| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Do you think we should charge for providing TMs to a client? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you think we should charge for providing TMs to a client?".
This poll was originally submitted by Ines R.. View the poll results »
| | | | | I don't know | Nov 30, 2022 |
I don't use CAT tools. There are still a few of us left in the pack of dinosaurs...
Anyway, I have been asked by some of my customers to build a glossary of terms before starting a long project and they have always paid me for that. Why shouldn’t a TM be charged also?
[Edited at 2022-11-30 10:22 GMT]
| | | | Lingua 5B 
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 00:55
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| What clients? | Nov 30, 2022 |
You mean “give me your best rate” and “what’s your rate for post-editing” kind of clients? They don’t have the money for translation, let alone TM.
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 00:55
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Providing a TM is a service like translating or editing and should be charged for. Even more so since there is a good chance that this client will use it for future translations and so cut his/her costs... resulting in the translator earning less money.
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:55
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Not available | Nov 30, 2022 |
"Do you think we should charge for providing TMs to a client?"
Just say they are not available. Never give them to anyone.
[Edited at 2022-11-30 10:54 GMT]
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 00:55
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
If it takes 5 minutes to create or update a TM, then why not help the PM by making his life a little easier?
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
I don't use CAT tools. ... Why shouldn’t a TM be charged also?
If it requires an effort for you to do something for a client, then you should charge for it. Creating a TM when you don't use a CAT tool is called "alignment", and if the client knows that you don't use CAT tools and still want a TM, they should pay for the effort of creating one.
[Edited at 2022-11-30 11:00 GMT]
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 00:55
French to English
If the client doesn't want to pay for the TM, they can pay for my CAT tool instead. I invest in tech, I need to reap the benefits.
If I'm going to deliver a TM to a client, I'll be cleaning it up first, deleting stuff that I validated by accident, and making doubly sure there are no mistakes. I'll also try to update it to include changes made after exporting (when possible of course). Basically, I'll deliver something I can be proud of. And I'll charge for the time spent updating it, beca... See more If the client doesn't want to pay for the TM, they can pay for my CAT tool instead. I invest in tech, I need to reap the benefits.
If I'm going to deliver a TM to a client, I'll be cleaning it up first, deleting stuff that I validated by accident, and making doubly sure there are no mistakes. I'll also try to update it to include changes made after exporting (when possible of course). Basically, I'll deliver something I can be proud of. And I'll charge for the time spent updating it, because that's time I could have spent doing other stuff.
But the clients I use CAT tools for usually update their TMs with the segments from my translation themselves, which is fine by me. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 00:55
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Samuel Murray wrote: If it takes 5 minutes to create or update a TM, then why not help the PM by making his life a little easier? Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
I don't use CAT tools. ... Why shouldn’t a TM be charged also? If it requires an effort for you to do something for a client, then you should charge for it. Creating a TM when you don't use a CAT tool is called "alignment", and if the client knows that you don't use CAT tools and still want a TM, they should pay for the effort of creating one. [Edited at 2022-11-30 11:00 GMT]
5 minutes to polish a TM on a 100k word file? You joking?
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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
I don't use CAT tools. ... Why shouldn’t a TM be charged also?
If it requires an effort for you to do something for a client, then you should charge for it. Creating a TM when you don't use a CAT tool is called "alignment", and if the client knows that you don't use CAT tools and still want a TM, they should pay for the effort of creating one.
[Edited at 2022-11-30 11:00 GMT] [/quote]
Probably I didn’t explain myself clearly, all my clients know I don’t use CAT tools and they have never asked me for a TM…
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 00:55
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Lingua 5B wrote:
5 minutes to polish a TM on a 100k word file? You joking?
What do you mean by "polish"?
[Edited at 2022-11-30 11:35 GMT]
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 00:55
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| Making it presentable. | Nov 30, 2022 |
Samuel Murray wrote: Lingua 5B wrote:
5 minutes to polish a TM on a 100k word file? You joking? What do you mean by "polish"? [Edited at 2022-11-30 11:34 GMT]
For instance, I check an exported target file for final proofreading and make any amendments. If I need to do it in the TM as well, it’ll be very time consuming on a large file. If a client wants to actually use that TM, it’ll have to be presentable and accurate. Also, some amendments only make sense in the target file environment, due to syntax differences between my two languages and the way TMs are parsed.
[Edited at 2022-11-30 11:38 GMT]
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Why would they ask? They can make their own from the source and target.
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| It depends what they want | Nov 30, 2022 |
I have often made an extract and sent a TMX of the specific job I have translated, and as Samuel says, this takes just a few clicks, so I do not charge extra.
Clients who ask for this are typically good clients who do not use Trados, but may be able to use a TMX with their own CAT. They pay well generally
If they want a TMX of earlier jobs that are easy to find, I can sometimes oblige, and I charge for my time. ... See more I have often made an extract and sent a TMX of the specific job I have translated, and as Samuel says, this takes just a few clicks, so I do not charge extra.
Clients who ask for this are typically good clients who do not use Trados, but may be able to use a TMX with their own CAT. They pay well generally
If they want a TMX of earlier jobs that are easy to find, I can sometimes oblige, and I charge for my time.
NOBODY gets access to my own TMs except me. I keep them more or less up to date, but that was not always easy in the early days, and some include contributions from colleagues and clients, which I am not entitled to pass on. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Stepan Konev
Russian Federation
Local time: 01:55
English to Russian
Lingua 5B wrote: Samuel Murray wrote:
If it takes 5 minutes... 5 minutes to polish a TM on a 100k word file? You joking?
However, as for me, I was never requested to share a TM. I can't imagine a situation why an agency may want your TM... If the agency uses CAT tools, they send me a prepared xliff file (or even their own TM) and they can easily update their TM from that xliff file by themselves. If the agency does not use CAT tools, they don't request me that I use a CAT tool.
[Edited at 2022-11-30 15:37 GMT]
| | | | jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 18:55
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
| What are we talking about here? | Nov 30, 2022 |
Were you saying you would charge a fee for providing the TM specific to a project which your client has assigned you? I think you are supposed to provide the project-specific TM to the client if requested, otherwise your client may think of you as someone who is not collaborative.
Or, were you saying that you would charge a fee for providing your client the general TM you have maintained? If so, why on earth would your client want that kind of TM? Furthermore, providing your client... See more Were you saying you would charge a fee for providing the TM specific to a project which your client has assigned you? I think you are supposed to provide the project-specific TM to the client if requested, otherwise your client may think of you as someone who is not collaborative.
Or, were you saying that you would charge a fee for providing your client the general TM you have maintained? If so, why on earth would your client want that kind of TM? Furthermore, providing your client your own TM that contains segments you have collected from your daily work could constitute a violation of your confidentiality agreements.
[Edited at 2022-12-01 00:38 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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