How to write a translator invoice

What goes on a translator invoice

Six things, in the order they belong on the page. The invoice generator opens a translator document with the lines already in place, so most of this is checking rather than typing.

1. State source or target word count. They are different numbers and the difference is real money. Name which one the rate applies to on the line itself.
2. Show the language pair. English to German is not the same product as German to English, and a client with several pairs running needs to see which invoice is which.
3. Bill proofreading and review separately. Revising someone else's translation is a different service at a different rate from translating from scratch. Do not fold it in.
4. Name any minimum fee. A two hundred word job costs more to administer than it earns. If you have a minimum, it belongs on the invoice as a line, not as a surprise.
5. Say whether the work is certified. Certified, sworn and notarized work carries a different rate and often a different deliverable. Put it on the document.
6. Invoice in the currency you agreed. And say which one. An amount with no currency on a cross-border invoice is a payment waiting to be short.

The lines a translator invoice usually carries

The generator opens with these lines when you pick Translator. The figures are placeholders to type over, not a going rate.

Add, rename, reorder or delete any line, and set tax per line where it applies. Priced as they open, that comes to $900 before tax.

How to write a translation invoice, step by step

1. Put the language pair and the job reference first. Open the translator invoice and write the language pair and the client's job or PO number. An agency processing hundreds of jobs matches on that number.
2. Enter the count and say whose words. 6,000 source words at a rate per thousand, with source or target stated. If repetitions were discounted, show the count and the discount on their own line.
3. Add review as its own line. Proofreading and review are a second pass at a different rate. Priced at the translation rate, they are either undercharged or disputed.
4. Add certification if it applied. A signed statement of accuracy for an official document is its own line, named as certified translation.
5. State the currency, then send. Invoice in the currency agreed, say who pays bank charges on an international transfer, and set 30 days or the agency's terms.

Translation invoice example, filled in

A 6,000-word job for an agency abroad, with a proofreading pass and one certified document. The language pair, PO and word count basis sit at the top, because an agency pays nothing it cannot match to a job.

Subtotal $900, tax $90, total $990. Six thousand source words at $110 per thousand is the calculation, written so the agency's project manager can check it against their own count. The currency note decides who loses out to bank charges, which on a cross-border invoice is not trivial.

Source words or target words, and repetitions

The per-word rate is meaningless until the invoice says which words. A German translation of an English source will typically run longer, so billing on target words rather than source words changes the total on every job.

Pick one, agree it before you start, and print it on the invoice: "per 1000 source words" rather than "per 1000 words". If you discount repetitions or fuzzy matches from a translation memory, show the gross count, the discount and the net, because a client who cannot see the deduction cannot verify it.

A client who can check your arithmetic pays faster than one who has to trust it.

Certified, sworn and notarized work

This is a different product from a standard translation. It carries your statement, sometimes your seal, occasionally a notary, and it usually has to be delivered on paper.

Bill it as its own line naming what was certified, and put the certification fee separately from the translation fee. A client claiming the cost back, or submitting it to a court or an immigration office, needs the document to show clearly what was paid for.

Courier and hard copy costs belong on their own line too. Certified work is one of the few translation jobs with real physical costs attached.

Invoicing agencies, and invoicing abroad

Much translation work comes through agencies, often in another country, and they are process-driven payers. An invoice missing their PO number does not get queried, it gets ignored until you chase it.

Ask for the reference and the payment terms before you accept the job. Put both on the invoice. Set terms in days, since agencies work to a cycle, and if they use a self-billing arrangement, know that before you send an invoice that will never be paid because it was never supposed to exist.

For cross-border work, state the currency explicitly and agree who carries the transfer fees. The VAT calculator · GST Calculator covers the rate side where it applies, but which party bears the bank charges is a commercial agreement that belongs in writing.

Hourly, fixed price or per unit: how translators price the work

Translation is priced per word, and the two decisions that matter are whether the count is source or target, and what happens to repeated text. Get those wrong and the same job can be quoted at two prices that differ by a fifth.

Price revision, proofreading and certification as separate lines rather than as part of the word rate. They are different services with different risk, and certification in particular is a professional statement rather than a typing job.

Working out what to charge

Translation rates depend on the language pair, the subject and the client, so a per word figure from a web page is no guide. The freelance rate calculator works back from the income you need, and the billable hours calculator turns your daily word output into a realistic rate.

Getting paid once it is sent

Agencies pay on their own cycle, often 30 days or more after month end, so invoice each job as it is delivered with the PO on it; take a deposit from new direct clients on large projects. If the due date passes, the late fee calculator works out what your terms allow and the due date calculator sets the new date.

Five dates decide whether a translator gets paid on time, and four of them are set before the work starts.

Mistakes that cost translators money

• "Per word" without saying whose words. Source and target are different totals. Name the one you are billing.
• Repetition discounts with no visible arithmetic. Show gross, discount and net or the client cannot verify it.
• Proofreading billed at the translation rate. Different service, different rate. Separate them.
• No currency stated on a cross-border invoice. An ambiguous amount gets paid at the payer's preferred reading.
• No PO number for an agency. It does not get queried, it just sits unpaid until you chase it.

Translator invoice questions

Free translator invoice template

The free translator invoice template opens with the lines above already priced, in any of 30 designs made for the trade, and exports a print-ready PDF with nothing saved to a server. Opening a design needs a free account.

Invoicing guides for related trades

Everything on this site, set up for translators

The whole toolkit, with the reason each one matters to translators rather than in general. The four marked links open with translator already selected.