Just over a year ago, I revisited the purchase order I first shared with you in 2015 because I’d divided it into four to cover the four different services I currently provide: translation; revision; editing; and localisation.

I’m now back again with another update.

After talking to colleagues recently about pricing, negotiating and deadlines, I realised I needed to add a couple of lines to my purchase orders.

The first addition is:

Delivery date and time can only be guaranteed if the purchase order is accepted within 24 hours

I’ve included this because clients sometimes don’t confirm immediately and then expect you to keep to the same delivery promise. This might not represent a problem if the job is short and/or no other work has arrived on your desk in the meantime. But if a few days have passed and you are no longer available, the quoted deadline will be impossible to meet. It’s best if clients know this upfront. And it might also make them confirm more quickly.

The second addition is:

Rush fee for urgent service (weekend work/short deadline): 25%

I don’t often add rush fees because most of the deadlines I’m given are generous enough. And when I work weekends, it’s usually because I’ve taken some time off during the week and need to catch up. But I still should have included this line in my POs before.

Of course, you can charge whatever mark-up you feel is appropriate. It doesn’t have to be 25%.

To round off the update, I’ve changed the order of some of the lines to divide them into more logical sections. I’ve also separated the sections with an empty line that I’ve filled with colour to make everything more readable.

If you’d like to download any of these purchase orders for translation, revision, editing or localisation, head to the Downloadable Files page.

Please don’t forget that if you decide to use the files with your own clients, you can’t link to the ITI (Institute of Translation and Interpreting) terms and conditions unless you’re a member. And you’ll also have to change the privacy notice link to your own (although please feel free to copy any parts of mine you wish).

I always complete as much of the information in the purchase orders as I can from the email exchange with the client so that they don’t have to provide too many details (which may prove off-putting).