What Awtomated is

Your first ten steps

Awtomated has a setup order, and it matters. Rates cannot exist until the services, unit types and languages they refer to exist; invoices carry your organisation details as they stood the moment they were generated; and every language ships switched off. Working down this list means never having to go back and redo something.

Budget about an hour for steps 1–7, then use a real job for the rest.

The steps in full

1. Complete your organisation details. Company name, address and tax identifiers under Settings › Organization. These are copied onto a document when it is generated, so correcting them later does not fix an invoice already sent. Check the result on the Invoice Preview tab.
2. Set your time zone, date and time formats. Under Settings › Localisation. Project and task deadlines are stored against the workspace time zone, so changing it after work is scheduled shifts how existing dates read. Set the fiscal year start while you are here - it drives financial reporting.
3. Activate the languages you work in. Under Settings › Data Management › Languages. Every locale ships inactive, which is why language pickers look empty on a new workspace. Search for each pair you handle and set it to Active, and check the Direction column for right-to-left scripts.
4. Add your services. Under Settings › Services - translation, interpreting, MTPE, subtitling, whatever you sell. Each one carries the workflow stages a job will pass through, and decides which form template appears when someone creates a project.
5. Check your unit types. Under Settings › Unit Types. Per word, per hour, per page, per line, per minute, daily and fixed price all ship as standard - add your own only if you bill a way we do not cover.
6. Add your tax rates. Under Settings › Taxes, with a name and a percentage, then use Set Default on the one that applies most often. New invoices pick it up automatically.
7. Build your rate card. Under Settings › Rates. A rate ties a service to a language pair, an industry and a unit. Set the minimum rate as well as the base rate, and fill in the discount grid if you work with translation memory. Bulk Add creates many at once when you open a new pair.
8. Add your first client. Create the company first - it holds the legal name, VAT ID and billing currency that end up on invoices - then the contacts who work there. Record the Origin on each contact; it is the only field that later tells you which channels actually win work.
9. Add your linguists, then invite them. Under Vendors. Adding creates the record; the Invite action in their row is what gives them a login. Until they accept they cannot see task offers or raise invoices, and nothing warns you - so check Invitations for anyone still outstanding.
10. Run one real job end to end. Not a test - something on your desk. Create the project and pick its service, upload the files and analyse them, price it from your rate card, assign a task to a linguist, then quote and invoice and match the payment. One pass through the whole loop teaches more than any amount of reading.

Signing in

app.awtomated.com

1. Go to app.awtomated.com. You land on the sign-in screen. If you were already signed in, Awtomated takes you straight to your dashboard instead.
2. Enter your email address and password. Both fields are required. The Sign in button stays greyed out until both are filled.
3. Select Sign in. A short "Your subscription is being verified" screen appears while Awtomated checks your organisation's plan, then your dashboard opens.

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How the workspace works

Every screen in Awtomated uses the same three-part layout. Learning it once means you can find your way around any section.

Spaces

A Space is a saved grouping of records that appears under the section panel. Each area keeps its own Spaces: CRM might hold My tasks and BU1, Projects might hold Translation, Interpretation and Risky projects, and Vendors might hold Preferred Vendors. Select a Space to narrow the list to just those records, or select + next to the Spaces heading to build a new one.

Who sees what

Awtomated is used by three different kinds of people, and each signs in at the same address to a different view. Knowing which is which answers most "can my client see this?" questions before they are asked.

Pinning a section

The pin icon at the top of the section panel keeps that panel open as you move around, so you are not reopening the same list repeatedly. Select it again to unpin.

Sorting, filtering and choosing columns

Every list in Awtomated shares the same grid, and in this release it became configurable. Three controls do the work.

Choosing columns

The + at the right-hand end of the header row opens Add column - a checklist of every field that list can show. Tick to add, untick to remove.

Sorting and pinning

Hovering a column header reveals a menu with everything you can do to that column.

Quick filters

Above the grid sits a row of filter chips naming that list's most-used fields - Name, Email, Phone, Job Title and Country on contacts; Start Date, End Date, Status and Owner on projects. Select one to narrow the list by it, or Filter for the full set of conditions.

The Create button

The Create button in the top bar makes a new record of any type from anywhere in the app - you do not have to navigate to the right section first.

