Not everything is exciting in the life of a freelance translator. And managing the finances of the business is definitely one of those chores that most translators find boring, overwhelming… almost herculean, especially if accountancy has nothing to do with their background. However, every translator knows that it doesn’t matter how efficient and professional he is; if he doesn’t get paid he won’t be able to keep the business going. Fortunately, there are some simple tips you can put into practice to invoice your clients the smart way. And what is even more attractive about these ideas? That they will keep your clients happy too!
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Keep your clients well informed of your policies
Not all clients will be respectful and pay you right away after you send them the translation. Some of them will pay you half the amount and then disappear while others will keep you waiting for ages. Since being paid is important for you, it is necessary for you to establish a set of policies regarding your payment terms and to keep your clients notified about them. When coming up with your policies, there are certain key aspects you shouldn’t forget to include:
- The payment method you prefer
- How much should be paid as a down payment.
- Is a down payment required for you to start working?
- When is the invoice due?
- Will there be any penalties for late-payers?
- Will the client receive the final work before or after all payments are made?
Needless to say, there will be times when you will need to be flexible with these policies in order to meet your client’s particular requirements, but they will definitely serve you as a guideline.
It is also important that you keep your client informed about your hourly rates if applicable, any pending payment or whatever you deem appropriate so that he doesn’t find anything unusual in the invoice you send him.
Stick to your policies
Just as you don’t like surprises, neither do clients. Make sure they are well aware of your policies and that you promptly let your clients know about any change or update. Trust is essential in a freelance relationship and, when money is concerned, this is particularly true. If the client has no doubts about your invoicing policy then he will be more open to sending you more documents to translate and recommending your services. And that only means more clients, more money and a more flourishing business.
Charge professionally
Although it can be tempting to set lower translation rates than average in order to attract a larger number of clients, you should really avoid undercharging. Doing so will only bounce back on you by bringing to you only clients that are lazy-payers. Make sure your rates are in line with those of other colleagues; there’s always room left to offer a special client a discount or bonus in order to get a really attractive translation job.
Are your invoices clear and complete?
It is definitely a good exercise for freelance translators to check the invoices they send to their clients in order to make sure everything is clearly stated. In other words, if you can’t understand your own invoice or what you are charging for, how do you expect clients to feel otherwise?
Your invoice to your translation client should include this information:
- Your contact details.
- Detail of services rendered (translation, proofreading, edition, language pair, etc).
- How much you charge for each rendered service.
- Any down payment done and the amount still to be paid or a single invoice including the terms (e.g. 50% down payment – 50% upon delivery).
- Accepted payment methods.
- When the payments are due.
Additional tips
As you manage more and more clients, the amount of invoices you will have to send and monitor will increase. It’s a good idea to number them so that you can keep a record of what’s still pending and what’s been paid and to keep separate invoicing files for your different clients.
