Translator Invoice Template — Per-Word, Certified
Per-word translation, certified translation with notarisation pass-through, hourly interpretation, rush fees. The template handles agency and direct-client work in any currency.
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What goes on a translation invoice
●Translation (per word or per project). State language pair and word count.
●Certified translation surcharge. If notarisation or certification required.
●Notary / authentication fee. Pass-through to the notary.
●Editing / proofreading (per word). Lower rate than translation.
●Interpretation (per hour, half-day, day). Often with minimum booking.
●Rush surcharge. 20–50% premium for tight turnarounds.
●Project management fee. For multi-language jobs or large agencies.
The way translation work gets billed
Direct clients: invoice on delivery, 14- or 30-day terms.
Agencies: their PO + their payment cycle (often 30–60 days).
Certified work: payment on collection, before document handover.
International invoicing in client's currency is normal — multi-currency support matters.
Tax notes
Translation services are fully taxable in most jurisdictions. Cross-border B2B is typically reverse-charge under EU/UK rules. Court-certified translations may have specific compliance requirements — check your jurisdiction.
Frequently asked questions
Per-word or per-project?
Per-word for standard documents (clear word count). Per-project for marketing copy, transcreation, or anything where word count under-represents the work.
How do I bill for a certified translation?
Translation rate + certification surcharge + notary pass-through. List each separately so the client sees what they're paying for.
Do I bill agencies and direct clients differently?
Same structure, different rates. Direct clients pay full retail; agencies typically negotiate a discounted rate but provide steady volume.
How do I bill for interpretation?
Per hour with a minimum (often 2-hour minimum). Travel, prep, and waiting time all billable. State the policy in the booking confirmation.
Sample wording for a translation invoice
Realistic, copy-and-paste-ready line items translators typically use. Rates here are ballpark for a mid-cost market, so set your own against what clients in your language pair actually pay.
●Source-text analysis and project setup (0.5 hrs, included on projects above $500): no charge
●Document translation — English to French Canadian, marketing brochure (per-word rate at $0.18/source word × 2,850 words): $513
●Editing pass — review of translation by second linguist (per-word at $0.08 × 2,850): $228
●Proofreading and final QA (per-word at $0.04 × 2,850): $114
●DTP / formatting — InDesign file recreated with translated content (per page, 8 pages at $35): $280
●Project management — coordination, deliverable file prep, glossary build (per project, 1.5 hrs at $85): $128
●Rush surcharge — 48-hr turnaround vs standard 5-day (50% premium on translation): $257
Notes: Translation completed by ATA-certified linguist. Two-step QA (edit + proof) per industry-standard TEP process. Source files returned with translated InDesign on final payment. Glossary built per project; archived for future engagement consistency. Confidentiality NDA on file. Net 30 for agencies; Net 7 for direct clients.
How fast the money actually lands
Translation work splits cleanly by client type. Direct-client work (small businesses, marketing teams, individual clients) pays Net 7-15 by card or bank transfer — small but reliable. Translation-agency work is the volume lane and pays Net 30-60 from invoice. Localisation projects with major brands run through LSPs (Lionbridge, RWS, TransPerfect) and pay Net 45-60 with strict CAT-tool requirements (Trados Studio, MemoQ, Phrase TMS) and translation-memory leverage discounts.
Per-word pricing is the industry standard ($0.08-0.30/source word depending on language pair, specialisation, and client tier). Direct-client work commands 1.5-2× agency rates because no intermediary takes a cut. Specialised work (legal, medical, financial, patent translation) commands premium rates. Certified translation for official use (birth certificates, marriage certificates, transcripts) is its own niche at flat-fee per document ($25-150) and often required by USCIS, courts, or universities.
Five invoicing mistakes that slow your payments
●Quoting per-word without specifying source or target. English-to-Japanese has roughly 2x word expansion (target words » source words); English-to-Chinese contracts; English-to-Spanish expands ~15%. Quote on source words for consistency; otherwise the same project quotes differently depending on direction.
●Forgetting the editing and proofreading steps. Industry-standard quality requires Translation, Editing, and Proofreading (TEP). Single-translator-only work is acceptable for internal-use documents but not for client-facing or published material. Bill all three steps; clients who push for translation-only get the legal disclaimer that QA was waived.
●Not using CAT tools on repeat-content projects. Translation memory and term-base management cuts translation time and improves consistency. Agencies require Trados Studio or MemoQ; independent translators who don't use CAT lose efficiency and lose the leverage-discount work that agencies routinely send.
●Quoting in 'days' instead of words. 'I can do this in 2 days' tells the client nothing about volume or quality. Quote: '2,850 source words at $0.18/word = $513, delivered in 4 business days.' Words are the unit of translation; days are derived from word count.
●Releasing the InDesign or final files before payment clears. Translators who deliver final files first and invoice later collect 30-40% of those invoices on Net 60 (or worse). State on contract: 'Final deliverables (translated source files, DTP-formatted files) released on receipt of payment.' Hold until cleared.
US tax notes for translators
Translation services are non-taxable in most US states (professional service). The outliers are the gross-receipts and services-tax states: Hawaii (GET), New Mexico (GRT), Washington (B&O), and South Dakota. Most translators never trigger sales tax. The unique tax issue: many US translators work for international agencies (UK, German, Japanese), and that international income is still US-taxable; FBAR filing may apply if foreign accounts are involved.
Federal: 1099-NEC at $600 from every US business client. Translator deductibles: CAT-tool licences (Trados Studio, MemoQ, Phrase TMS — substantial annual cost, $300-2,000+), dictionary subscriptions (specialised technical dictionaries for legal, medical, technical translation are essential), professional association dues (ATA, NAJIT for court interpreters), certifications and continuing-ed (ATA certification, court-interpreter certification, sworn-translator certification varies by state), language-pair-specific reading material (subscriptions to publications in the target market), and the under-claimed line — fast and reliable internet (essential for cloud-based CAT tools and remote interpretation work), home office, and conference travel.
Not tax advice — confirm specifics with your CPA or state department of revenue.
More questions from working translators
How do I price specialised vs. general translation?
Specialisation premium ranges from 30-150% over base rates. Legal translation $0.18-0.35/word; medical $0.20-0.40; patent translation $0.25-0.55; literary $0.10-0.18 (often a labour of love); general business $0.10-0.22. Specialisation requires demonstrable expertise — certifications, prior projects, terminology fluency.
Can I refuse a project that requires inaccurate translation?
Yes — and you should. Marketing translations that misrepresent product claims, legal translations that change rights, medical translations that distort dosages. State on engagement: 'Translation reflects source content; if source is inaccurate, fixes are author's responsibility, not translator's.' If the client demands inaccurate output, decline.
Should I bill for project-management work?
Yes — explicitly. Coordination, deliverable prep, glossary management, file handoffs, version control — all billable. Bundle as 'Project management' line at hourly rate (0.5-2 hrs typical per project). Invisible PM work is what makes one-off translation feel cheap and recurring work feel expensive — itemise so clients understand the value.
How do I handle translation memory and the leverage discount?
When clients send projects with prior translation memory, they expect a leverage discount: 100% matches (no work, ~10-25% of base rate), 95-99% matches (slight edit, 35-50% of base), 75-94% matches (substantial edit, 70-85% of base), no match (full rate). Specify the leverage tiers on every quote — agencies expect this, direct clients often don't know the model.
Other professions
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