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Individual list pages also carry their own button - Add New, Create, Add Vendors or Invite User depending on the page. Both routes open the same form.

Opening a record

Everything so far has been a list. The real work happens inside a record - and every record in Awtomated opens the same way and is laid out the same way, so learning it once covers all of them.

1. Find the record in its list.
2. Select its name. Click the name cell, not the ID - the ID column does not open the record.
3. Use the tabs across the top. Every record type has Overview; the rest depend on what that record can hold.
4. Use the back arrow at the top left to return to the list.

Tabs that mean the same thing everywhere

Links, Notes and Drive on a record

Three tabs behave the same way on every record that has them, which is why they are covered once here rather than repeated throughout.

Importing and exporting data

Most list screens can take data in from a spreadsheet and send it back out again - how you move an existing client list, vendor database or rate card into Awtomated without retyping it.

Where it lives

Both sit behind the ⋮ menu beside the main action button at the top right of a list.

Importing a file

The dialog has two steps, and the first one matters more than it looks.

1. Open the list you want to import into - contacts, companies, deals, vendors, invoices or rates.
2. Select the ⋮ menu beside the main action button, then Import.
3. Select Download Sample file XLSX. This is the template, and its column headers are what the importer expects. Do not rename or reorder them.
4. Fill the template with your data, one record per row, keeping the sample row's formatting as your guide.
5. Select Choose File and pick your completed spreadsheet.
6. Select Upload. The records are created and appear in the list. Cancel backs out without importing anything.

Exporting a list

Export is a single step: choose Export from the same menu and the file is prepared for you.

Record IDs

Every record gets a permanent ID with a prefix that tells you what it is. Quoting these in email or support tickets removes all ambiguity about which record you mean.

Home

Home › Home

Home is the screen you land on after signing in. It is not a dashboard of totals - it is a worklist: what is overdue, what needs reviewing, and the five things you most often create.

Quick create

Five buttons sit under the greeting - New project, New task, New deal, New estimate, New invoice - opening the same forms as the Create menu in the top bar. They are the five things most teams make daily, put one click from the front door.

Needs attention

The heart of the screen. Each row is a record type with a count, the first two records by name, and how many more there are.

Each row carries two actions. Overdue opens the full list of overdue records of that type; Review steps through them.

Notes

Home › Notes

Notes is a shared feed rather than a notepad. Each note attaches to a record, can mention a colleague, and stays visible to the team.

1. Write in the composer at the top. There is a 10,000-character limit and a formatting bar.
2. Mention a colleague with @ so the note reaches them rather than waiting to be found.
3. Select Create to post it.
4. Filter the feed by All, Mentioned me, Linked Modules, Author, Date or Newest - Mentioned me being the one worth checking daily.

Contacts

CRM › Contacts

A contact is an individual person you deal with - the buyer at a client company, a procurement manager, someone who filled in your website form. Contacts are the people; companies are the organisations they belong to.

Adding a contact

1. Go to CRM › Contacts and select Add New.
2. Enter the contact name. This is the only required field, so you can capture a lead quickly and complete the rest later.
3. Add their position - for example Head of Localisation. It appears as a second line under the name throughout the app.
4. Add the email address and phone number you will actually use to reach them. The email address is what Awtomated matches against when it links incoming mail to this contact.
5. Fill in address, country and state if you need them for invoicing or to route work by region.
6. Set the owner. This is the team member responsible for the relationship; the picker offers recently used colleagues first.
7. Save the contact. It receives an ACO ID and appears at the top of the list.

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What the columns mean

Companies

CRM › Companies

A company is the organisation you invoice. It carries the legal and tax details that appear on financial documents, and it links to the people you speak with and the deals you are working.

Adding a company

1. Go to CRM › Companies and select Add New.
2. Enter the company name. The only required field.
3. Choose the industry. Recently used industries appear first - for example Fintech, Pharma, Hospitality, E-commerce or Translation. Industry drives rate selection later, so it is worth setting properly.
4. Add a description and website for context when a colleague opens the record cold.
5. Set the billing currency. Choose from the currency list, for example EUR, USD or JPY. Invoices you raise for this client default to it.
6. Record size and value using Number Of Employees and Annual Revenue if you segment clients that way.
7. Add the registered address - country, state and street address.
8. Enter the legal and tax identifiers: company registration number, VAT status, VAT ID and tax ID. These print on invoices, so accuracy matters more here than anywhere else in the CRM.
9. Link contacts and deals using Link With Contacts and Link With Deals, then save. The company receives an ACA ID.

