Frequently Asked Questions

The In-Context Editor adds a visual layer to AI Translation. As AI generates text, you see it instantly within the actual layout (e.g., website, app UI). This allows for visual quality assurance, significantly cutting 60% of visual errors and streamlining the review process for UI localization.

Yes. We use industry-leading security measures, including encryption, access controls, and data anonymization to protect your Translation Memory and sensitive content. Your data remains confidential and compliant with global data protection regulations.

No. AI elevates, it doesn’t replace. Our AI Translation tools empower linguists to be more productive and focus on high-value tasks like transcreation and quality assurance. This results in 25%+ increased translator productivity, allowing them to manage more projects and deliver higher quality, faster.

While AI delivers outstanding first drafts (often 80%+ fluent), human expertise still remains essential for complicated, highly nuanced, or creative content. Awtomated’s solution is built for human-in-the-loop post-editing, blending AI speed with human expertise. Our adaptive models learn from your Translation Memory and Glossary to constantly enhance accuracy in your specific domain.

The key difference between a Translation Business Management System (TBMS) and a Translation Management System (TMS) is their focus and functionality.

A TMS primarily manages the translation workflow, including translation memories, glossaries, and automation to improve translation quality and efficiency. In contrast, a TBMS goes beyond translation tasks to handle the entire business side, such as client management, pricing, invoicing, payments, and business reporting. Essentially, a TMS optimizes translation processes, while a TBMS manages both translation projects and the overall translation business operations

A Translation Business Management System (TBMS) is specialized software designed to manage the business side of translation services. It helps translation companies handle client management, vendor and translator databases, pricing, invoicing, payments, and detailed business reporting.

Unlike translation tools focused solely on the translation workflow, a TBMS provides strategic oversight to run and grow a translation business efficiently. It integrates project management with financial and administrative functions, enabling companies to track all projects, manage resources, automate invoicing, and analyze business trends-all from a centralized platform.

Examples of TBMS platforms include Awtomated, which offers customization options, advanced quoting, and comprehensive reporting tailored for translation businesses.

Yes, we currently have third party integrations with gmail and outlook and are building more to allow our users more connectivity.

Awtomated TBMS allows you to manage multiple operations in one platform. You need not use a separate software for raising invoices or a different one for CRM. With this one system, you can have all that you need to run your business smoothly. The system also offers translation memory which help you with projected management as well as increased efficiency.

Yes, you can book a free demo call with us to see how Awtomated TBMS works before you buy it.

Absolutely yes! With Awtomated TBMS, you need not worry about your data privacy at any point of time. We respect and value your privacy and therefore, none of your data would be accessible to anybody, but your company and employees.

Awtomated is a TBMS: Translation Business Management System. It is made to simplify complex workflow operations for language service providers and translators.

Yes, Awtomated integrates with popular email platforms like Microsoft Outlook and Gmail. This allows for automatic logging of client communications directly into their profiles for full visibility.

Awtomated priority is to ensure data security and privacy complies with global data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA). We use strong encryption, access controls, and frequent security audits to keep sensitive client information stored within the CRM protected.

Yes. Awtomated supports data import from various formats (e.g., CSV) or connect through integrations. Our support team will assist in securing an accurate migration.

Awtomated’s CRM helps you manage client preferences by storing language pairs, specific glossaries, style guides, preferred linguists, and project-specific notes directly in clients profiles. This creates and grows trust, ensuring that every translation project meets each client’s expectations.

AI translation is not replacing LSPs it is changing what LSPs do. Agencies that thrive are using AI to handle high-volume, repetitive content while human translators focus on creative, legal, and specialised work that requires nuance and accountability. The real competitive advantage is in operations: agencies that can run AI-assisted workflows efficiently, maintain quality, and deliver faster will outperform those still working manually. Awtomated’s AI translation module sits inside your existing workflow, not on top of it. Explore → AI Translation

Yes. After an initial demo with our team, you get full trial access — typically one to two weeks, with extensions if needed. You can test real workflows with your own data, not a limited sandbox. Book a demo to get started →

Plunet and XTRF are enterprise tools expensive, complex, and built for large agencies with IT teams and months for implementation. SmartCat is primarily a CAT tool and freelancer marketplace, not a full business management system. Awtomated gives you CRM, project management, vendor management, invoicing, translation memory, and an editor all in one — at a fraction of the cost, and running in days, not months.

