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No invoices accepted with amounts less than 500 € Thread poster: Isabell Scherg
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Isabell Scherg 
Germany
Local time: 22:51
Member (2009)
English to German
Hello,
I was informed by an agency I have been working with for some years on large and small projects, that their accounting will not process any invoices with an amount less than 500 € - meaning if a monthly invoice is too small, the translator/revisor should issue a quarterly invoice.
I don't know about you - but I am always delivering the best quality in time, I never miss a deadline, on the contrary I am ususally delivering earlier - and now I should wait not only weeks... See more Hello,
I was informed by an agency I have been working with for some years on large and small projects, that their accounting will not process any invoices with an amount less than 500 € - meaning if a monthly invoice is too small, the translator/revisor should issue a quarterly invoice.
I don't know about you - but I am always delivering the best quality in time, I never miss a deadline, on the contrary I am ususally delivering earlier - and now I should wait not only weeks but months to get paid?
So far, it hasn't applied to me as the agency has some fluctuation in their group of PMs and as often, PMs provide their favorite translators with large projects. But I am thinking of not working for this agency anymore. They already have 45 days for payments.
Would you suggest to discuss this with them or do you think it's useless? ▲ Collapse
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 22:51
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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Isabell Scherg wrote:
Would you suggest to discuss this with them or do you think it's useless?
No, it would be useless to discuss this with them. Just keep submitting invoices monthly, even if you don't reach the threshold -- the PM will write back each time to inform you of whether you need to wait another month or two before submitting a new invoice.
I'm assuming you don't have to choose between monthly and quarterly -- they only mean that if the amount in a given quarter is not yet EUR 500, then you should wait until the end of that quarter before sending an invoice.
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I wouldn’t discuss it (it’s probably useless), but I would become unavailable for small projects. Where is this agency located?
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Over the years, I have read in these forums about countless situations where agencies have announced new policies designed to make it harder, if not impossible, for translators to get paid for their work. Agencies succeed in this behaviour to the extent that translators cave in and comply. If large numbers of us tried pushing back against this trend by simply saying "no", maybe these companies would stop trying it on with us so often.
For that reason, and since you're already thi... See more Over the years, I have read in these forums about countless situations where agencies have announced new policies designed to make it harder, if not impossible, for translators to get paid for their work. Agencies succeed in this behaviour to the extent that translators cave in and comply. If large numbers of us tried pushing back against this trend by simply saying "no", maybe these companies would stop trying it on with us so often.
For that reason, and since you're already thinking of cutting your ties with this company, I'd definitely try protesting. I wouldn't hold out much hope that it will back down, though. ▲ Collapse
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Isabell Scherg
Germany
Local time: 22:51
Member (2009)
English to German
TOPIC STARTER | They are based in Italy | Jan 5 |
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
I wouldn’t discuss it (it’s probably useless), but I would become unavailable for small projects. Where is this agency located?
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Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 22:51
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
I work with an agency with if I remember well a 70 € threshold, but 500 € is way beyond a reasonable sum.
The only acceptable reason for thresholds is transfer fees, while in this case it looks more like a method to a) pay you only after the clients paid, and b) achieve savings thanks to messy translators who don't keep track of their payments.
There is also to check if this is legitimate.
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Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 22:51
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
They are based in Italy
Quit.
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| This is completely unreasonable and you'll be better off without them. | Jan 5 |
Practices like this make my blood boil. Work is work and work means you get paid. Makes me wonder if they use the same rationale when paying for utilities.
As far as I am concerned, you're being used to get a free loan, which should totally get reflected in the invoice and perhaps even adjusted for inflation.
As in title. Just don't do it to yourself. The arrangement looks like something that could be made to work... provided it all takes off
and you get this steady stre... See more Practices like this make my blood boil. Work is work and work means you get paid. Makes me wonder if they use the same rationale when paying for utilities.
As far as I am concerned, you're being used to get a free loan, which should totally get reflected in the invoice and perhaps even adjusted for inflation.
As in title. Just don't do it to yourself. The arrangement looks like something that could be made to work... provided it all takes off
and you get this steady stream of income, yada yada yada. In reality, it's straight up abusive and could even get you into all sorts of traps involving overdrawing and other kinds of bad financial instruments. ▲ Collapse
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During the time in the EU where bank transfers were expensive maybe it could make sense to set some kind of a threshold (never 500€), but nowadays they are free…
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I would not assume it is useless to discuss, most of all if you are good collaborator. I would first check if there is a clause in the contract that you signed about it. If you haven't signed this in your agreement, I would at least try to make my point.
Some companies offer a threshold for money transfer, so that less money get lost in small tranfers, but to impose a threshold on invoicing is going way too far.
MF
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Eva Stoppa
Germany
Local time: 22:51
English to German
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Assignments from them higher than 500 Euros. This way, it will work for you.
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Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 22:51
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
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This client may have a large pool of people to whom they’re sending small assignments (through rotation), and then all of them will be hanging for months, if not years, without payment. For instance, the OP gets close to €500 mark, then they stop sending her assignments and just pull out the next one from the roster. When the next one gets close to €500 mark…, you get the picture.
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Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 22:51
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| Apply this to the bakery... | Jan 5 |
Tell them "I will only pay you after I got bread worth 500€ from you" and see what they'll say.
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Just bill them 500 euros for every job. Sorted.
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Tomasz Sienicki
Denmark
Local time: 22:51
Member (2007)
Danish to Polish
+ ...
Right, once you complete a €100 job, invoice them €500 for the delivered job + €400 credit towards any future assignments.
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