| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | A few questions when setting up as a freelancer Thread poster: Luke Hubbard (X)
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:13
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Mair A-W (PhD) wrote:
....You might also consider what language(s) you plan to use for your invoices...
Your invoices must be in the language of the country in which you are resident for tax purposes. In this case, the country is the UK so your invoices must be in English.
| | | | Luke Hubbard (X) 
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:13
German to English
TOPIC STARTER
Josephine Cassar wrote:
Luke
[Edited at 2018-08-23 15:07 GMT]
Hi Luke, good luck. I wouldn't advise you to set your rates too low as you will find it difficult to raise them after. After all, you are going to deliver professional work - at least I hope, and if you've successfully finished MA in translation, you should be able to do so - so you should be able to set your rates for professional work, experienced or not.
Hi Josephine,
I agree with you about the rates and this makes perfect sense, I got in contact with an agency and they asked for my rates and I gave them at a higher price and they asked me to lower them. I explained that due to where I live and the text types that this was I was charging and felt this was fair, I never heard back from them unfortunately. However, this has been a learning curve.
| | | | Luke Hubbard (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:13
German to English
TOPIC STARTER
Mair A-W (PhD) wrote:
Luke Hubbard wrote:
I think I have my rates sorted for my work as I used the rate calculator here and to start with, I would go towards the lower end of the scale until I've got more experience.
Do you have any other advice for setting out as a freelancer?
Luke
[Edited at 2018-08-23 15:07 GMT]
Oh! Oh! I have another tip: Decide what you want to do about CAT (repetition) discounts and watch for agencies wanting to impose discounts on you that you haven't agreed to, and/or discounts for "repetitions" from dubious agency-provided TMs.
Danke Mair - this is useful information. Regarding your thoughts on invoicing, I will probably invoice regular clients at the end of the month and one-off or clients who send work every now and then will recieve invoices with the translation as this seems to be the consensus.
| | | | | Accounting, invoicing, legal set-up and taxation | Aug 25, 2018 |
Just to underline that accounting requirements will depend on your legal set-up, taxation requirements and choices that you will make in one area that might affect requirements in another. It can even be helpful to go and see an accountant for advice. It might be money well spent. It might even be a good idea to have an accountant for the first year. If it's basic accounting, you'll learn quickly and it might not cost you much anyway.
Might I again suggest doing a MOOC to get an id... See more Just to underline that accounting requirements will depend on your legal set-up, taxation requirements and choices that you will make in one area that might affect requirements in another. It can even be helpful to go and see an accountant for advice. It might be money well spent. It might even be a good idea to have an accountant for the first year. If it's basic accounting, you'll learn quickly and it might not cost you much anyway.
Might I again suggest doing a MOOC to get an idea of the type of legal set-ups that are possible in order to see which might be best adapted to how you are likely to be working when you set up. The most realistic options are likely to be quite obvious quite early. Bear in mind flexibility as you might hit the ground running and need to change your legal set-up quite quickly. But do consider the consequences of setting up as the Microsoft of translation when you might get off to a humble start. Sometimes downsizing structure can be more complicated and more costly than upsizing. You need to be informed to be able to make a decision that is right for you.
Once your legal set up becomes clear, relevant accounting principles will become clearer too. Then you can think about an accounting MOOC.
When I set up, I tracked down free courses run by the Chamber of Commerce. It gave me an overview of the various options and I was able to think about the pros and cons of each. Once informed, the decision became clear, although there are often pros and cons.
Invoicing rules 'n' regs. There are various rules and regulations that apply with regard to invoicing. One example, periodic invoicing (sending an invoice at the end of the month for a number of jobs from one client) has its own set of rules with regard to payment deadlines, in the UE, that is. You'll also need to think about
[Edited at 2018-08-25 12:38 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Steve R.
United States
Russian to English
I have doubts that freelance translators have much of a sense of the GDPR, so it's highly unlikely that any "consensus" on it exists.
Like any piece of legislation, the GDPR will apply to you if you meet certain criteria. In other words, it's not exactly something that you "sign up" for. Quite the contrary...
With the above said, I'd consider reading the GDPR. At the very least, it makes for an effective soporific.
... See more I have doubts that freelance translators have much of a sense of the GDPR, so it's highly unlikely that any "consensus" on it exists.
Like any piece of legislation, the GDPR will apply to you if you meet certain criteria. In other words, it's not exactly something that you "sign up" for. Quite the contrary...
With the above said, I'd consider reading the GDPR. At the very least, it makes for an effective soporific.
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32016R0679
Also, the UK's ICO offers readable materials on data protection. It's worth visiting its site, if only to get a "sense" of what all the ruckus is about.
https://ico.org.uk/
Good luck out there! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 11:13
French to English
| my five cents! | Aug 26, 2018 |
Luke Hubbard wrote:
1. How do you invoice and sort tax out? Do you invoice a few days after the submission of a translation and what sort of invoice do you use? Simple template online? Also with tax, do you have an accountant or do you sort yourselves out?
I prepare the invoice as soon as I've finished the translation, and add any extras as soon as they come in, otherwise with some badly organised clients I might forget to bill some bits. I then send the bill at the end of the month. For jobs I hand in at the end of the month, I wait for a few days just in case there are any comments or questions. I think that psychologically, the client needs to have finished processing the translation before getting billed for it.
I don't use an accountant, but then again I have a simplified status and I'm in France so that's of no help to you.
I use a Word template for my bills, and convert them to pdf to send to the client.
Luke Hubbard wrote:
2. GDPR - I've seen already that many translators are unsure whether they need to sign up for this, what is the overall consensus?
