The problem
Repeat clients send the same manuals and product sheets back with small changes, and a small agency often counts words by hand and pays freelancers full rate for text it has already paid to translate. If 3,000 words a month repeat earlier jobs and you pay $0.11£0.08€0.10A$0.15C$0.15 a word for text that only needs checking, a large part of that is wasted, and each quote takes longer than it should.
What the AI does
Phrase TMS is a translation management system. Its Freelancer plan lists CAT features, translation memories, term bases and quality assurance for one seat, with an allowance of words for quoting. You run each new file against the client's translation memory before quoting, so the analysis shows new words, fuzzy matches and repeats. Repeated text is pre-filled from the memory, the freelancer is paid a reduced rate to check it, and the quote reflects the same breakdown.
A worked example
A three-person translation agency in Leeds handles about 20,000 words a month, mostly technical and marketing work for repeat clients, using freelance translators. The owner, who manages projects, runs every job through Phrase TMS on the one-seat Freelancer plan.
Before
Words counted by hand and about 3,000 repeated words a month paid at full rate; about 30 quotes a month taking 15 minutes each
After
Repeats pre-filled and paid at a reduced rate; quotes from the analysis in about 5 minutes each
What it's worth
About $319£240€286A$461C$451 a month: $120£90€107A$173C$169 kept from repeat text and $200£150€179A$288C$282 of quoting time. If freelancers are paid $0.03£0.02€0.02A$0.04C$0.04 instead of $0.11£0.08€0.10A$0.15C$0.15 to check 3,000 repeated words, that saves $239£180€214A$346C$338 and keeping half (passing the rest to clients as a discount) leaves $120£90€107A$173C$169. Quoting 30 jobs at 10 minutes less each saves 5 hours at an assumed $40£30€36A$58C$56 an hour. Phrase TMS Freelancer is $29£22€26A$42C$41 a month billed annually.
How to set it up
- Start Phrase's 14-day free trial and set up one translation memory and term base per main client.
- Import past translations you have the right to reuse, as aligned files, so the memory isn't empty on day one.
- Run every new file through analysis before quoting and agree a rate grid for new words, fuzzy matches and repeats with your freelancers.
- Explain the grid to clients so the discount on repeats is visible in your quotes.
- Check the yearly word allowance against your volumes every quarter.
What goes wrong
- The Freelancer plan is one TMS seat with a yearly cap on processed words. A larger team or volume needs Professional at $592£445€530A$854C$837 a month.
- A memory full of old mistakes repeats them. Have a reviewer check anything pre-filled before delivery.
- Clients may own their translations or forbid reuse for other clients. Keep one memory per client and check your contracts.
- Freelancers who work in other CAT tools need files exported and imported cleanly; test the round trip before a live job.