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More than meets the eye
The market has seen an increase in project management software designed specifically for translators and translation companies. Michael Benis takes a look at what's on offer, considering the needs of freelance translators and translation companies alike.
Once upon a time Not that long ago our lives were really pretty simple. Most translations were business correspondence, contracts, legal work and maybe patents plus the occasional advertisement or brochure. Generally speaking, the only truly long translations were tenders or books and multi-language translation projects were few and far between. The whole concept of a "project manager" barely existed. But then, of course, that was also when the only real technological challenge in our professional lives was learning how to change the ribbon in a typewriter.
As we all know, indubitably enriched by the experience, life has now changed. The impact on freelance translators has been complex, in many cases driving us to acquire the skills required to deliver a whole host of value-added services, ranging from complex formatting to the use of a wide array of programs besides word-processing packages, including Excel, PowerPoint, the big guns of desktop publishing and of course translation memory. Any given job can now involve a whole host of different tasks that are frequently charged at different rates and need to be itemised separately, while the globalisation of the translation industry means our invoices are likely to be in different currencies, with different taxes applicable. Managing all this together with a hectic workload, where we can be working on several jobs simultaneously for a range of clients, is not only stressful but can end up being quite time-consuming.
But the situation a freelance has to deal with is absolutely nothing compared to the increased administrative workload faced by translation companies today. The value-added services they offer to remain competitive in today's market will generally be provided by a whole range of different internal and external suppliers. In addition, a whole stream of different translators is often required for each project, partly because many more are now multi-language projects, and partly because the length of the average translation has increased tremendously (just think of all those weighty user manuals and mountains of international legislation), while deadlines have become ridiculously short, meaning that more than one translator is often required for each different language combination. The hard-pressed project manager is consequently left juggling a bewildering array of specialist suppliers with little margin for error but an inversely proportional potential for disasters to strike, particularly when a colleague is unforeseeably absent for one reason or another, such as the inevitable midwinter virus. The potential cost of these errors can be enormous to a translation company. But then the same goes for the cost of running a translation management team that's larger than it really needs to be.
A trio of solutions to the rescue So, here we are, with three different programs to help us: PractiCount, Translation Office 3000 and LTC Organiser. It's important to realise, however, that we're talking about three programs that are not in many ways direct competitors, except where one particular version is concerned, namely LTC Organiser Freelance, which could be seen as a direct competitor of Translation Office 3000 (or vice versa). That said, they all share certain functions designed to simplify routine tasks. The easiest way to understand and compare them is to take a look at those tasks and how they are interrelated, aided by the fact that they tend to be divided into separate functions or modules in each of the products.
Count engine and invoicing module
This part of each product, which in the case of PractiCount is almost the entire package, automates what is often the freelance's most time-consuming task, obtaining accurate word/character/page/slide etc counts, applying the various different rates applicable, and then making out the final invoice with the minimum of manual input for things such as names, address, VAT numbers and rest.
All three packages in this review can automate the process for you. Once you've entered your own and your clients' data (name, address, VAT number, prices and so on), you simply have to point the program to the directory/folder where the files for the completed translations have been stored and it will automatically prepare your invoice, complete with all address and tax details and filenames, having carried out the appropriate count on the various different file types present. All the packages can cope with the basics of Microsoft's Office suite, PDF files, HTML files and a few others including txt, but you should check the providers' website information carefully if you have more complex requirements: you will, for instance, have to export any DTP files from their native format. In addition, PractiCount and Translation Office are able to count within zipped files, and can also include text boxes when counting the content of Word files, while PractiCount is unique in being able to count embedded Excel tables in Word and PowerPoint.
Each of the products offers a variety of count options, but it is the cheapest and simplest that offers the most. PractiCount is in fact the only product that allows you to automatically apply different prices not just for different customers, but for different file types, too. That is to say, if you have to issue invoices for either a series of mixed-file projects or, perhaps, all the work you have done for all your different clients in the relevant calendar month, issuing each with a single invoice, PractiCount can automatically apply different rates for each customer as well as different count units (words, lines, characters etc) for different formats, charging more - for example - for PowerPoint files than for Word. LTC organiser can cope with this where PowerPoint files, at least are concerned, since you can opt to have these counted by slide and then to have a related per-slide price, which is however only really an acceptable option for graphics work rather than translation work, since the number of words in two different slides could vary considerably. That said, you can of course make manual changes where required, although this does to an extent defeat the object of the programs. In terms of the various count options offered, PractiCount comes top, with Translation Office 3000 and LTC Organiser following close behind in that order. Organiser is the only one to offer the per-slide count option.
