Guides
Translation Agency Proposal Template: Scope, Fees, and Duties
A translation agency proposal template with nine document sections, a client-and-agency responsibilities table, and fees organized by basis, trigger, and scope.
Use this translation agency proposal template to lay out the document once the project details are settled. It provides a nine-section order, a two-column table for assigning agency and client duties, and a fee structure that shows what each charge covers and when it applies.
The focus is the document itself: make the scope, schedule, responsibilities, and fees easy to compare, then check that they describe the same work. Replace each prompt with terms confirmed for the engagement; the template does not supply rates or universal contract terms.
Lay out the proposal in nine sections
Use these as the proposal’s main headings. Keep the content under each heading specific to the engagement, and remove any prompt that does not apply.
- What you understood.Summarize the buyer’s situation in a few sentences. Use this as the document’s opening frame, not as a place to introduce unconfirmed requirements.
- Scope.Name the content types, target locales, services for each locale, and expected volume. Identify the market each locale serves rather than naming only the language.
- Approach.Describe how a batch moves from receipt to acceptance. Name the steps and who performs them; keep the sequence consistent with the actual delivery process.
- Responsibilities.Show the division of work in a two-column table, with one column for the agency and one for the client.
- Assumptions.Group project assumptions in one section and give each a short identifier. Include assumptions that affect the stated scope, schedule, or fees.
- Schedule.State timing as offsets from receipt of the final source. Show the client’s review windows as client-owned tasks.
- Team and coverage.Describe the tested linguists available for each pair and what happens if one is unavailable. Make coverage claims specific to the engagement.
- Fees.Present the fee components, their basis, when they apply, and what is outside the stated scope.
- Terms and next step.State the proposal’s validity period, what happens on acceptance, and the action needed to proceed.
Nine sections of the proposal
- 1. What you understoodrestate buyer's situation
- 2. Scopecontent types, locales, services, volume
- 3. Approachreceipt to acceptance, step by step
- 4. Responsibilitiestwo-column agency and client table
- 5. Assumptions registernumbered, price-changing assumptions
- 6. Scheduleoffsets from final source receipt
- 7. Team and coveragetested linguists per pair
- 8. Feesstructure, triggers, exclusions
Assign responsibilities in two columns
Give each delivery task a named owner. Adapt the table to the proposed services and schedule; these entries are examples from the original template, not universal terms for every project.
The agency does / The client does
- Analyze files and confirm scope
- Supply final, editable source by the agreed date
- Select and brief linguists
- Name an in-country reviewer for each locale
- Maintain the memory and termbase
- Approve new terms within the agreed window
- Translate and revise
- Supply character limits and context for interface strings
- Raise source queries in one batch
- Answer queries within the agreed window
- Deliver in the agreed format
- Confirm acceptance or provide comments within the review window
- Issue change orders when an assumption no longer holds
- Decide on change orders promptly
Agency and client responsibilities
The agency does
- Scope
- Analyze files, confirm scope
- Linguists
- Select and brief linguists
- Terminology
- Maintain memory and termbase
- Delivery
- Translate, revise, deliver
- Queries
- Raise source queries in one batch
- Changes
- Issue change orders
The client does
- Scope
- Supply final editable source
- Linguists
- Name in-country reviewer
- Terminology
- Approve new terms in window
- Delivery
- Confirm acceptance in window
- Queries
- Answer queries in window
- Changes
- Decide on change orders promptly
Compare this table with the approach and schedule before issuing the document. If a task appears in the delivery sequence but has no owner, assign one. If the client must provide an input, review, or decision, put that duty in the client column and make its timing consistent with the schedule. Keep the handoff consistent with the account onboarding and delivery guide.
Keep assumptions identifiable
Put the assumptions in one section instead of scattering them through the scope, schedule, and fees. Give each entry a stable identifier, such as A1, and refer to that identifier beside any affected term elsewhere in the proposal. This lets a reader trace a fee or schedule condition back to the assumption it depends on without repeating the whole explanation in multiple sections.
Numbered assumptions register
- A1 Source files final, editable, complete
- A2 Locale set fixed at section 2 list
- A3 One named in-country reviewer per locale
- A4 Client review window [n] business days
- A5 Source frozen from [date]
- A6 Interface strings with limits and context
- A7 Queries answered within [n] business days
- A8 Deliverable format as stated in section 2
Use the identifiers for project-specific conditions, not as a substitute for describing the work. For example, if a schedule depends on receipt of a final source or a client review window, state the condition clearly and make the related schedule entry easy to locate. Keep the wording aligned across the assumptions, responsibilities, schedule, and fee sections.
Present fees by basis and trigger
Build the fee section from the work described in the scope. A buyer should be able to tell what each line covers, how it is structured, and what event makes it applicable. Align the categories with rate bands and the agency’s actual pricing model; do not insert placeholder rates as if they were quoted figures.
A fee table can use these columns:
| Fee item | Basis | Applies when | Included or outside scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Translation | Rate band from the content analysis | The defined content is assigned for translation | State what the band covers |
| Review | Per locale, if it scales by locale | Review is requested for a target locale | State the review included |
| Terminology setup | Per project, if it does not scale by locale | Setup is required for the engagement | State whether it is included |
| File preparation or layout | Separate line item | The specified preparation or layout work is needed | Define the included work |
| Additional review rounds | Separate line item | A round beyond the stated scope is requested | State the included round and what is extra |
| Pass-through costs | State the handling basis | The identified cost is incurred | Identify the cost and handling basis |
Use the agency’s actual amounts and payment terms in the issued proposal. The template supplies no figures. Avoid a single unexplained total: connect each amount to its work, basis, and trigger, and show what is excluded. Include the payment terms and the stated consequence of late payment without implying terms the agency has not approved.
Check the assembled document
Before sending it, read the proposal across sections rather than checking each heading in isolation. Confirm that every service in scope appears in the approach, that each task has an owner, and that the schedule reflects both agency work and client review.
Check that fee lines correspond to the described services and that each stated condition is findable in the assumptions section. Finally, make the acceptance action and validity period explicit in the terms section. This consistency check makes the document easier to review without turning it into a sales-stage guide.
