Musings from an overworked translator

Have I lost my mojo? February 26, 2009

I was writing invoices last night, which I normally do as soon as I deliver a job, but had been putting off for a variety of reasons – the biggest one being the malaise I have been suffering from in the last month or so. I realize it is a seasonal affective disorder thing and have been taking steps to combat it, but it is sometimes easier said than done. The fact that the weather was 47 degrees yesterday has helped a bit. I actually became motivated enough to dust and vacuum my apartment (and my hallway stairs, which I had been neglecting all winter – vacuuming them in 10 degree weather when the hallway is unheated isn’t an inviting thing to do). I still have quite a bit of work to do to dig out from the malaise-induced bedlam in my apartment.

Anyway, I have digressed from my original point… When writing the invoices I started doubting my line and word counts and whether I charge the customer for source text or target text. I have decided to spell it out directly on each invoice (target word, source word, Zielzeile, Quellziele) so I don’t have to remember what I charge for each individual client. I imagine Translation Office 3000 would help in this situation, but I got out of the habit of using it last year.

I don’t remember ever having been this confused before. I have a couple newer clients, which doesn’t help matters, but this is the first time I looked at all the translations I had done in the last couple weeks and didn’t know where to start and wasn’t sure if I had forgotten to include a job that I might have archived already. Hopefully once spring breaks my foggy brain will clear up, but in the meantime, how do you keep track of what you charge your clients?

Taking advantage of the down time February 11, 2009

I’m sure it’s just an anomaly, but things have been quite slow recently for this normally overworked translator. I’ve taken advantage of the down time to prepare my financial statements and hand them over to my accountant (much earlier than I would normally have done!), send out some resumes to potential new clients, finish a test translation for an agency that I first tried to finish back in May ’08, and update my woefully neglected website (I hadn’t updated in the Translation Hints page in almost 5 years – ouch!). I’m sure things will pick up again any day now, so I am enjoying being able to take advantage of the lull. However, like most of you, I can’t help wondering if this trend will continue or whether business will pick up. I have a few promising irons in the fire, but nothing has materialized yet. I just need to keep telling myself that this too shall pass and soon I will be complaining about being overworked.

On a related note, I am really unhappy with the format of my Translation Hints page. It stems from 1995 when HTML was a brand new thing, so if anyone has any suggestions to make it easier to read and nicer to look at, by all means let me know. The only reason it is still in table form is because that is how it started out.

Deadline is approaching for issuing and filing 1099s January 26, 2009

January 31st is coming quickly (ok, this year the deadline is February 2nd, but let’s not split hairs). You might have noticed that you are receiving 1099s from your agency clients. I like to compare my total yearly income with theirs – just to be sure. I have caught errors twice now, so it bears repeating. Obviously this only applies to those persons who have their corporate domicile in the United States or file taxes here.

While January may seem a bit early to begin thinking about taxes, 1099-MISC filing deadlines are looming for businesses. This includes sole proprietors and S-Corps, which most translators are. Generally speaking, IRS 1099-MISC is the form used to report miscellaneous income that you paid to anyone in the course of your trade or business. You must issue 1099-MISC forms to any person that you have paid at least $600 in rent, services or other income payments. This includes independent contractors who have subcontracted work to – be it proofreading or translation work. We also generally only have to file a couple 1099s a year, which is a lot of work for just two or three forms.

The IRS website has tons of useful information, but unfortunately you can’t download forms that you can actually file. You can order forms from the IRS by calling 1-800-tax-form or ordering them off of the IRS website (again – do not download). The IRS suggests it typically takes at least two weeks for the forms to be delivered, but keep in mind that it may take longer. If you need the forms sooner, you usually can find them at libraries and post offices.

Once you have received the forms from the IRS or library or post office, you should fill them out (The 1099-MISC form is a multi-layered carbon form, so you should make sure the information you provide appears clearly on all of the copies.) and then mail all the copies to the appropriate recipients. You must provide Copy B to the person that you are reporting to the IRS (i.e., your independent contractor) by January 31st. Copy A of the 1099-MISC form is intended for the IRS. You are required to file it by February 28th if you are sending the form by mail. If you prefer to file electronically, you have until March 31st to file the form. Since the IRS loves its red tape, it requires you to file an additional form if you are filing Copy A of the 1099-MISC by mail. In this case, you must file an “Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns” form. This summary is better known as Form 1096.

If this sounds like a lot of work to you, you are right. It is. My method of choice is visiting Filetaxes.com to issue my 1099-MISCs. It only costs $3.79 a form. You must initially set up a user name and password and can easily fill out 1099 and W-2 forms online. Once you have set up your account, your data is stored there indefinitely and can be accessed again next year. It takes less than a minute to fill out the form once you have the contractor’s social security number and address. Filetaxes.com does all the physical work of printing, filing, and mailing out the returns. I don’t have to get into my car to drive to the library or post office and have instant gratification (if you can call it that). This allows me to get back to business without having to worry about whether I messed up the form. I just filed my 1099s, and it took me three minutes – two of which were spent printing out the PDF copies for my records.

There are plenty of other similar services out there, such as www.ts1009.com. I’m curious to hear which service(s) you prefer using. If there is something better out there I’m all ears.