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Deals

CRM › Deals

A deal is a piece of business you are trying to win. It moves through the stages of a pipeline, carries an expected value, and records the language pairs involved - so your sales forecast is expressed in the same terms as your production work.

Creating a deal

1. Go to CRM › Deals and select Add New.
2. Name the deal so it is recognisable in a list - for example Document Translation EN → DE.
3. Choose the deal type, such as B2B or B2C. This is required.
4. Select the industry to keep reporting consistent with the company record.
5. Pick the pipeline, then the stage. The stage list changes to match the pipeline you chose; stages are configured in Settings › Pipelines.
6. Assign an owner - the person responsible for winning it.
7. Set the potential close date. This drives your forecast, so use a realistic date rather than a hopeful one.
8. Enter the currency and potential revenue. Together these give the deal its weight in the pipeline funnel on the dashboard.
9. Add the language pairs the work would involve, then link the company and save. The deal receives an ADL ID.

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The contact record

CRM › Contacts › select a contact

Everything you hold on one person, plus what they have been worth.

The company record and client rates

CRM › Companies › select a company

The company record carries the legal and tax detail that ends up on invoices - and, on its Rates tab, the prices that apply to this client specifically.

Adding a client rate

Company record › Rates

Client rates are prices that apply to one company only - the negotiated figures that differ from your standard card. A company with none simply shows No rates created and falls back to your general rate card.

1. Open the company from CRM › Companies by selecting its name.
2. Select the Rates tab.
3. Add a rate and choose the service it applies to.
4. Set the source and target languages, plus industry and document type if the price varies by those.
5. Choose the unit type - per word, per hour, per page and so on.
6. Enter the base rate and minimum rate, then save. The rate now applies to this client's projects.

The deal record

CRM › Deals › select a deal

A deal record shows the opportunity and how much of it has turned into real money.

Projects

Projects › Projects

A project is a job you are delivering for a client. It holds the source language, the target languages, the service being performed and the workflow it follows. Tasks sit underneath it - typically one per target language per stage.

Creating a project, step by step

Project creation starts with a question rather than a form: which service is this? Awtomated then loads the form that service needs, so an interpreting assignment asks for a courtroom and a translation job asks for a CAT tool.

1. Select Create in the top bar, then Project. The Create New Project dialog opens with a single field.
2. Choose the service. Required. The note under the field says it plainly - the form will load based on the service you choose. Submit stays greyed out until you pick one.
3. Wait for the form to load. The dialog expands into the full set of fields for that service.
4. Fill in the fields that appear - they differ by service; the two tables below show a translation job and a court interpreting job.
5. Attach the source files if the service takes them, by dragging them onto the upload area or using Compose.
6. Select Submit. The project is created with an APR ID. Use Cancel to back out without creating anything.

What the columns mean

Tasks

Projects › Tasks

A task is one unit of deliverable work - usually one service, in one language pair, at one workflow stage. This is the level a linguist actually works at, and the level a purchase order pays against.

The project record

Projects › Projects › select a project

The project record is where a job is actually run. Five tabs are shown to begin with - Overview, Tasks, Files, Finance and Notes - and another five can be switched on when you need them. The sections below cover all of them; if a tab is missing from your record, Add to Tab turns it on.

Choosing which tabs a record shows

Project and task records let you decide which tabs appear. Five are on out of the box - Overview, Tasks, Files, Finance and Notes - and the rest are there when you want them.

1. Open a project or task and look at the end of the tab row.
2. Select + Add to Tab. A checklist opens showing every tab available for that record.
3. Tick the ones you want. They appear in the tab row straight away; unticking removes the tab without touching anything stored in it.

Creating a task from inside a project

The project header carries a Create a Task button. It is quicker than going out to the task list and linking back, because the new task is attached to this project from the start.

1. Open the project the task belongs to.
2. Select Create a Task at the top right.
3. Choose the service, exactly as when creating a project - the task form loads to match it.
4. Fill in the fields and save. The task takes an ATK ID and appears on the project's Tasks tab.