You won't be surprised to read that all three packages can also cope with the differential rates that many apply for the different matches offered by CAT programs, although they do it with different levels of sophistication. LTC Organiser can automatically process TRADOS Analysis log file data and incorporate it in the word count for a given project, although you have to buy an add-on for the privilege. Moreover, it doesn't currently offer an off-the-shelf interface for any other CAT program on the market, although LTC will happily customise the system to work with whichever CAT tools you prefer.
PractiCount offers an entirely free standalone module that achieves almost entirely the same effect, differing in only two important respects. Firstly, it is currently unable to handle multiple file analysis data, only taking the figure for the first file, meaning that you have to edit the Analysis log file, deleting all the initial counts so that only the total count at the end remains. Secondly, it is, at least for the moment, not able to integrate with the PractiCount program itself, leaving you to issue a separate invoice for each TRADOS project as a result. The good news is that it will soon be able to process the data from the log files generated by other CAT programs and, of course, as a free standalone product, it's a very handy thing for any translation memory user, being able to save them time without costing a penny.
Translation Office 3000, on the other hand, requires you to input the analysis results manually, after which it will apply the relevant rates and calculate the total for you. This facility is a standard part of the product.
Something PractiCount and Translation Office 3000 both offer is the option of applying discounts or Mark-ups automatically to your counts or invoices. LTC Organiser, on the other hand, allows you to create a whole series of different price lists, which achieves the same effect.
Let's now move on to take a look at the remaining modules in the project management products, Translation Office 3000 and LTC Organiser.
Contacts/Clients/Suppliers modules
This is in many ways simply an electronic address book for all your clients, in the case of PractiCount and Translation Office 3000, or for your clients and suppliers for all versions of LTC Organiser except the Freelance version. In Translation Office 3000, the Contacts section is in fact an integral part of the Clients module, with the client company being one's principle point of reference. In LTC Organiser, on the other hand (except for the Freelance version), the contacts include all the individual contacts at one's different client companies, plus all one's suppliers. This highlights the difference in approach and architecture of the two systems, with Translation Office 3000 being principally conceived for freelance translators and small translation companies, whereas LTC Organiser has really been designed to suit the needs of larger translation companies. Organiser therefore has a completely separate module for suppliers, which can cover the full gamut from authoring to desktop publishing, interpreting, revision and translation amongst others. While the Contacts section contains simple contact details, Organiser's Client and Supplier modules contain much more detailed company and professional information. The only difference between the Freelance and Agency versions of Organiser is that the Supplier module is logically enough not included in the former (and the price is significantly lower).
Tool module Exclusive to LTC Organiser, this module is used to manage translation memory, localisation and other software tools, including information on the licences owned and loaned to suppliers.
Quotes module
This contains any quotes prepared for new or prospective clients, which can be turned into actual projects/jobs at the simple click of a button once accepted. It contains buttons that activate the count engine which is used to prepare both quotes and invoices. All the data required to do this is obtained automatically from the Contacts/Clients/Suppliers modules and project files saved in their appropriate directories. Both systems propose a customisable folder tree structure for managing all your project files, designed to facilitate migration and backups as well as effective file/folder/disk organisation. Quotes that have been accepted can instantly be converted into projects.
Project/Jobs module
Similar to the Quotes module except that instead of allowing you to track quotes and whether or not they have been accepted, it allows you to monitor the progress and eventual completion of the job/s concerned. Translation Office handles jobs individually although it can link them, while LTC Organiser is altogether more sophisticated and its projects can be broken down into a number of different components and tasks, including the different language combinations of each translation handled by different suppliers, any preparatory work, DTP, revision and so on.
Finances
LTC Organiser logically breaks this down into Client Payments and Supplier Payments which generate Invoices and Purchase Orders respectively, while Translation Office has a single Invoices module.
Payments
Payments received are recorded in this module of Translation Office 3000, where they can be linked to their respective invoices. LTC Organiser, on the other hand, incorporates payment tracking in the Client Payment and Supplier Payment sections of its Finance module.
Expenses
This module is specific to Translation Office 3000 and is used to manage any additional expenses that need to be incorporated in invoices. LTC Organiser achieves the same thing in a different way, handling each "expense" as a separate job to be itemised in the invoice for any given project. At the same time, it has a Costs function that allows a translation company to take a supplier's costs into consideration, as well as any "Other costs" incurred in the course of a project but not invoiced, which are accounted for separately.