Awtomated brings six core modules into one platform:  • Project Management — create and track unlimited projects and tasks from a single dashboard. • Vendor Management — onboard translators, assign tasks, and track POs and payments through a dedicated vendor portal. • CRM — manage deals, share estimates, and give clients their own portal to check project status. • Finance Management — multi-currency invoicing, automated PO generation, vendor payouts, and real-time financial health. • Translation Memory — reuse previously translated segments to improve consistency and reduce costs. • AI Translation — integrate machine translation directly into your delivery workflow.  See all features → awtomated.com/features

A Translation Management System (TMS) is built for the linguistic workflow translation memory, glossaries, CAT tool integration, and quality checks. It manages words. A Translation Business Management System (TBMS) like Awtomated manages the business behind those words clients, vendors, projects, quotes, invoices, and payments. The two can work together, but most growing LSPs find they need the business layer most.

Awtomated is a Translation Business Management System (TBMS) built specifically for Language Service Providers — translation agencies, boutique LSPs, and growing multilingual businesses that are tired of stitching five different tools together to run one project. It handles everything in one connected workflow: client quotes, project management, vendor coordination, invoicing, vendor payments, and financial reporting. Think of it as the operations backbone for your translation company — so your team spends less time on admin and more time delivering quality. Learn how it works →

The platform has a native TM system — import TMX or XLSX files and translators see full and partial matches inline while working. Term bases enforce consistent terminology across projects. Placeholders protect sensitive content like codes or IDs during translation. See → Translation Memory

Yes. It supports XLIFF, DOCX, PDF, HTML, CSV, Excel, JSON, and PO files. Translators see TM matches and MT suggestions inline while they work. The interface is intentionally familiar — most linguists comfortable with Trados are up to speed within minutes. Explore → Editor

The ones that actually drive decisions: on-time delivery rate, project profitability per client, average revision cycles per translator, average turnaround time by language pair, and invoice collection speed. Most agencies track revenue but miss margin — which is where the real picture is. Awtomated’s dashboard surfaces all of these in real time, so you’re making decisions from data, not gut feel.

Yes. Projects are the top-level container; tasks are the units of work assigned to vendors. One project can have unlimited tasks — different language pairs, different stages (translation, editing, proofreading), different files — each going to a different vendor, all tracked in the same view.

Yes, through the client portal. Clients upload files, specify language pairs, add instructions, and submit — without a single email. The project appears in your system immediately, fully structured. No data entry, no back-and-forth clarification. This is especially useful for high-volume clients with frequent smaller projects — they get faster turnaround, you get cleaner data. Explore → CRM & Client Portal

The tasks that eat the most time are also the most automatable: project assignment, status updates, client notifications, invoice generation, payment reminders, and vendor PO creation. Awtomated handles all of these automatically once a project moves through its workflow stages. For a mid-sized agency handling 40–60 projects a month, this typically saves 10–15 hours of admin per week.

Through a centralised dashboard that shows every active project, its current stage, upcoming deadlines, and any flags needing attention. Projects approaching deadlines are highlighted automatically. Overdue tasks trigger notifications before they become client complaints. The system also enforces workflow steps — a project cannot be marked delivered until it has passed through the required quality stages. No accidentally skipped steps, no silent failures.

Spreadsheets collapse the moment you’re handling more than 15–20 active projects. Status lives in one file, client notes in another, vendor rates somewhere in email. Updates require manual edits across everything — and something always falls through the cracks. Awtomated treats all project data as connected. When a deadline shifts, all stakeholders are notified automatically. Financial data flows directly from project completion to invoice generation. No manual copying, no version conflicts, no ‘which file is current?’ panic.

Yes. Configure invoice automation per vendor — for example, allow monthly consolidated invoices only after hitting a minimum threshold (e.g. €100) and after project completion. Prevents small mid-project invoices and keeps payment disciplined. Settings apply globally or per individual vendor.

Only if you allow it. You control whether a vendor can edit rates, their profile, both, or neither. Any change they make triggers a notification to you. All changes are logged for a full audit trail.