Files and word count analysis

Project record › Files

This is where source documents arrive, where finished translations are returned, and where Awtomated counts the words that pricing depends on. The tab is split into three lists.

Running a file analysis

1. Open the project and select the Files tab.
2. Upload the source documents into Project Files using Upload. The file name and size are listed once they arrive.
3. Select the files you want counted, then choose Analyse. With nothing selected the control offers Analyse All instead.
4. Wait for the report. Awtomated produces a word count analysis and files it under Word Count Analysis Files, named like awtomated_analysis_report_1.
5. Use the counts to price the job. Move to the Finance tab and build line items against those quantities.
6. Return the finished work by uploading it to Completed Files when your linguist delivers.

Preparing a file for the editor

Project record › Files › select a file › Create Editor File

Before a file can be worked on in the editor it has to be converted into an editor file: the source is split into segments and each target language gets its own column to translate into.

1. Open the project and go to its Files tab.
2. Select the file card. A panel opens showing the file's title, name, size, who added it and when, its type, and its Document Type and Document Tone.
3. Select Create Editor File. The other buttons here are Edit for the file's own details, plus Download and Remove.
4. Tick the target languages you want editor files for. One file can produce several at once.
5. Select Proceed with column mapping.
6. Map the columns. Tell Awtomated which column in your spreadsheet holds what - the key, the source language, each target language. Add Row adds another mapping; Do not segment keeps a column's content whole instead of splitting it into segments.
7. Select Apply to build the editor file.

The translation editor

Project record › Files › an editor file › Open in Editor

The editor is where translation actually happens: the document split into segments, the source on the left and a column for each target language beside it.

1. Open the project and go to its Files tab.
2. Select the converted file - its card carries an AMTD badge.
3. Select Open in Editor in the panel that appears.

The menus

The editor toolbar

Twenty-one controls sit above the grid, grouped by what they do. Hovering any of them names it.

Machine translation

Awtomated pre-translates through two engines, and you pick which one per file from the toolbar.

QC conditions

The quality checks Awtomated runs over a file - 38 of them, in five groups, each switchable.

A Similarity Threshold % applies across the checks, and Apply runs them against the file.

Find and replace

Changes wording consistently across every segment - the fix when a client renames a product half way through a job.

Terminology, placeholders and the view controls

The Term Base and Placeholders buttons open their panels beside the grid, each offering Create new Termbase or Create new Placeholder - so terminology can be captured while translating rather than noted for later.

Pricing a project

Project record › Finance

The Finance tab is where a project becomes a number. Line items describe what is being charged, and they can be built by hand or pulled from your rate card.

1. Check the currency. Global Rates shows which currency this project is priced in.
2. Select Add Row From Rates to pull a line straight from your rate card, so the price matches what you agreed for that service and language pair.
3. Or select Add Empty Row to enter a one-off charge by hand.
4. Set the quantity. Use the word counts from the Files analysis so the figure reflects the real document.
5. Check the amount. Awtomated multiplies quantity by unit price for each row.

Linking assets to a project

Project record › Assets

Attach the linguistic resources a job should use: term bases, translation memories and placeholders. Linking them here is what makes them available to the people working the task.

Tasks, time and history

Vendor list

Vendors › Vendors

Vendors are the linguists and suppliers who deliver your work. The list holds their contact details and shows whether each one has accepted an invitation to your workspace.

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Adding a vendor

1. Go to Vendors and select Add Vendors.
2. Enter the first name. Required.
3. Enter the last name. Optional, but worth completing - it is what appears on purchase orders.
4. Enter the email address. Required, and it must be one the linguist can access: it is both their login and where task offers are sent.
5. Select Submit. The vendor receives an ABR ID and appears in the list.

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Vendor invitations

Vendors › Invitations

This page tracks everyone you have invited who has not yet joined, so nobody is left waiting because an email was missed.

1. Select Invite Vendor at the top of the page.
2. Enter first name, last name and email address. First name and email are required.
3. Select Submit. Awtomated emails the invitation and the vendor appears in this list until they accept.
4. Chase if needed. If they have not joined after a few days, use Reinvite user rather than creating a second record for the same person.

The vendor record and vendor rates

Vendors › select a vendor

Everything about one linguist: who they are, what they charge, how they are paid, and what they are permitted to change themselves.

