There are so many transcription services on the market today, some costing not much at all and some costing lots and lots of money. With many different charging models, today I'll look at the different charging models and the best way you can get awesome quality transcription work without spending much. I'll also show how cheap transcription services does not always mean low quality transcription work.
Charging Models
There are multiple models of how you get charged by transcription companies. These are the most common ones but certainly not all of them. We look look at the benefits and the negatives of each below.
Fixed Price
Fixed price transcription is normally coming up with a combination of the below methods; normally a customer will submit their audio needing to be transcribed and the transcription company will provide a quote for that will only be valid for that work quoted on. A company will generally take number of speakers, hardness of audio, quality of recording, turnaround time, previous working relationships with the customer, etc. into consideration when determining a standard quote for transcription based on a fixed price.
Positives of fixed price transcription services
You know exactly how much the audio transcription company will charge for the transcription services. No surprise fees for the transcription. Good for large business and for business with ongoing transcription contracts. You can ensure the transcription company has the capacity to deliver work before order is placed. You might be able to get discounts based on large amounts of audio, although in my experience this is not the case.
Negatives of fixed price transcriptions
Not good for fast turnaround transcription work as it takes time for you to contact the company providing the transcription service and them to reply to you with a quote. Even if you contact them, in my experience some just do not reply, wasting more time. Very time consuming to organise. These companies normally have little to no automated services so customer feedback is often slow. You normally end up paying more for audio work. Make sure you check the transcription services' ability to take detailed client requirements into consideration.
Recommendations
In almost all cases, I would advise against this type of transcription service, as you can achieve the same or better results with other transcription methods. The one circumstance I would advise this method is if there are very exact formatting or specific punctuation standards that are required (as the other methods listed below often will not have special formatting included in the price).
Per line of typed text
Per line of text is normally defined as: 1 line of transcription is equal to 65 key strokes. Normally a company will have an agreed rate per keystroke with the transcriptionist and you are charged for these keystrokes. While this is often heavily used in the medical transcription industry, personally I do not like this method of charging for transcription services because it is extremely hard for the client getting the transcription completed on their behalf to know exactly how many keystrokes or lines of transcription there are in their audio order. While some level of estimation can be completed, you will not know what you're paying until you get your bill! I think this is a risk that does not need to be taken when there are so many other transcription methods available.
Positives of per line transcription services
Very accurate method of charging for work performed. Very good for transcription companies as customers take the risk. You can often pay after work is completed, which can assist customers and businesses with cash flow situations (keep money in your bank as long as possible!).
Negatives of fixed price transcription services
Customers take the risk of the services performed. There is an unknown price of transcription until it is completed. Because no money was paid to start work, some companies may not complete audio if it is very hard audio - talk about slack! So... bad on the customer service front, especially.
Recommendations
Generally, I would suggest this method of charging be avoided, except for the very few circumstances where there is lots of audio time with very limited amount of speaking. As, if the work was being charged at a per minute rate, you could potentially be charged more. In my experience, companies capitalise on the uncertainty of the customers by having complicated per line rates that are hard to understand. Be aware of unknown costs and make sure - if you are REALLY interested in this method of charging - that you find a company you trust.
Per minute of audio
The per minute of audio pricing structure is becoming increasingly common, as the transcription industry becomes more competitive. This method is often the easiest and cheapest from a consumer's point of view.
Positives of per minute of audio transcription services
It's simple. Especially if the rate is $1 or $2 per minute, it makes it even simpler for the customer. 10 minutes is $10 - a simple minutes x rate equation. It is usually cost effective if you find a good company.
Negatives of per minute of audio transcription services
If you have large amounts of silence in your audio, you will still be charged for this. This is because someone must still be paid to listen to every second of your audio to ensure there is nothing in those gaps to be transcribed.
Recommendations
This is generally the best method of obtaining transcription for your audio. It's usually quite easy to get quotes from these companies, and the pricing is usually fair. Per minute audio transcription services will probably become more and more popular into the future.
Common extra charges
It is extremely important to be aware of the extra charges some transcription companies may try to charge you, as many of them try very hard to squeeze as much money out of their customers as possible. Common charges we have seen have included:
1. Extra charges for hard audio (the definitions vary widely)
2. More than 1 speaker (quite common)
3. Turnaround times (can be complicated)
In Summary
Be careful, as always. Do your research. Find the charging option that works best for you. Weigh up all the factors that are important to you, or your client, whoever the customer is... the quality of your transcription, the accuracy, as well as the customer service provided by your chosen online audio transcription service. Happy transcription hunting!