Absolutely — especially for repeat clients or technical domains. Without a glossary, the same term gets translated three different ways across three projects. This frustrates clients and creates expensive revision cycles. Awtomated’s translation memory and editor keep terminology consistent across every project automatically. Explore → Translation Memory

Usually two things: late payments and poor communication. Freelancers can handle a short payment delay — what damages the relationship is being left in the dark. Agencies that set fixed payment dates, communicate proactively, and use a structured vendor portal retain their best translators far longer. Awtomated automates vendor PO generation, tracks payment status, and gives translators full visibility through their portal — so they never have to chase you for updates.

Machine translation works well for large volumes of repetitive, low-risk content — product descriptions, internal documents, user reviews — where speed matters more than stylistic precision. Machine Translation Post-Editing (MTPE) sits in the middle: MT does the first pass, a human refines it. Human translators should always handle legal contracts, medical records, brand marketing, and any content where a mistranslation could be costly or damaging. Awtomated supports both workflows. Explore → AI Translation

Awtomated maintains detailed translator profiles beyond language pairs — specialisations, on-time delivery rate, revision frequency, and client feedback are all tracked over time. When you create a new project, you can filter and assign based on actual performance data, current availability, and client preferences. This removes guesswork from assignment and consistently puts the best-fit person on each job.

No. Filter vendors by language pair or specialisation, then invite one or many simultaneously with a single action. Vendors get an email and platform notification. First to accept gets the task — and a purchase order generates automatically the moment they do. No email thread, no manual confirmation tracking, no paperwork.

Unlimited vendors. And vendors don’t need paid licences, so onboarding your entire freelancer network costs nothing extra. Profiles store language pairs, specialisations, qualifications, banking details (PayPal, bank transfer, Wise), and multiple rate tiers per vendor. Learn more → Vendor Management

A vendor portal is a private online workspace where your freelance translators log in to see available projects, accept jobs, upload completed work, and submit invoices — without a single email thread. For agencies managing more than five or six translators regularly, a vendor portal replaces chaotic email coordination with a structured, auditable system. Translator profiles store language pairs, rates, specialisations, and availability — so assigning the right person takes seconds. See → Awtomated’s Vendor Portal

Yes. Upload your logo, add or remove fields, adjust line items. Estimates work the same way. Email templates for quotes, task invitations, and vendor agreements can be customised in multiple languages.

Yes. The dashboard shows outstanding invoices, pending vendor payouts, PO values, and cash flow live. At project level you can see costs versus revenue — something nearly impossible when quotes are in email, invoices are in a separate tool, and vendor costs live in a spreadsheet.

Start by tracking everything: unpaid invoices, clients who consistently delay, and outstanding vendor payments. A real-time financial dashboard eliminates the guesswork. Set clear rules — 30-day payment terms wherever possible, advance payments for large projects, and a cash buffer to cover vendor costs when clients are slow. Awtomated’s finance module gives you live visibility into revenue, outstanding balances, and project profitability — so you catch problems early.

The agencies that handle this well do three things: they maintain a cash reserve specifically for vendor payments, they set fixed payment dates (e.g. the 1st and 15th of every month) so translators always know when to expect money, and they negotiate shorter payment terms with clients to shrink the gap. Awtomated tracks vendor invoices, calculates payouts automatically, and gives you a real-time view of what is owed to whom — so you are never caught off-guard.

You configure country-specific tax rates — Spanish IVA, German 19%, UK VAT — and the correct rate applies to invoices automatically based on client configuration. No manual adjustments per client, no errors on tax calculations.

Yes — and if you work with international clients, this is non-negotiable. Awtomated has built-in multi-currency support. Invoice a US client in USD, a German client in EUR, and a UK client in GBP from the same platform. Clients receive invoices in their own currency, which speeds up processing and reduces back-and-forth. Explore → Finance Management

The most common culprits are corporate payment cycles (30–60 days is standard for many clients), invoice errors that restart the approval process, and communication gaps between your team and the client’s finance department. The fix: clear payment terms set before the project starts, error-free automated invoicing, and payment reminders that go out without anyone having to remember. For large projects, requesting a 30–50% advance immediately improves your cash position.

Three habits make the biggest difference. First, send the invoice the moment the project is delivered — not days later. Second, make sure every invoice includes the project description, language pairs, word count, rate, total, payment terms, and due date — missing fields are the number one reason finance teams reject invoices. Third, automate the process entirely. Awtomated generates invoices automatically when a project closes, links them to the original PO, and sends payment reminders without anyone on your team lifting a finger.