Adding a vendor rate

Vendor record › Rates

What this linguist charges you, as opposed to what you charge your client. Vendor rates carry an AVRCI code to distinguish them from client rates.

1. Open the vendor from the Vendors list by selecting their name.
2. Select the Rates tab.
3. Add a rate and pick the service, for example Translation or Transcription.
4. Set the source and target languages. Leave them empty for a rate that applies to any pair.
5. Choose the unit type and enter the base rate - for example Per Word at $0.05, or Per Page at $5.
6. Save. The rate is used when raising purchase orders for this vendor.

Per-vendor settings and history

Vendor record › Settings and Change Logs

The Settings tab carries Payout, Tax and Permissions sections. The payout rules mirror the workspace-wide ones but apply to this vendor alone.

Invoices

Finance › Invoices

Invoices are what you bill your clients. Each one links back to the contact and company it belongs to, and tracks how much has actually been paid.

Raising an invoice

1. Go to Finance › Invoices and select Add New.
2. Choose how to start. Awtomated asks whether this is a New Invoice built from scratch, or an Existing project invoice whose details are pre-filled from a linked project.
3. Select Next. Use Back if you picked the wrong option.
4. Complete the invoice. For a project invoice the client, currency and line items arrive already populated from the project; for a blank invoice you choose the contact and company yourself.
5. Save. The invoice receives an AIN ID and enters the list as Unpaid.

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Estimates

Finance › Estimates

An estimate is the quote you send before work is agreed. It carries a validity date, so both sides know how long the price holds, and can be tied to the deal it supports.

1. Go to Finance › Estimates and select Add New.
2. Choose New Estimate or Existing project estimate, then select Next - the same two routes as invoices.
3. Set the estimate date and valid date. The valid date is what stops an old quote being accepted at a stale price months later.
4. Link the deal so your pipeline and your quoting stay in step, then save. The estimate receives an AET ID and opens as Open.

Purchase orders

Finance › Purchase Orders

A purchase order is your commitment to pay a vendor for one task. Awtomated raises them against tasks, so what you owe is always tied to a specific piece of delivered work.

Payouts

Finance › Payouts

Payouts are the invoices your vendors raise against their purchase orders - money going out, as opposed to the invoices you send clients.

Transactions

Finance › Transactions

A transaction is an actual movement of money. Recording one and matching it to an invoice or payout is what marks that document as paid.

Recording a payment

1. Go to Finance › Transactions and select Add New. The Record Payment dialog opens with two steps: Transaction, then Match.
2. Choose the direction - money received from a client, or Payment Sent to a vendor.
3. Enter the amount and currency.
4. Add a reference - the bank reference or remittance note, so this entry can be traced back to your statement.
5. Set the payment date and payment mode (bank transfer, card and so on).
6. Select Save & Match to move to the matching step and attach the payment to the invoice or payout it settles.

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Three ways to raise an invoice

Awtomated can build an invoice from nothing, from a project, or from an estimate you already sent. Which you choose decides how much you have to type.

Raising an invoice from an estimate

Finance › Estimates › select an estimate › Generate invoice

1. Open the estimate from Finance › Estimates.
2. Check the quoted lines still reflect what was delivered.
3. Select Generate invoice at the top of the record. The Create Invoice dialog opens.
4. Set the invoice date and due date. Both are required; the due date drives the ageing on your invoice list.
5. Confirm. The new invoice carries an AIN ID and inherits the estimate's line items and totals.

The estimate record

Finance › Estimates › select an estimate

An estimate opens as the document your client receives - your details, theirs, the priced lines and the totals.

Actions on the record let you Share the estimate with the client, Download it as a document, Edit it, or Generate invoice from it.

The invoice record

Finance › Invoices › select an invoice

The same document layout as an estimate, with payment controls instead of quoting ones.

Recording payment against an invoice

1. Open the invoice from Finance › Invoices.
2. Select Add Transaction at the top of the record - the same Record Payment dialog described under Transactions, already tied to this invoice.
3. Enter the amount, reference, date and payment mode.
4. Select Save & Match to attach the payment.
5. Check the status. Once matched, the invoice clears here and in your client's portal.

Hub

Apps › Hub

Hub is where Spaces and lists are managed centrally, rather than one section at a time. It shows every Space in the workspace, how many lists each one holds, and when it was last touched.

