Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: CAT tools grid and pricing. (Money matters)
Poster: Samuel Murray
Post title: @Halyna
[quote]Halyna Dema wrote:
Here is an example of the one they provided:
[i]New at [••••] EUR
No Match = 100%
50 - 74% Match = 50% of No Match rate
75 - 84% Match = 50% of No Match rate
85 - 94% Match = 50% of No Match rate
95 - 99% Match = 15% of No Match rate[/i]
Are these reasonable rate percentages? [/quote]
The percentages for 50 - 74% Match and for 75 - 84% Match are very low. Matches of these categories typically require a lot of work, but they're offering to pay you half of your normal word rate for them. However, this may depend on the type of text.
If you are able, tell them that you do not offer discounts for matches under 75% (and if you're feeling gutsy, tell them you don't offer discounts for matches under 85%).
I've read the other replies and I agree with all of it.
As for your question:
[quote]What is the CAT tools pricing grid? [/quote]
It's a list that shows how much less you want to get paid for sentences that are similar to other sentences in the text or similar to other sentences that other translators have translated in the past. It is assumed that these similarities (called "fuzzy matches") will allow you to translate faster and thus do more work in less time. In the beginning, the fuzzy matches won't save you any time (you may end up spending more time on them than if you had translated from scratch), but eventually you'll learn how to use fuzzy matches to your advantage.
Take the line "[i]95 - 99% Match Word 15% of No Match Word[/i]", for example. It means that for sentences that have a 95% to 99% fuzzy match, you'll get paid only 15% of your usual per-word rate for each of the words in those sentences.
So, if for example you have a sentence with 20 words, and 19 of them are the same as another sentence in the same job, then it's [more or less] a "95%" match, so if your usual per-word rate is USD 0.10 per word, you'll get (USD 0.10 x 15% x 20 words) = USD 0.30 for that specific sentence instead of USD 2.00 if it were a completely "new" sentence.
The software will calculate all of these things for you (and you can generally trust the client to provide you with the correct calculation before or afterwards), so you don't have to calculate all these things yourself. In fact, for most online tools (e.g. SmartCat), you would not be able to double-check the calculations anyway.
Kay makes a very good point in that if you don't use a CAT tool or if the client doesn't provide the old translations or connect them to the online tool (if you use an online tool), then the grid is irrelevant and you should be paid your full, normal rate. If you use a CAT tool that is so cumbersome that using it does not allow you to work faster (even if you are experienced in dealing with fuzzy matches), then the discount grid is also irrelevant for you.
[Edited at 2020-04-03 12:36 GMT]
Topic: CAT tools grid and pricing. (Money matters)
Poster: Samuel Murray
Post title: @Halyna
[quote]Halyna Dema wrote:
Here is an example of the one they provided:
[i]New at [••••] EUR
No Match = 100%
50 - 74% Match = 50% of No Match rate
75 - 84% Match = 50% of No Match rate
85 - 94% Match = 50% of No Match rate
95 - 99% Match = 15% of No Match rate[/i]
Are these reasonable rate percentages? [/quote]
The percentages for 50 - 74% Match and for 75 - 84% Match are very low. Matches of these categories typically require a lot of work, but they're offering to pay you half of your normal word rate for them. However, this may depend on the type of text.
If you are able, tell them that you do not offer discounts for matches under 75% (and if you're feeling gutsy, tell them you don't offer discounts for matches under 85%).
I've read the other replies and I agree with all of it.
As for your question:
[quote]What is the CAT tools pricing grid? [/quote]
It's a list that shows how much less you want to get paid for sentences that are similar to other sentences in the text or similar to other sentences that other translators have translated in the past. It is assumed that these similarities (called "fuzzy matches") will allow you to translate faster and thus do more work in less time. In the beginning, the fuzzy matches won't save you any time (you may end up spending more time on them than if you had translated from scratch), but eventually you'll learn how to use fuzzy matches to your advantage.
Take the line "[i]95 - 99% Match Word 15% of No Match Word[/i]", for example. It means that for sentences that have a 95% to 99% fuzzy match, you'll get paid only 15% of your usual per-word rate for each of the words in those sentences.
So, if for example you have a sentence with 20 words, and 19 of them are the same as another sentence in the same job, then it's [more or less] a "95%" match, so if your usual per-word rate is USD 0.10 per word, you'll get (USD 0.10 x 15% x 20 words) = USD 0.30 for that specific sentence instead of USD 2.00 if it were a completely "new" sentence.
The software will calculate all of these things for you (and you can generally trust the client to provide you with the correct calculation before or afterwards), so you don't have to calculate all these things yourself. In fact, for most online tools (e.g. SmartCat), you would not be able to double-check the calculations anyway.
Kay makes a very good point in that if you don't use a CAT tool or if the client doesn't provide the old translations or connect them to the online tool (if you use an online tool), then the grid is irrelevant and you should be paid your full, normal rate. If you use a CAT tool that is so cumbersome that using it does not allow you to work faster (even if you are experienced in dealing with fuzzy matches), then the discount grid is also irrelevant for you.
[Edited at 2020-04-03 12:36 GMT]