Poll: How many regular clients do you have at the moment? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How many regular clients do you have at the moment?".
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4 are really regular (invoiced every month), 5 are less regular but are invoiced at least 3, 4 times per year and these tend to have longer projects. Most of them have stayed with me for some time, for which I am very grateful.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 21:11
Spanish to English
+ ...
Although it depends on what you mean by "regular". I only have one client who pays me regularly every month. The rest are long-standing clients but only approach me when they have translation or revision/proofreading to be done, which might be once or twice a year, or several times, it all depends.
And I haven't worked with agencies for a couple of years now.
| | | | | I would like a more precise definition of both "regular" and "customer" | Oct 22, 2022 |
A translation agency is, strictly speaking, not a customer, but a recipient of commission from the translator.
I used to define a "regular" customer, at one time, as a company of some sort (agency or otherwise) that placed orders about three times a week. Of those we have none any more.
Patterns of regular returners seem to vary, with some of them spending a certain amount per month with us, every month (or, more commonly, these days, every two or three months). In rega... See more A translation agency is, strictly speaking, not a customer, but a recipient of commission from the translator.
I used to define a "regular" customer, at one time, as a company of some sort (agency or otherwise) that placed orders about three times a week. Of those we have none any more.
Patterns of regular returners seem to vary, with some of them spending a certain amount per month with us, every month (or, more commonly, these days, every two or three months). In regard to the once-every-two-month or once-every-three-month ones, it appears to relate to their budgeting of spending with us. They pay 30 days end of month, so that theoretically - after the first month - if they placed an order every month you would receive an income from that customer every month (after first working a month in hand). However, it does not work like that with a 30-days-end-of-monther.
In the case of the once-every-two-month ones, it goes like this:
Place an order one month, pay for it on the very last day of the next month, place an order the month after that (preferably always in the first half of the month), pay for it at the end of the next one.... (on time again, of course).
The once-every-three-monthers do it this way:
They place an order, for example, on the second day of January, due for payment by the end of February. A few days into March you have to send a reminder for payment. There is a lot of kerfuffle about that, then by the second half of March you have the money, and the next order comes on the second day of April, with the customer targeting 20th June as the latest possible payment date...
We also appear to have one or two customers who show up again like clockwork once a year - often in the same month of the year. ▲ Collapse
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| Since my return from maternity leave in September ... | Oct 23, 2022 |
... I've worked for 8 regular clients and 5 more who revert at irregular intervals. I have several more clients for whom I've worked last year and earlier this year, but I haven't dared remind all of them I exist yet, because I still have limited work time available.
[Edited at 2022-10-23 10:48 GMT]
| | | | Kay Denney 
France
Local time: 21:11
French to English
With the "at the moment" at the end, I think "regular" needs defining. I get the impression that it means customers that come knocking every week. Whereas I have a client who brings out a CD once a year, and I translate various related documents for him, it's never very much but it happens every year. And I have an academic who asks me to translate a short abstract about her research twice a year. It's never more than €30 worth of work, but she sends me one in December and one in July or Augus... See more With the "at the moment" at the end, I think "regular" needs defining. I get the impression that it means customers that come knocking every week. Whereas I have a client who brings out a CD once a year, and I translate various related documents for him, it's never very much but it happens every year. And I have an academic who asks me to translate a short abstract about her research twice a year. It's never more than €30 worth of work, but she sends me one in December and one in July or August, so it's pretty regular. Then there are a handful of agencies I bill every month or every other month. ▲ Collapse
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