I'm not sure about this, but I never send mass unsolicited emails anyway.
Luke Hubbard wrote:
3. Which CAT tool would all recommend? From my uni course, we've only had access to a couple of free CAT tools and therefore unsure whether to use MemoQ or SDL Trados?
I have never bought a CAT tool. If an agency wants me to use a CAT tool they have to provide me with a floating licence.
Then again, the kind of work I do is that least suited to CAT tool use.
Luke Hubbard wrote:
4. I was thinking of creating a website. Would you recommend this now or once I've got myself established?
I too have been thinking about it. However, I haven't had time to deal with it, except this past month, and I felt like I deserved a rest so I haven't dealt with it.
It would only be something very simple, nothing more than what I already have on my profiles here and on LinkedIn. When I realised I'd have to pay for hosting, I went right off the idea, because I wouldn't be able to deduct that as a cost with my simplified freelance status.
Luke Hubbard wrote:
Do you have any other advice for setting out as a freelancer?
Get LinkedIn to work for you. I gained about 90% of my clientele through LinkedIn, because I systematically added all my colleagues and ex-colleagues from the agency I worked at. I also added almost everyone I came in contact with while completing my Master. It's mostly former colleagues now working in other agencies who have given me work.
The other 10% has come from Proz, which I joined a few months ago, and just one client I met at a party. They asked me what I did for a living and it turned out they needed a translator, so I very suavely pulled out the smart little case with my business cards in, as if I had been doing that all my life. It was in fact the first and only time I have ever done that!
| | | | Mair A-W (PhD)
Germany
Local time: 11:13
Member (2016)
German to English
+ ...
Luke Hubbard wrote:
2. GDPR - I've seen already that many translators are unsure whether they need to sign up for this, what is the overall consensus?
I'm not sure what you mean by "sign up for". It's an EU regulation and you are legally obliged to comply with it.
It applies if you, as a business, store other people's personal data, i.e. any data that could be used to identify "a natural person".
You -- your business -- may only do this if you have a legitimate business interest for doing so.
For a translator, this might be the case if you maintain a list of (actual or potential) clients (as individuals), and it might be the case if you have a website that e.g., logs IP addresses, etc.
In such cases you are required to have the explicit consent of the individual to store their data.
If you think that you -- your business -- might be logging personal data in any way, I would suggest looking into it in more detail. There are plenty of websites on the subject.
| | | | DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
| ex-territorial pissing | Aug 27, 2018 |
When in early May I asked my direct British clients and colleagues in the ex-USSR, they replied they don't care much about the imposed GDPR and alike for they are not so-called "Europe" (a classical mythology?). When pressed by EU clients, they confirmed to comply with the corresponding local laws and regulations, making old good "take it or leave it" offer--nobody went away)
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Luke Hubbard (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:13
German to English
TOPIC STARTER | Courses and other materials | Aug 28, 2018 |
Thanks for the feedback so far. I will definitely do wider reading in relation to VAT and the GDPR. I've found this course plus another one so far in relation to bookkeeping:
https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-bookkeeping-acca-fa1-x
I also have found a couple of books which at freelance translators at the beginning of their career which ... See more Thanks for the feedback so far. I will definitely do wider reading in relation to VAT and the GDPR. I've found this course plus another one so far in relation to bookkeeping:
https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-bookkeeping-acca-fa1-x
I also have found a couple of books which at freelance translators at the beginning of their career which I may buy and read through to get advice.
I have an accountant at the moment so the next I go, I may speak to them and see what they recommend and discuss my options but I would rather do it myself to save money.
I've signed up to a course on here about how to start up a small business so I feel that I am making some progress with it all. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Rebecca Hendry
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:13
Member (2005)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| On websites.. | Aug 28, 2018 |
Hi Luke,
You've already had lots of good advice, but I'd like to add that I think a website is a very important tool for any freelancer.
Think about it. If you're going to go to a restaurant, you look up its website, right? You're looking for a lawyer, you check them out online first. Hotels, catsitters, hairdressers, they all have websites! My website has certainly helped me get work. Proz.com and LinkedIn can only take you so far.
I think these days not h... See more Hi Luke,
You've already had lots of good advice, but I'd like to add that I think a website is a very important tool for any freelancer.
Think about it. If you're going to go to a restaurant, you look up its website, right? You're looking for a lawyer, you check them out online first. Hotels, catsitters, hairdressers, they all have websites! My website has certainly helped me get work. Proz.com and LinkedIn can only take you so far.
I think these days not having a website could make potential clients look elsewhere. Having a good one could make them pick you.
Here's a previous thread where this was discussed https://www.proz.com/forum/getting_established/280687-when_is_it_worth_it_to_have_your_own_website.html
Good luck!
Becky.
[Edited at 2018-08-28 14:02 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 11:13
French to English
Rebecca Hendry wrote:
If you're going to go to a restaurant, you look up its website, right? You're looking for a lawyer, you check them out online first. Hotels, catsitters, hairdressers, they all have websites!
Increasingly, people look on places like booking.com and tripadvisor, or local websites to find these services, so they not only get info from the actual hotel or restaurant, but also opinions from previous patrons (I take them all with a pinch of salt though).
Another advantage for the consumer is that if ever you're not happy with what you read there, you'll find another service provider in a couple of clicks.
We don't have much in the way of consumer opinions here - the WWA are pretty limited - and on LinkedIn, recommendations are all too often a "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" thing. However clients do look at our profiles and contact us and send us work as a result of looking at them. I'm plenty busy without a website at least, which is why I don't feel the need to put one up, at least for the time being.
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