”Cheap equals expensive”; you’ve undoubtedly heard that before. Still, it’s possible to spend less on your translation without compromising on quality. As a translation agency, we obviously stand for the best quality – for example by having all translations reviewed by 3 pairs of eyes. This blog post gives you 5 tips to make your translations less expensive.

Perhaps you have already included your translations in your costs and reserved a generous budget for it. We believe you should never overpay, so we’re happy to help you get the most out of your translations and your money. Pay attention, because now you will discover how to spend less without compromising on the quality of the translation.

Select your content carefully

Not all texts are suitable or relevant for all target groups. If you’ve written a brochure about tasty meat recipes, then anything relating to pork is irrelevant to countries where they don’t eat pork. That is why it’s always smart to look closely at what exactly you are having translated. It takes twice as much time if you have texts translated needlessly, it not only takes up the translator’s time but will cost you extra time as well in deleting any excess and trying to come up with the text to replace it. Then you have to have the new text translated again and… well, you understand how inefficient this is.

In concrete terms; scrutinise the texts you want translated, delete words, sentences and paragraphs that are not of interest nor relevant to your foreign target group and save money on your translation. After all, you do pay per word.

Time it well

We get it; you’d rather have something finished yesterday instead of today. If you want to move forward, you want it as soon as possible. But you also know that urgency often comes at a higher price. Just think of an urgent application for your driving license – in some municipalities you pay almost double for that. In addition, “haste makes waste”. Plan your translations well; reserve enough time for yourself to critically review the texts, sufficient time for the translation itself and enough time for our quality control. This way you can be sure that you’ve opted for the lowest price and the best quality. By the way, our project managers are happy to help you plan it properly. They will indicate how much time the translation agency will need so that you know exactly when to put it in your calendar.

Technology actually stands for saving money

Choosing a translation agency or translator Check out these tips
At our agency there’s the option – if you wish – to work with a translation memory.

The wonderful world of technology. Technology not only makes life easier, but also cheaper. At least when we talk about translations. At our agency it’s possible – if you wish – to work with a translation memory or TM for short. And no, we’re not talking about Google Translate where you paste everything yourself.

A translation memory is a database in which all your previously translated texts are stored. We feel that it shouldn’t be necessary to pay the full price twice for the translation of the same piece of text. The more text stored in the translation memory, the more you save. By the way, the translator never simply copies repetitions. Both the translator and reviewer will check whether the word really fits the context and whether it is correct.

What is handy about a translation memory is that it analyses the texts to be translated. The result tells us how many repetitions it contains and how many new words. This way we can calculate an even better fee!

Also read: 10 really indispensable tips when having your website translated

Time is money

If you’re an entrepreneur or work for someone else at a company; time is money. You don’t want to spend hours needlessly translating your texts. That is why it’s smart to work with translation agencies where you have one single point of contact. At Euro-Com this is your personal project manager. Do the translators have any questions? They will not contact you but your project manager instead. He or she is fully aware of your wishes and preferences and can always answer the questions for you.

Now you might wonder how much time one question will take. It can add up. A while ago there were four questions regarding one translation. Three concerned inaccuracies in the text provided by the client and one question was about literal translation. The translator indicated that a literal translation would confuse the reader. As translators will never change your text unilaterally they will always ask how much freedom they have.

If your project manager is not 100% sure of the answer he or she will obviously contact you. This prevents misunderstandings and, all in all, saves you a lot of time.

Ask your translation agency for tips

Asking for help or tips may be the smartest thing to do. There’s no need to have all the answers yourself – just surround yourself with those that have the knowledge. A translation agency knows everything about translations, the working method and the right choices. Do you have any experience with translations? If not, feel free to bombard us with all your questions! Even if you have had texts translated before, all your questions are welcome. Your project manager will be happy to help you make choices and advise you on getting the best translations in the least expensive way.

Are you curious about the price of your translation

What does a translation from a translation agency cost? As you can imagine; cheap isn’t always really cheap. If you’re not satisfied with your translation, you will have to engage a different translator and thus pay again for the same job. Talk about wasting money. So don’t just look at the price, but at quality as well. It makes sense to pay more for a translation agency with highly trained, native, specialist translators than for a translator who “just throws words together”.

At Euro-Com we are happy to tell you all about the costs of translations. The price of your translation is based on, among other things, the language combination and a rate per word. The costs per word start at €0.12. Do you want to know exactly what your translation will cost? Request a quote – it’s completely free of charge and without obligation. You will know the fee for your translation within 2 hours.