Dealing with Agencies and Direct Clients

Here are a few tips for dealing with direct clients and translation agencies (based on
personal experience and accounts of colleagues):

1. Always get your client to sign a Purchase Order. A written confirmation by fax or e-
mail will do the trick in most jurisdictions.
2. If the agency requires you to sign a contract for subcontractors, read it carefully. If
there is only the slightest doubt in your mind, don't sign it. One example of a
“delicate” clause that some agencies use is the “time of payment clause”, as I call it:
in it, the agency states that the translator will get paid once the agency has received
payment from its end client. Under contract law, this is completely wrong and
should not be signed by any professional translator. As a matter of fact, this
“transaction” involves two contracts: one between the agency and its client and
another contract between the agency and the freelance translator. The latter is
completely independent of the former, and whether or not the end client ever pays
the agency is of no concern to the translator. In other words, the agency has to pay
the translator according to the contract between them, even if the end client defaults
on its payment to the agency. Therefore, withholding payment until payment has
come in from the end client is highly unethical and violates contract law.
3. “Train” your clients: explain to them, in simple language if necessary, what
translation is all about. Do not accept any unrealistic demands from them (eg, 5,000
words within 24 hours). Many people out there still believe that translation involves
nothing more than replacing words of language A with words of language B.
Emphasize that the translation of 1,000 words usually takes longer than writing
those same 1,000 words.
4. Be strict about your terms of payment: upon initial contact with the agency (or
direct client), explain your terms to them. Be polite, yet firm. Inform them that they
will be subject to late-payment interest if they don't pay within the period of time
stipulated. Remember: it is the seller (= YOU) who sets out the terms of payment,
not the buyer. When you go into a store or order something online, you have to
abide by the seller’s terms and not your own. Most agencies will pay you within 30
days, but there are some, especially in the Benelux countries, that define payment
terms of 45, 60 or more days. Explain to them that the seller defines those terms and
not the buyer.
5. Sometimes, an agency may tell you that they cannot pay you on time because of
cash flow problems—that is, after you have already sent them several reminders for
payment. ALARM BELLS! This means: a) they have lousy clients themselves that
don't pay them (which is not exactly a ringing endorsement of the agency and its
business acumen); b) their management is really sloppy; c) they are not
professional; AND d) things can only go downhill from there ==> so stop accepting
any new jobs from them; tell them that you may consider working for them again if
and when you have been paid and if and when they have set their house in order.
If you do get into trouble with an agency, again, be firm. Inform them that you will have to
charge late-payment interest and that they will also be responsible for any legal or
collection fees you may incur in the process. You may also want to point