| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] | When should agencies issue POs? Thread poster: Susmi Rosenthal
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Joakim Braun 
Sweden
Local time: 11:40
German to Swedish
+ ...
| No PO, no work? | Dec 16, 2023 |
If it's a "purchase order", then by definition it has to be issued before work begins.
If it's issued later, perhaps even after delivery, it's not a PO even if they call it that.
All my customers either issue no formal PO's at all (e-mail traffic suffices), or the PO is their formal order after whatever discussion we've had (it has the deadline, word count, rate and some boilerplate).
[Bearbeitet am 2023-12-16 22:13 GMT]
| | | | Susmi Rosenthal
Canada
Local time: 03:40
Member (2007)
English to Danish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Agree, Joakim | Dec 17, 2023 |
[quote]Joakim Braun wrote:
"If it's a "purchase order", then by definition it has to be issued before work begins.
If it's issued later, perhaps even after delivery, it's not a PO even if they call it that."
Exactly! This is what I tried to say to them, but they kept sending the same "explanation" that I included in this forum too.
"All my customers either issue no formal PO's at all (e-mail traffic suffices), or the PO is their formal order after whatever discussion we've had (it has the deadline, word count, rate and some boilerplate)."
Yes, this is my experience as well, which is why I was so baffled of their "policies".
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 11:40
French to English
So if you only get the PO afterwards, it's not a PO, it's more like a document that confirms the job happened and gives you the info you need to include on your bill.
If you get a clear email beforehand that states the wordcount and the deadline, and this always corresponds to the "PO" when it finally arrives, fine. I would be wary for the first few jobs though.
| | | | Susmi Rosenthal
Canada
Local time: 03:40
Member (2007)
English to Danish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thank you, Kay. It's the long timeline | Dec 19, 2023 |
Kay Denney wrote:
"So if you only get the PO afterwards, it's not a PO, it's more like a document that confirms the job happened and gives you the info you need to include on your bill.
If you get a clear email beforehand that states the wordcount and the deadline, and this always corresponds to the "PO" when it finally arrives, fine. I would be wary for the first few jobs though. "
Thank you, Kay. It's the long timeline that results from this policy of issuing "POs" after their OWN delivery to their own client, which can be weeks or longer after you have done your part.
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Kay Denney
France
Local time: 11:40
French to English
Susmi Rosenthal wrote: Kay Denney wrote:
"So if you only get the PO afterwards, it's not a PO, it's more like a document that confirms the job happened and gives you the info you need to include on your bill.
If you get a clear email beforehand that states the wordcount and the deadline, and this always corresponds to the "PO" when it finally arrives, fine. I would be wary for the first few jobs though. " Thank you, Kay. It's the long timeline that results from this policy of issuing "POs" after their OWN delivery to their own client, which can be weeks or longer after you have done your part.
Oh I didn't realise it was after their delivery. No that's not on, I wouldn't accept that. What they do with their client has nothing to do with you. And how can you even trust them that they don't just pretend not to have delivered yet to delay payment?
| | | | Susmi Rosenthal
Canada
Local time: 03:40
Member (2007)
English to Danish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Exactly that | Dec 19, 2023 |
Kay Denney wrote: Susmi Rosenthal wrote: Kay Denney wrote:
"So if you only get the PO afterwards, it's not a PO, it's more like a document that confirms the job happened and gives you the info you need to include on your bill.
If you get a clear email beforehand that states the wordcount and the deadline, and this always corresponds to the "PO" when it finally arrives, fine. I would be wary for the first few jobs though. " Thank you, Kay. It's the long timeline that results from this policy of issuing "POs" after their OWN delivery to their own client, which can be weeks or longer after you have done your part. "Oh I didn't realise it was after their delivery. No that's not on, I wouldn't accept that. What they do with their client has nothing to do with you. And how can you even trust them that they don't just pretend not to have delivered yet to delay payment?
Yes, exactly. It's quite bad of them...
| | | | | As others have written | Dec 23, 2023 |
Susmi Rosenthal wrote:
"...Regarding the delay in processing your payment, our company follows a stringent policy that prohibits raising purchase orders (PO) once a specific task is completed. The intricate nature of our workflow involves multiple steps, including proofreading, quality assurance, and desktop publishing (DTP). Unfortunately, this process is designed to ensure the highest standards and accuracy in our deliverables.... In addition, there may be unforeseen changes required, and your assistance in this matter could be invaluable.... Now, regarding the comment stating that our company pays after three months, I kindly request that you remove it, as this information is inaccurate. Our payment cycle is subject to the complexity of each project pertaining to raising POs by 25th-30th of every month keeping in mind the project is successfully delivered, and in the case of the current lengthy project involving 20 languages, several intricate processes are involved..."
As if quality is in any way related to when they issue POs... They kept repeating the same thing, never addressing my concerns, completely avoiding it.
I told them I would write a bad review on ProZ.com, but if they paid me immediately I would refrain from it. They ignored that.
Your client's explanation has nothing to do with you. Whether your client delivers the finished product (i.e. translation) to their client within the next hour after receiving it from you or 5 weeks later is none of your business. After reading all the posts here, I am sure that this client of yours is the "we pay you when we get paid" type but they don't tell you. That's why they're stalling you on payment to avoid paying out from their own pocket to avoid losing their money if something should go wrong.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 11:40
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Splitting hairs | Dec 23, 2023 |
Joakim Braun wrote:
If it's a "purchase order", then by definition it has to be issued before work begins.
If it's issued later, perhaps even after delivery, it's not a PO even if they call it that.
If you want to split hairs, you could say that they do issue a PO beforehand, but it is stored on their own system and they don't send you a copy of it, and the final PO is an updated PO in which the final amounts of some things that were pre-calculated in the original PO were updated. E.g. the original PO says "estimated word count 2000 words at USD XYZ per word" and the final PO says "2156 words at USD XYZ = USD ABC total". Or, the original PO contains various if-and-then statements relating to conditions of the job that are not yet known at the time that you start the job, e.g. whether there will be updated requests from the client.
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Susmi Rosenthal
Canada
Local time: 03:40
Member (2007)
English to Danish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | It's the time from when they issue these "POs" that's the real problem | Dec 23, 2023 |
Samuel Murray wrote: " Joakim Braun wrote:
If it's a "purchase order", then by definition it has to be issued before work begins.
If it's issued later, perhaps even after delivery, it's not a PO even if they call it that. If you want to split hairs, you could say that they do issue a PO beforehand, but it is stored on their own system and they don't send you a copy of it, and the final PO is an updated PO in which the final amounts of some things that were pre-calculated in the original PO were updated. E.g. the original PO says "estimated word count 2000 words at USD XYZ per word" and the final PO says "2156 words at USD XYZ = USD ABC total". Or, the original PO contains various if-and-then statements relating to conditions of the job that are not yet known at the time that you start the job, e.g. whether there will be updated requests from the client.
Yes, but my main problem with them is that they only issue these "POs" (as they call this after-the-fact documentation) when they have delivered to their own client. As several others have agreed with in here, their delivery has nothing to do with my delivery. My payment should be based on when I deliver - not when they do.
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