It’s all inside the platform. Client invoices, vendor payouts, purchase orders, estimates, and transaction tracking — all connected to your projects. Auto-fill pulls in project details and rates. Partial payments are tracked and offset accurately. No separate invoicing tool, no data re-entry. Explore → Finance Management

A Purchase Order is a formal document confirming your services — specifying language pairs, word counts, deadlines, and agreed rates. In translation, it acts as the contract before work begins. For agencies, POs are cash-flow protection. When your invoicing is linked to an approved PO, billing disputes almost disappear and late payments drop significantly. Awtomated auto-generates POs for vendor tasks the moment a project is assigned. See → Finance Management

Yes. DeepL and Microsoft Translate are live — apply MT at segment or full-document level directly inside the editor. Broader AI enhancements are planned for future quarters. See → AI Translation

Xero is in active development. QuickBooks is being scoped. In the meantime, the finance module covers most of what small and mid-size LSPs use a separate accounting tool for — invoicing, vendor payouts, POs, multi-currency, and VAT. Many teams find they no longer need a separate accounting tool for day-to-day operations.

Yes. Awtomated supports analysis file imports from other TMS systems — word count data and analysis from Phrase can be imported for quoting and invoicing. Vendor data and client lists come in via Excel templates. For complex migrations, our tech team assists with direct database migration. Most clients run both systems in parallel for 4–8 weeks during transition, then cut over cleanly.

Yes. Connect Gmail or Outlook and incoming client emails or website form submissions become tickets or project requests inside the platform automatically — no copy-paste, no missed messages buried in an inbox. Takes about five minutes to configure and is the first thing we recommend setting up. See → Integrations

Yes. Awtomated currently integrates with Gmail, Outlook, Microsoft 365, DeepL, Microsoft Translate, and WordPress — so client requests and files flow directly into the platform without copy-pasting. More integrations are on the roadmap. See all → awtomated.com/integrations

Yes, for teams with strict data residency or compliance requirements. Our cloud infrastructure is hosted in Frankfurt, Germany and is fully GDPR compliant — which satisfies European data residency for most clients. For more specific requirements, bring them to your demo and we’ll walk through the options.

Yes. After an initial demo, you get full access for one to two weeks — test real workflows with your own data, not a limited sandbox. Book a demo to get started →

Because it’s built differently. Traditional platforms charge per user, per vendor licence, per feature module — then add implementation fees and support contracts on top. Awtomated uses flat, transparent pricing: one user fee, no seat charges for vendors or clients, no hidden implementation costs. Enterprise-grade functionality at a price that makes sense for a growing agency.

Awtomated is designed to be the most affordable TBMS on the market — built so growing agencies and boutique LSPs can access professional-grade operations without enterprise-level pricing. The core platform is €19 per user per month. Translation memory and the built-in editor are approximately €100 per year per organisation. Vendors and clients have no paid licences — your entire freelancer network and all clients use the platform at no extra cost. Full details → awtomated.com/pricing

Daily 15-minute check-ins in your first week. Weekly 30-minute workshops for the first two months. Data migration assistance and live configuration support to set up your services, rates, and workflows correctly from the start. Your team will not be left alone with a knowledge base and a chatbot.

Yes. Several clients have come to us in exactly this situation. We can prioritise your onboarding and ensure operational continuity. In most cases, even with data migration, teams are live on Awtomated within a few days. The sooner you reach out, the smoother the transition.

Just bring your real problems. Think about what’s causing the most pain right now — is it manual invoicing, missed deadlines, slow translator assignment, or difficulty tracking payments? Knowing roughly how many projects you handle monthly and how many translators you work with makes the demo much more specific to your situation. There’s no sales pressure — if Awtomated isn’t the right fit, you’ll know by the end of the call. Book your free demo →

Yes. After an initial demo, you can access a trial period to test Awtomated with real projects — not a sandboxed demo environment. You’ll see exactly how it fits your workflow, how your translators adapt, and whether it genuinely solves your problems. Onboarding support is included throughout the trial. Book a free demo →

Built-in import/export uses Excel templates — download the format, populate your data, upload it back. For large volumes, our tech team assists with direct database migration via custom scripts. Our recommendation: start with your vendor list and active clients, run new projects on Awtomated, then migrate historical data progressively. You don’t have to move everything on day one.

