How to Prepare Your Text for Translation: A Checklist That Saves Time and Money

Most delays and unnecessary costs in a translation project arise before the translator even opens the first file. Incomplete context, inconsistent edits in the text, and an inconvenient file format eat up days of work and budget. The good news is that these problems can be solved with a few simple steps. Below, we go through what to do with your text before ordering a translation and what information to give the provider.

Why You Shouldn't Send a Draft

A translator translates exactly the text they receive. If it still contains alternative wordings, colleagues' comments in brackets, or a "TODO" section, all of it will end up in the translation. You will then either pay for translating unnecessary fragments or spend time going back and forth with the translator to find out which version is final.

A typical situation: the marketing department sends a presentation for translation in which three slides contain outdated figures and one says "check with lawyers." The translator will faithfully translate everything, including the outdated data. In the end, you pay for work on a text that will have to be redone anyway.

Before sending, make sure the document is approved, the figures are up to date, and all comments and tracked changes have been accepted or removed. The "for translation" version should be final and match the one you intend to publish or submit.

Convenient File Formats and What to Avoid

Editable formats work best: DOCX, ODT, TXT, RTF, and, for layout-heavy materials, InDesign or Figma source files if you can provide them. Translators work with computer-assisted translation tools, and text that can be easily copied saves preparation time.

What to avoid:

Scans and photos of documents. Text in an image must first be recognized, and recognition produces errors, especially in tables, stamps, and small print. Fixing these errors takes longer than the translation itself. If there is no other option, make a high-resolution scan and let the provider know it is an image.

PDFs produced by a scanner or converted from an image. They look fine on the surface, but the text may not be selectable or copyable. If you have the original Word file, send that instead.

Text inside images in presentations and infographics. Phrases on banners, buttons, and diagrams are easy to overlook, and the translator will have to retype them manually. Move important text into a separate document.

Complex layouts without necessity. If the text is split into hundreds of text boxes, translation will take longer, and the result may "shift" during typesetting. For such materials, it is better to agree in advance on the format in which you will receive the finished file.

Context: Who Reads It, Why, and Where It Will Be Published

The same phrase can sound different depending on the situation. "Up to 30% off" in an advertising email aimed at young people and in a supply contract calls for completely different solutions. That is why the translator needs context, and the more detailed it is, the more accurate the result. This applies to both professional translation and translation for personal use.

Answer a few questions for yourself and pass the answers on to the provider: who will read the text, what task they should accomplish after reading it, what tone it is written in, and where and in what form it will be published. A website, a brochure, video subtitles, and a technical manual all require different sentence lengths and different vocabulary.

Also specify any constraints: is there a character limit for headings and buttons, must the paragraph structure be preserved, and may jokes and idioms be adapted? These details are usually not visible in the text itself, but they greatly affect the outcome.

Glossary, Past Translations, and Company Style

If the company has translated texts before, this is the main resource for saving money. Compile a glossary of terms with approved translations: product names, job titles, internal processes, and service names. For example, if "личный кабинет" was rendered as "personal account" in one version of the website and as "user dashboard" in another, readers will be confused, and the translator will have to figure out which is correct.

Also provide past translations that you consider successful. From them, the provider will understand which style you prefer: more formal or conversational, using "you" or a neutral register. If you have a style guide or a list of words that must not be used, include that as well.

For those who order translations regularly, it makes sense to create a shared glossary database and style notes. Then every new order will be faster and cheaper, and the quality will remain consistent.

What Doesn't Need Translating and How to Mark It

Not all text needs to be translated. Documents often contain brand names, article numbers, codes, email addresses, abbreviations that are customarily left in the original language, and fragments that must remain unchanged, such as legal details or program code.

If you do not flag this in advance, the translator may either translate what should stay as is or ask you what to do, and waiting for a reply will slow the process. The simple solution: highlight such fragments in the text, add a short "do not translate" list, or state the rule in the cover letter. For example: "Product names and SKU abbreviations should remain unchanged; dates should follow the format accepted in the recipient's country."

Separately, agree on how to handle proper names, units of measurement, and currencies. Sometimes they need to be adapted, and sometimes left as they are. One line in the brief can save an entire round of clarifications.

Checklist Before Submitting Your Order

Go through this list before you click the "order translation" button. It will take a few minutes and can save you hours of back-and-forth correspondence and possible overpayment. The cost of translation depends on volume, complexity, and urgency, so the cleaner the source material, the more precise the final price.

• The text is final: edits are accepted, comments are removed, figures are up to date.
• The file is editable, with no scans or images containing important text.
• The target language, target audience, purpose of the text, and publication channel are specified.
• A glossary, past translations, and style requirements are attached, if available.
• It is marked what should not be translated, and rules for dates, currencies, and units of measurement are described.
• The deadline is set, and it is clear whether proofreading or editing by a native speaker is needed.
• The original version of the file is saved in case a comparison is needed.

Preparing your text for translation takes less time than fixing errors after it. Spend half an hour on the checklist before submitting, and the order will go faster and the result will be closer to what you expected.