To understand formation of services price, level of quality and social responsibility, we shall compare the internal factors determining these categories in the major groups of Translation Bureaus in Ukraine (link to the previous publication).
Services of the first group - business sharks in the translation field - a priori cannot be cheap. They have in their portfolio plenty of serious projects, use services of experienced staff translators and the base of reliable freelancers, often native speakers. Their personnel includes editors, proofreaders, project managers and technical experts. Managers and employees monitor leading trends in the field, involving participation in conferences, seminars, trainings, innovative technologies training, and their implementation in day-to-day practice. These translation bureaus have a great object of expenditure for marketing and brand promotion. They have already gone a long way, overcome many obstacles, gained experience and perspective of their further development ways. And most importantly - they have found their niche, their clients, understand their demands and do their best to hold a high bar and conform to their high level. Formally, large translation bureaus have not only a registered sole proprietor, but also a limited private limited company (LLC), as well as bank accounts, useful acquaintances and well-established contacts. In this case, it is definite advantage.
Translation bureaus being in the process of establishing or at the stage of stability, usually their staff includes 3-8 people. Translators rarely appear in their staff because today their maintenance is very expensive. And the base of freelancers is still developing. Such translation bureaus often run risks, using services of students or freelancers-novices. These companies do not have the opportunity to spend a lot of money for advertising, services of experienced translators, including specialized ones, as well as reviewers and proofreaders. If this is just the beginning of the professional development, then such a company still has to go a long way of at least five years to gain experience and win their place, or just close out if the chosen strategy turns out to be wrong. The main factor determining the situation of a permanently existing translation bureau is using conservative methods of operating activity. And, of course, all of the above factors contribute to cheaper services, often to the detriment of quality.
One should point out that recently there has been a tendency for closer cooperation between the translation bureaus. First of all, this is due to a shortage of skilled personnel, differences in the financial maintaining of offices and employees in big and small cities, as well as minimization of risks connected to the interaction with freelancers.
Therefore, prices for translation services in regional centers are usually lower than in the capital city, and prices for additional services (for example, apostille, legalization), on the contrary, are lower in the capital city.