Most teams are running live workflows within 3–5 days. Awtomated includes structured onboarding, real LSP templates, and dedicated migration support to help you move data from spreadsheets or legacy systems without chaos. Daily 15-minute check-in calls in your first week and weekly 30-minute workshops for the first two months are available to get your team confident quickly.

Your data is yours. Full export in standard formats is available at any time — projects, client records, vendor data, financial records, translation assets. No lock-in, no extraction fees. The platform should earn your continued use, not make leaving expensive.

No. Vendor portals and client portals are completely separate environments built into the architecture. Vendors see only their own tasks, POs, and invoices. Clients see only their own projects and invoices. Neither can see your internal margins, other clients’ data, or other vendors’ rates.

Granular, module-level access control. A project manager can view CRM but not edit it, or see only the projects they personally created. Vendor access is equally controlled — you decide what they can and can’t edit. Settings change instantly, any time, with full logs of who changed what.

For specific compliance documentation — ISO 27001, SOC2, or others — request these from our team during or after your demo. If your IT or procurement team has a security questionnaire, bring it to your demo conversation and we’ll work through it.

Absolutely. Awtomated uses strong encryption (both in transit and at rest), strict access controls, and follows global data protection regulations including GDPR. All data within the platform is securely isolated — no third party can access your client data, vendor details, or project information.

Yes. Infrastructure runs on servers in Frankfurt, Germany — data stays within the EU and is subject to GDPR protections from day one. No special configuration needed for European data residency.

Clients go to Upwork when they want speed and low cost. They stay with agencies when they need reliability, quality assurance, multi-language capability, and professional accountability. The agencies that lose clients to freelancers are the ones that look like freelancers — slow communication, manual processes, inconsistent quality. The ones that win are operationally excellent: fast quotes, structured delivery, clean invoices, and proactive updates. Awtomated is built to make boutique and growing LSPs look and operate like established professionals.

Retainer clients come from consistent, reliable delivery and proactive communication — not just competitive pricing. Agencies that keep clients informed, hit deadlines every time, and make the working relationship frictionless are the ones that get retained. Awtomated helps by making your operations look and feel professional at every touchpoint: structured project intake, automated updates, clean invoices, and a client portal that gives clients visibility without extra effort from your team.

Clients leave when they feel ignored or uncertain. In translation, this usually means they’re not getting status updates or they have to chase the agency themselves. The problem is almost never intentional — it’s a volume problem. A project manager handling 25 active projects simply cannot remember to update every client every day without a system that does it automatically. Agencies that set up automated communication rarely lose clients to communication failures.

Automated status updates go out at every key milestone — when a project is assigned, when it moves to review, when it’s ready for delivery. Clients stay informed without your project managers writing a single update email. For clients who want more visibility, the client portal lets them log in and check progress directly — all active projects, current stages, and expected delivery dates. The result: clients feel in control, your team isn’t spending half their day on status emails. Explore → Client Portal

The signal is when the owner or founder is spending more time coordinating projects than growing the business. If you’re personally chasing translators, updating clients, and managing deadlines for more than 20–25 projects a month, you need a PM — or at minimum, you need a system like Awtomated to absorb that coordination before you bring in headcount.

No industry-specific licence is required. You need standard business registrations: a business entity, a GST or VAT number if your turnover crosses the threshold, and a current account in your company name. Corporate clients strongly prefer working with GST-registered vendors. As you grow and target larger international clients, quality certifications like ISO 17100 improve credibility significantly. They’re not mandatory, but they signal professionalism.

No. Running an LSP is a business operation, not a linguistic one. What you need is an understanding of the industry, the ability to build and manage a team of qualified translators, and systems to handle projects, clients, and finances professionally. Linguistic expertise helps — but business acumen matters more at the agency level.

Pick a niche first — legal, medical, technical, marketing. Specialisation gets you better clients faster than being a generalist. Register the business (a sole proprietorship is the simplest starting point), build a small team of trusted freelancers, and create a basic online presence. Then focus on your first clients. Local businesses, law firms, and export companies often need translation but don’t know where to look. Once you land early projects and deliver reliably, referrals and repeat business do the heavy lifting.