🇦🇺Australia

Fehlende oder fehlerhafte Abrechnung von Übersetzungsleistungen (Wortzählung, Zuschläge, Stornos)

Updated: Feb 20261 verified sources

Definition

The Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators (AUSIT) explains that translations are typically charged either at a flat fee per document, or per word or per 100 words, and that larger documents are usually priced on word count; AUSIT explicitly recommends agreeing in advance whether the source or target word count will be used and notes that urgent jobs usually attract an extra loading, while interpreters may charge minimum fees and cancellation fees (full or percentage of the fee) depending on notice.[2] In practice, agencies managing many small and medium jobs for different clients often rely on project managers to manually copy word counts from tools like Microsoft Word, apply client‑specific rates and urgency multipliers, and remember to include cancellation fees; any omission directly reduces billable revenue and can also mean freelancers are not compensated according to agreed terms. For example, under‑recording a 20,000‑word technical manual by just 5% (1,000 words) at AUD 0.20/word leads to a revenue loss of AUD 200 on a single job; at scale, repeated under‑counts and forgotten loadings can erode gross margins by several percentage points across annual turnover. Given typical agency EBITDA margins in the 8–15% range, a 3–7% leakage from pricing/calculation errors represents a significant financial impact.

Key Findings

Financial Impact: Quantified (Logic): If a mid‑size Australian language service provider bills AUD 2 million per year and suffers 3–7% under‑billing from missed words, urgent loadings and cancellation fees, the annual loss equals ≈ AUD 60,000–140,000 in gross revenue. At project level, a 5% miscount on a 10,000‑word job at AUD 0.18/word loses ≈ AUD 90; a waived same‑day urgency loading of 25% on a AUD 1,000 job leaks AUD 250; failing to charge a cancellation fee for a full‑day interpreter booking at AUD 900/day can lose the full AUD 900 if the slot cannot be rebooked.
Frequency: High in agencies with many small translation jobs and varied client rate cards, where project managers manually calculate word counts and surcharges; medium in larger agencies using CAT tools but still relying on manual overrides for urgent jobs and cancellations.
Root Cause: Lack of integrated pricing logic between translation management systems and accounting; reliance on manual word counting and rate application; inconsistent documentation of urgent and cancellation terms per client; and limited reconciliation between freelancer POs (based on actual work) and client invoices.

Why This Matters

The Pitch: Translation agencies in Australia 🇦🇺 easily leak 3–7% of project revenue (often AUD 30,000–150,000 per year for a small–mid agency) from unbilled words, rush surcharges and cancellation fees. Automation of word counting, rate application and cancellation rules in the freelancer payment and client invoicing workflow recovers this margin.