Key factors influencing Localization cost

 The localization industry always had a reputation of being opaque with prices, a black box.

It has never been very clear how much translation does cost. There is usually a different perception of reality about how to calculate these costs depending on who you talk to.

In many cases, customers insist on price per word and somehow is expected that the cost of preparing files might be "ignored".

I have seen documents to be translated that are directly photos, or pdf that once processed, the text can not be extracted, then that requires a deep DTP, and of course, it takes time.

 I thought that in recent years we had progressed and that the industry was less opaque regarding the costs of localizing content ... for that reason the other day when I had some tapas with my friend Bea, a freelance translator I have known for years, I was sad to see that the industry is still in that “black box model”.

There are still many discrepancies related to the cost to do a translation job.

Patatas Bravas, pintxos de jamón ibérico and a nice conversation … great ingredients for a very nice afternoon

 Bea, while we were tasting some delicious patatas bravas in La Barra, a popular restaurant that is in the Eixample neighborhood in Barcelona told me about a recent situation that left me thoughtful.

She is a translator of German and she was asked to edit the translation of a retail web page into German. The translation was carried out by a group of freelance translators. The client wanted to assess quality and consistency.

Bea had to review the whole site, ensuring that it has been translated correctly and that it will sound native. She also had to review the written work of the Customer Service agents to assess if their communications skills were up to standard for German customers. For those mistakes she might find, she was expected to produce a better translation and also give feedback to the agents when something was not correct (why was wrong and how they should be) 

She estimated the number of hours she had to invest to complete the work. 

Then she provided to the client a price for the job based on an hourly rate

The client was amazed when they saw the cost of translation. They thought the quote was very high and also, they were expecting a quote based on a rate per word, not per hour!

I do not believe that works like this can be billed by word since there is a lot of hidden costs when reviewing a job, improving it and giving feedback to customer agents. But I see that there is still a tendency to consider the price per word as the driver to calculate translation cost 

I don't think the localization industry is going to stop being a black box simply because I wrote a post on this subject (I wish!) But still, this week I wanted to write about rates and types of work.

If I shed some light on this industry to be less opaque with this blog, then mission accomplished! happy to contribute!

 Why does translation pricing vary?

There are many reasons behind the costs of a translation. Some are related to the language, others to the type of content, and others depend on the client's requirement. Below I outline some of the key factors that will influence the cost

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• Data hygiene

Translation Memories and the Tech framework require maintenance, which requires invest time in detecting and correcting corrupt or inaccurate entries from a translation memory (or records in a termbase). These tasks are necessary to ensure a smooth translation process and they cannot be covered by a price per word paid job

• Recruit / Maintain freelance database

Finding talented translators will take time, you have to find them, evaluate them and then you have to keep them engaged. All this has a cost for an LSP that again cannot be covered by a price per word

• Language combinations

The combination of language pairs has an impact on the cost of translation. The less common the combination of languages, the more the final price of the translation will be affected. A translation from English to Spanish will inevitably be cheaper than a translation from Dutch to Japanese. It’s a matter of supply and demand!

• Delivery time 

if we have a lot of content with a tight deadline and we outsource to a language partner, in most of the cases they will need to outsource themselves the work. They will be forced to hire freelancers to help them complete the task. The cost will likely increase because of that….

• Type of Content

To pretend to calculate the cost of a translation work without considering the type of text is as if I intend to pay the same for a york ham than for an Iberian ham . They are different things! (How delicious the Iberian ham by the way…) , and a legal text is not the same as a financial one or a marketing one. Different content has different prices, so clearly the type of content has a strong impact on the price

• PM coordination fees

Every project requires a certain level of coordination and trying to ignore this and think that the price per word should absorb it is a mistake. There will be people working on our Project, and we need to pay for that

• Certification

Signed documents are more expensive. Sometimes it's required having a translator attesting the accuracy of the translation. If a document has to be signed by a public entity, then this impacts the cost of translation

• Machine translation

Machine Translation also has an impact on the cost of translation. Translators and LSps now have tools that can help them to speed up their process, improve the quality of translation, and drastically reduce costs.

• Professional experience

Like everything in life some professionals, some services are more expensive than others, but, if your translation is for a specific sector, it can be a good idea to find a translator or agency specializes in this field. It may be more expensive to work with an experienced translator for one specific field, but the quality is likely to be considerably higher than if you work with an inexperienced translator.

 Summary

The translation industry is notoriously opaque when it comes to pricing. As a result, there's no quick answer to the question of how much translation costs.

But I hope that with this article I have shed some light on different aspects that affect the cost of translation … ah ! and if you are curious about knowing how the story of my friend Bea ended with this client, well ... there was no client in the end .. .the customer insisted on a price per word, and Bea insisted that this was a job to be billed for hours. 

There was no agreement... because Bea values ​​her work and the time she invests!!!

What's your view here? How much is a fair cost? what variables we should consider coming up with that fair cost? 

Leave your comments below and have a great week!

@yolocalizo