XTRF™: You are the first of our clients who decided to purchase the SaaS version of XTRF™. Why did you choose the SaaS option?
 

MAKOTO: Before purchasing the full licence I wanted to try out the XTRF™ system for three months to check that it met my expectations.

XTRF™: Why did you choose our system?

MAKOTO: I had been looking for a complete management system for my agency for a while. I needed a system to help us effectively manage project archives, to give us greater control over project delivery, to facilitate billing and credit collections and also to provide consolidated reporting with statistical features. During the initial demonstration I realised that after some basic configuration, the XTRF™ system would provide a complete IT solution for my translation agency.

XTRF™: Are you expecting any changes to your company operations after the implementation of XTRF™?

MAKOTO: We are expecting an increase in process efficiency, operational flexibility, improved billing and credit collections and easier, more effective alignment of translators with particular projects.

XTRF™: At this stage, are you able to say which features of XTRF™ will be most useful for your business?

MAKOTO: I believe all features will turn out to be useful. The ones I would highlight are: project management, invoicing and the contractor/client database.

XTRF™: How would you describe the process of system implementation and training?

MAKOTO: Thanks to the great cooperation of the XTRF™ team the implementation process was smooth and easy.

XTRF™: How would you appraise the system at the moment?

MAKOTO: It's an excellent and comprehensive system for the management of translation companies. It provides control over many company processes, including: translator recruitment, payment options for employees and clients and summary reporting including profitability forecasts and other financials. The only disadvantage is that freelance translator profiles provide the gross rather than net salary. It seems that contractors are usually more interested in the net amount they actually get paid after tax.

XTRF™: Would you recommend XTRF™ to other translation companies?

MAKOTO: I would definitely recommend this system. XTRF™ is by far the best such solution that I have seen. It facilitates the work of both small translation companies and large translation businesses who wish to implement the ISO quality standards.

XTRF™: Finally, could you tell us something more about your translation agency?

MAKOTO: MAKOTO Translation Agency was founded in December 2006 in Krakow. It was initially translating to and from oriental languages. As a Japanese translator with over ten years of experience, I had also been asked about other oriental languages. I then decided to focus on the niche market and address the needs which had not been addressed before by providing translation services of unusual language combinations. In the times of globalisation we extended our services and in addition to the languages of the Far East, we now offer translations for many European languages including Icelandic or Latvian. At the moment we are translating to and from over seventy languages.

XTRF™: Can you give us an example of an interesting project you have recently completed?

MAKOTO: The most interesting projects in the last few months have included:
a) Finding a native speaker with technical interpretation skills who would travel to Cambodia with the client to translate Polish-Khmer business talks.
b) Translating complex texts concerning the mining industry from Chinese into Polish for our domestic mines.
c) Cooperation with the online ticket reseller, whose website was translated into seven languages.

XTRF™: Thank you very much for talking to us.

More information about the MAKOTO Translation Company is available at the company's website: www.makoto.pl