What Exactly is ISO17100?

ISO is an independent, non-governmental international organization that has a membership of 165 national standard bodies. Each of the bodies brings together expert knowledge to develop voluntary international standards to help support and provide solutions to challenges all over the world. By adhering to these standards, it shows that a business is professional and upholds themselves to the same standards that other businesses in their industry do across the world.

Language Marketplace is certified under the ISO17100: Translation services – Requirements for translation services and we wanted to share with you what those standards mean.

Standard 1: Proofreading by a Second Translator

Proofreading any content is important to uphold professionalism, accuracy and quality control. To ensure that all translation is in fact correct, ISO17100 requires that all translations must have a second translator review and they must proofread the content. The second translator focuses on the accuracy from the source, grammar, and any other language nuances that are important. After the second translator is satisfied with the quality, the content is passed back to the original translator for a third review. This review will finalize the content before being sent back to the client.

This is a practice Language Marketplace had already in its procedures as an important quality control measure in our translation rates, even before being certified by ISO, for ISO17100.

Standard 2: Accurate Costs for Estimates/Invoicing

This ISO standard also requires that translation services providers need to provide accurate costs for both estimate and invoicing. This means that there will be no surprise or hidden fees charged to the client upon the service being complete. There are companies in the industry that will adjust the invoice after the project is done, surprising their clients with a higher cost.

At Language Marketplace our estimates match our invoices, unless the client needed to modify the files mid work. In this case, the estimate is updated and provided to the client before the work continues. Once the new estimate is agreed upon, we continue work.

We believe that transparency is extremely important in maintaining professionalism and rapport with our clients.

Standard 3: Turnaround Times & Deadlines

Unfortunately, many companies in the industry do not provide accurate turn-around times. They provide a deadline and then drag out the process far past the date that a client expects their project to be completed. This standard is in place to ensure that companies who have been certified under the ISO17100 adhere to providing accurate turnaround times and deadlines to all clients.

At Language Marketplace we provide a turn-around time and deadline with our cost estimate that is provided to the client, free of charge of course, for each project. We believe that is important to maintain appropriate deadlines to keep our clients happy and the work flowing.

There are other aspects required by ISO17100, such as project traceability, documented quality control processes, document of concerns and resolution of those if they arise, business continuity, etc. At the end of the day, the standard requires that good business practices be in place and maintained. ISO17100 is an audited standard. Auditing is done to the business every two years.

Choose Language Marketplace

When choosing a translation company to help with your project you should choose Language Marketplace to make sure that your project is translated with accuracy, quality, on time and of course with no surprise costs.

Contact us today at info@languagemarketplace.com to get your project quoted!