Getting started
Every time we at Alkemist throw ourselves into a translation project, there is only one thing on our mind: to deliver the best-quality product to our clients. It is important to follow these instructions to achieve this goal as quickly and smoothly as possible:
Translators are at the heart of our business. This is why we at Alkemist do everything in our power to ensure that you are satisfied with the work process and your income.
Our commission, which is 10% of the amount charged to the client, covers all the services that you would have to take care of yourself if you operated as an independent translator. Before you sit down and start translating, you would have to find work by advertising your services, and when a client calls you, you first have to agree on the details of the work, wishes, deadlines and payment. Only then – once you have found a client and handled all the project management – can you start translating. At the same time, you may not find a client right away. Sometimes, you have to wait a while for a translation project.
We at Alkemist do all of that instead of you. Yes, if you operate independently, you will earn the total amount charged to the client, but this freedom also comes with all of the above-mentioned inconveniences!
We are well aware that your work is frequently underappreciated on the market. We try to make up for this by negotiating with clients to ensure the highest possible price and by charging as low a commission for your work as feasible. We continually try to provide you with as much as possible – the best possible income, a constant workload and security, as you always receive your payment, regardless of when the client pays for the service.
We do everything for you so that you can do what you do best without a care!
Our commission, which is 10% of the amount charged to the client, covers all the services that you would have to take care of yourself if you operated as an independent translator. Before you sit down and start translating, you would have to find work by advertising your services, and when a client calls you, you first have to agree on the details of the work, wishes, deadlines and payment. Only then – once you have found a client and handled all the project management – can you start translating. At the same time, you may not find a client right away. Sometimes, you have to wait a while for a translation project.
We at Alkemist do all of that instead of you. Yes, if you operate independently, you will earn the total amount charged to the client, but this freedom also comes with all of the above-mentioned inconveniences!
We are well aware that your work is frequently underappreciated on the market. We try to make up for this by negotiating with clients to ensure the highest possible price and by charging as low a commission for your work as feasible. We continually try to provide you with as much as possible – the best possible income, a constant workload and security, as you always receive your payment, regardless of when the client pays for the service.
We do everything for you so that you can do what you do best without a care!
- Read any special instructions for each task before starting it.
- Translate the whole file and do not leave anything out.
- Spellcheck must be turned on.
- Use suggestions from the translation memory (TB) and term base (TB) where applicable, as well as all reference materials provided by the project manager.
- Resolve all quality assurance errors (QA errors) marked by the computer-assisted translation (CAT) tool.
- Avoid literal translations and check whether the client has requested a specific style and tone.
- If there are terms you do not know, communicate this to your project manager and together find a suitable solution before delivering the translation.
- Do not add any additional information to the text or delete any key data from it.
- If you encounter any issue when translating, inform your project manager about it and they will gladly help you.
- Pay special attention to tags. Place them in the right spot and do not add additional tags or omit them.
- Read your translation again before delivering it. Subsequent changes in memoQ may not be possible.
- If you translate in memoQ, please mark your file as “Delivered”. The translation cannot be delivered if there are unresolved quality assurance errors (QA errors) in the text.
- If you do not use memoQ, please deliver the file via the Alkemist platform.
- Always deliver the file in the requested format.
- If you have any comments concerning the translation, you can submit a comment to the project manager when delivering the translation (do NOT insert comments directly into the file).
- If your project manager sets deadlines for partial delivery, adhere to them and use the “partial delivery” option on Plunet.
- Be ready to check and consider the proofreader's changes if needed.
- At Alkemist, we take deadlines very seriously. When you accept a project, you also agree to the deadline and we expect you to adhere to it. However, we are aware that a lot of things can happen in life – if you realize that you will not be able to deliver the translation on time, please inform the project manager immediately to avoid even greater delays.
Payment terms are defined in the agreement that you sign at the start of our cooperation. If you have any questions, contact our Finance Department at administracija@alkemist.si.