Settings/Setup
These modules are where you enter the basic settings for your own personal information (including address and VAT registration number etc) and preferences.
Report
This module, which is specific to Organiser, generates a series of reports, several of which are very similar to the printouts offered by the different modules of Translation Office 3000, which can - for example - print out all current quotes or invoices and so on. Other reports in LTC Organiser are, on the other hand, unique to this product and one of its greatest strengths, enabling a freelance translator or manager of a translation company to gain very useful information on the volume of business transacted with different clients or the profitability of different clients for whom a similar volume of work has been performed etc. This information can prove invaluable for developing an effective medium and long-turn business strategy.
Interface differences
Whereas PractiCount offers a very simple interface, akin to Windows Explorer, since it offers little more than a count engine that then generates an invoice using your saved client details, Translation Office 3000 and LTC Organiser are altogether more complex. At first sight, Translation Office seems the more logical and integrated of the two, offering a toolbar that allows you to move through a series of windows with clear functions and buttons that automatically close and open as you navigate them, accessing a further layer of choices by mouse in a process that is a little like opening a box of Russian dolls. LTC Organiser, on the other hand, offers a simple standalone taskbar, each button on which opens a window containing a variety of different tabs, some of which also use a drop-down menu activated by the right mouse button. These Windows all remain open until you close them, creating the impression of a collection of entirely separate modules forming a product that is both more complex and more fragmented.
To an extent these impressions are correct, although Organiser is far more "integrated" in its operation than these discrete modules would suggest. At the same time it has been specifically designed to be used by a whole range of people with different roles in a translation company. Its separate modular structure means that each of these people only have to learn to use one of the modules and also makes it less likely that they will use areas outside of their immediate responsibility incorrectly (in addition to which, the Corporate version has a system of administrator-controlled permissions that actually makes this impossible).
Work procedure
The work procedure in both products is relatively straightforward, following the logic you are likely to adopt for most translation projects. There are certain areas where you enter data that you will never need to enter again unless it is to update a certain item. These include the settings for your own company information, your clients, suppliers, prices, taxes, mark-ups and discounts (in Translation Office) or marked up/discounted price lists (n Organiser). This data is then automatically provided by the system.
Whenever a client requests a quote, you simply need to place the files concerned in the appropriate folder, select the client, language and other project details, in most cases using a series of pulldown menus, set the count engine to work its magic, click a button and then let the system print your quote ready to be sent to the client.
LTC Organiser also gives you the option of automatically e-mailing your quotes. Overall, in fact, this system is superior to Translation Office 3000 when it comes to integration with e-mail, allowing all communications to be e-mailed automatically. With Translation Office, on the other hand, you have to first save your file and then open your e-mail program to send it to your customer as an attachment. Likewise, whereas Translation Office allows you to e-mail clients from its Contacts module, LTC Organiser offers a merge facility so that you can contact a whole series of clients (and/or suppliers) by post or e-mail, customising a simple generic communication. This is very useful for the sort of ongoing marketing communications we examined in the last issue of bulletin.
Another advantage of LTC Organiser is that it saves your quotes and invoices in PDF format, which both looks more professional and prevents them from being altered. Translation Office, on the other hand, prepares RTF files which have the advantage of being readable on practically any system, whereas PDF requires your client to have at least the free "Reader" version of Adobe Acrobat, which is, however, now in widespread use and readily available.
Once a quote has been accepted, it's a simple matter to transform it into a project or job, something that once again takes just one mouse click. It's at this stage that you will also select your supplier/s in LTC Organiser, assigning them to the relevant translation (language combination), file preparation, DTP and other tasks required. A mouse click in Organiser then sends the related Purchase Orders out to them. From this stage on you can also monitor how the project is going. This is a matter of simple colour coding in Translation Office (with colours for "not completed", "completed", "nearing deadline" and "overdue"), whereas Organiser provides you with more intuitive graphs and bar charts to show you how a given supplier is coping with their workload or the project overall is proceeding in relation to its deadline.
Once a project has been completed, it's again a matter of a simple click to raise an invoice and, in the case of LTC Organiser, e-mail it to your client. Both programs allow you to track when a given invoice becomes overdue (Organiser doing the same thing for payments due to suppliers) and to register when the amount has been received, although neither offer any system of alerts by e-mail or otherwise to let you know that a critical situation has developed.
Unfortunately, neither program has been enabled for control by speech recognition programs.
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First published in ITI Bulletin, 2004. |
