems they wanted two translations of the same book for the price of one. In the case... See more I was recently contacted by what, after I did the research, seemed to be a couple of start-ups. One was a translation agency, the other an educational book dealer. The people who contacted me were very friendly, and in one case, overly enthusiastic about having me work on their project (all kinds of exclamation points, and the like, in their correspondence). I eliminated the book dealer from the list because it seems they wanted two translations of the same book for the price of one. In the case of the agency, I had some doubts about getting paid on time, if ever. I realize that starting a business is usually not very easy, even if one, at that start, is well-intentioned; but I'm glad I held off because, earlier this week, I ended up getting awarded a prestigious, well-paid literary project which will take me to the end of this year.
[Edited at 2021-07-16 18:52 GMT]
[Edited at 2021-07-16 18:59 GMT]
[Edited at 2021-07-16 19:31 GMT]
[Edited at 2021-07-16 19:57 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Not necessarily | Jul 16, 2021 |
Anaïs Duval wrote:
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If it is an agency the question is inexistent since you have to abide their conditions if you want to work for them.
Big agencies try to press you to accept their terms and conditions, but I my advice is never to take a job without telling them what your conditions are and trying to negotiate. (Unless the conditions they propose are at least as good as yours already.)
Other agencies ask the translator to suggest a fee for the job, and then of course, you ask for a realistic fee.
Simply giving in to agencies or letting them set rates inevitably drives rates down!
You are providing the service, and they are the customer. Agencies have nothing to send on to the end client without translators. Let them know you provide a quality service, because if fast and cheap is all they want, then you cannot compete with machine translation. We may be the bottom of the pyramid, but we are also the foundation it is built on!
| | | | Mario Freitas 
Brazil
Local time: 23:40
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| Many missing options | Jul 17, 2021 |
If the potential client is not in the Blue Board, the first thing I'll certainly do is ask for an advancement. Scammers will simply not agree to pay advancements, even it it's only 10%. So it is a big test. Also, I'll never accept a large fisrt job in these cases.
However, it's essential to check their website and other references, as well as evaluating the quality of the text they sent you (correct/commercial language, your name and not "Dear translator" or the like, their full name, titl... See more If the potential client is not in the Blue Board, the first thing I'll certainly do is ask for an advancement. Scammers will simply not agree to pay advancements, even it it's only 10%. So it is a big test. Also, I'll never accept a large fisrt job in these cases.
However, it's essential to check their website and other references, as well as evaluating the quality of the text they sent you (correct/commercial language, your name and not "Dear translator" or the like, their full name, title, website, phone, etc. in the signature, and many other aspects), where the company is located, among other things.
It's not possible to determine if the potential client will be a good one, but some things let it clear that they will likely not.
[Edited at 2021-07-17 00:10 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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| Accepting the con | Jul 17, 2021 |
Great question this time, but I gave up falling for payment cons a long time ago.
Joking aside, as others have said, as I am the one providing the services, I am the one who will set the payment conditions.
If an agency doesn't like that, they are welcome to go elsewhere.
| | | | | Ask and it shall be given you | Jul 17, 2021 |
Anaïs Duval wrote:
If it is an agency the question is inexistent since you have to abide their conditions if you want to work for them.
Not true. On more than one occasion an agency has agreed to modify their payment terms (or other conditions) after I said I didn't find them acceptable.
It's certainly worth asking.
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