One of the most frequent questions that I see from beginning translators is how to decide if a new client or a job offer is legitimate. It’s a delicate process, and it’s not an exact science. Sometimes even experienced translators get scammed, and sometimes a client that seems a little shady during the first contact turns out to be quite trustworthy. Following are a few tips on this issue.
First, always (always!) use a translation industry client rating list to see if the prospective client has been rated there. About Translation has an excellent post on this very topic, and it’s well worth a read. I belong to and swear by Payment Practices and I check it immediately when a new client contacts me. In my experience, known non-payers have generally been rated on Payment Practices or a similar list, so these services are an invaluable resource.
I also think it’s completely acceptable to ask a prospective client for references from other translators as long as you as the translator offer the same in return. Ask if the client is a member of a professional association for translators or translation companies. This is not an absolute guarantee of legitimacy, but it indicates that the client is at least willing to invest the time and money in joining such an association. In addition, never work for a client without getting full contact information including physical address, telephone number, and the name and contact information for the person who handles accounts payable.
Asking for advance payment is also an option, especially if you are not in dire need of the work that the client is offering. This type of arrangement might involve full advance payment, partial advance payment, or a partial advance payment and then another installment once you’ve submitted part of the translation. Some clients will agree to this type of payment plan and some will not, since the client then runs the risk that a translator who has already been paid either does not return the translation or returns an unacceptable translation. In my case, I ask all clients who are not established businesses to pay in advance, since (don’t ask me how I learned this!) it’s actually not very hard for an individual to disappear after receiving the translation, for example by moving without a forwarding address or phone number.
Part of the vetting process is not quantifiable, but rather involves using your intuition about a client. I’ve found that just the process of politely asking a client about some of the issues above can go a long way toward avoiding a non-payment situation before it starts. When a less than solvent client knows that they’ve landed on a translator who checks industry rating lists, asks for references from current translators and clarifies the payment terms and methods up front, they’re likely to seek another, less savvy translator.
Excellent tips Corinne! Agencies are not always sensitive to the payment fears of freelancers even though we experience the same anxiety with our clients: both non-payment and slooooow payment. Handling these things upfront and professionally is a good idea as you mention.
However, some agencies that are in fact very good payers may not want the hassle of offering recommendations or payment-up-front so they’ll go with someone who doesn’t take as much time. Thus getting recommendations from fellow translators and Payment Practices first is ideal.
Great post!
Glenn, thanks for your comment; it’s always great to be reminded of the agency perspective as well. I completely agree with you about the “hassle” element; translators should definitely keep in mind that just as we get irritated with clients who want a million pieces of information from us before formally offering a job, it’s also annoying for clients who are established as reliable payers to be asked for references, advance payment, etc. Personally, I check Payment Practices while I’m on the phone with a prospective client, and if they have several good reviews and no atrocious ones, I assume that they are probably trustworthy.
I find, and I’d be interested to know if you agree, that the best and the worst agencies are easy to find, it’s the ones in the middle that are the issue. The same is probably true of working with freelancers; I would assume that the people who everyone wants to work with and the people who no one wants to work with are preceded by their reputations, while the in-betweens are the unknown quantity.
Thanks for reading!
I completely agree that good and bad translators are preceded by their reputations. Then there are very many acceptable translators you’ve never heard of and you wonder if they’ll miss the deadline or deliver a really sloppy job or both. I find most translators are very dedicated but once in a while they take on too much and are late or don’t give the job enough attention — inevitible sometimes in the freelance world.
Agencies I know gain good and bad reputations too, but in agencies we mostly talk about good and bad translators and don’t really know how we or other agencies are perceived.