The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
Issue link: https://thelinguist.uberflip.com/i/807252
thelinguist.uberflip.com APRIL/MAY 2017 The Linguist 27 REVIEWS Cost2target Iolante Ltd/Erika Baker & Mecki Testroet, 2016; Download: www.iolante.com/en/cost2target-free-planning-tool Free Cost2Target is an Excel spreadsheet designed to calculate sustainable translation rates based on target income. It's free to download, and brief instructions on how to use it are provided on the website. Not being very comfortable with numbers, I thought it would take me a long time to learn how to use it, and to enter all the relevant data, so that I could get some insight into what I can do to improve my translation business. However, in less than two hours I had filled in the 'most likely' business model (the first scenario) based on my own figures and could compare it with the other three provided: 'New translator', 'Amended' and "'Established translator' (new translators can use projections). I was also able to change these in order to see the difference (to productivity, rates, expenses etc) they could make to my overall annual income. It is more simple to use and much less time consuming than comparable tools. You do your income analysis in Section A, which is divided into six sections: annual number of working days; productivity based on the number of words you can proofread/ translate in an hour; working hours per day; average rate per 1,000 words; average hourly rate; and annual income. In Section B, you enter your expenditure, split into business capital expenditure (any equipment and start-up costs); running costs; taxes; and general living and personal expenditure (this will, of course, depend a lot on your personal circumstances). You can then go back to the dashboard at the top to see the results for your 'most likely' scenario (business model 1) and any other scenarios you want to compare it against. The spreedsheet also flags anything that needs to be improved in red or yellow, so you can easily see your problem areas. I was able to draw a number of conclusions from the process: I take a surprisingly high number of holidays compared to the other models, but this is because of the need to look after my son in school holidays (something I'm unlikely to be able to change in the short-term). My business expenses seem very high compared to the sample scenarios. This is a definite area for improvement, although having compared with colleagues to see where I might reduce costs, I have found that their spending is similar, so I'm unsure where savings could be made. Finally, my productivity is low, at 300 words per hour. I noticed that anything below 400 words per hour generates a red flag, and while I agree this is generally achievable, I don't think it's realistic in all cases. Taking all of this into account, there is only one way to increase my earnings: raising my rates – which is the real purpose of this tool, so I guess it has done its job! I would recommend it if you are looking to improve your business and want to know which areas to work on. Trinidad Clares MCIL gxv{ÇÉÄÉzç 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Crossword no.16 Solution, page 33 Across 1. Put this on something, and put an end to it. (6) 4. A governor of a province under the Persian monarchy. (6) 9. Small mother? The smallest! (7) 10. one bird of many in an unkindness or a conspiracy. (5) 11. Frequently in german, poetically in English. (3) 12. one of 15% of the world's population, mostly in India. (5) 13. Mediterranean sauce, made of garlic and olive oil. (5) 14. In Russia, a full-time government functionary. (11) 19. Vestige of a saint venerated in a holy building. (5) 21. What we call gaeilge. (5) 23. The language of Vientiane. (3) 24. 18 down, in French. (5) 25. To make concrete? (7) 26. In Spanish, the usual word for a bullfighter. (6) 27. Linguistically, the opposite of lenis. (6) Down 1. Korea's national dish. (6) 2. Francophone nation formerly called Dahomey. (5) 3. An Italian anise-flavoured liqueur. (7) 5. Main artery of the body. (5) 6. A form of pasta, plural in Italian, singular in English. (7) 7. Title given to Nehru, a scholar or teacher, from Sanskrit. (6) 8. Swedish sandwiches. (11) 15. Pale lager named after a city in Bohemia. (7) 16. The name of this US city derives from the native Indian for 'wild garlic'. (7) 17. 18 down, in Latin. (6) 18. Gesundheit! (6) 20. Counterpart to the dark /l/. (5) 22. Dummkopf. (5)