Lists

Apps › Hub › All Lists

Where Spaces group records, lists are the saved views inside them. All Lists shows every one in the workspace with the space it belongs to and how many items it holds.

Timesheet

Apps › Timesheet

Timesheet records how long work actually took. Entries attach to tasks, which is what lets you compare time spent against what a job was priced at.

1. Select Log Time at the top of the page.
2. Choose the task the time belongs to.
3. Enter the hours and the date.
4. Mark whether the time is billable, then save. Use the Billable status filter later to separate chargeable from internal time.

The section panel also holds Time Entries for the raw list, and Approvals for timesheets awaiting sign-off. Who signs them off is configured under Timesheet approvers.

Time entries and approvals

Apps › Timesheet › Time Entries and Approvals

The main Timesheet view groups hours by task. These two pages give you the raw records and the sign-off queue.

Assets and translation memory

Apps › Assets

Assets holds your linguistic resources: Translation Memories of previously translated segments, Term Bases of approved terminology, and Placeholders for content that must not be translated.

Uploading a translation memory

1. Go to Apps › Assets › Translation Memories and select Add New.
2. Add your file. Drag an xlsx or csv file onto the drop area, or select it from your computer.
3. Name the memory. Required - use something that identifies the client and domain, since you will be choosing it from a list later.
4. Add a description noting what the memory covers and how far back it goes.
5. Check the languages. Awtomated detects the language pair from the uploaded file automatically.
6. Link the memory to the relevant contacts, companies, deals, projects or tasks so it is offered on the right work, then save.

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Term bases and placeholders

Apps › Assets › Term Bases and Placeholders

Alongside translation memories, Assets holds two other resources that keep output consistent.

A term base is your approved terminology for a client or subject - the words that must be translated one particular way. Like translation memories, they link to contacts, companies, deals, projects and tasks, so the right glossary reaches the right job.

A placeholder protects content that must survive translation untouched - product codes, variable tokens, markup. Each one holds one or more regular expressions describing what to leave alone, which is what Total Regex counts.

The translation memory record

Apps › Assets › Translation Memories › select a memory

Opening a memory gives you three tabs: Overview for what it is and who owns it, Links for the clients and jobs it serves, and TM for the stored segments themselves.

Running a memory against a file

Apps › Assets › Translation Memories › Run TM

This is what turns a memory from an archive into a saving: you check new content against stored segments and find the parts you have already translated.

1. Select Run TM above the memory list. A two-step window opens - Select File, then Set Parameters.
2. Add the file to check. Drag an xlsx or csv onto the drop area, or select it from your computer.
3. Set the source and target language. Both are required - a memory only matches within one pair.
4. Select Next to set the parameters and run the match.
5. Read the result against your rates. Matches feed the discount grid on your rate card, which is where a memory turns into a lower price for the client and preserved margin for you.

The term base record

Apps › Assets › Term Bases › select a term base

A term base record works the same way as a memory: Overview for what it is, Links for the work it applies to, and TB for the terms themselves.

Drive

Apps › Drive

Drive is the workspace's file store - source documents, style guides, reference material and deliverables, kept alongside the work rather than in email.

Automate

Apps › Automate

Automations do repetitive setup for you. They are the difference between creating twelve tasks by hand for a twelve-language project and having them appear the moment the project is saved.

Use Logs in the section panel to confirm an automation ran and see what it touched, and Explore Templates to browse the full set.

Automation templates and logs

Apps › Automate › Explore Templates and Logs

Explore Templates is the library of ready-made automations, filterable by what they act on - document, project or task.

Tickets

Apps › Tickets

Tickets track requests and issues that are not themselves billable work - a client query, a file problem, an internal follow-up.

1. Select Create a Ticket.
2. Enter the ticket title. Required - describe the problem rather than the symptom, so the queue stays readable.
3. Select Submit, or Cancel to discard.

Reports

Reports

Reports has its own place in the sidebar in this release, and holds the figures the old dashboard used to show. Each report pairs a chart with the records behind it, so you can read the shape and then the detail.

The filter row - Created Date, Name, Position, Origin, Account Manager - narrows a report before you read it.

What your client sees

The client portal is a separate, restricted view of the same workspace. Your client signs in at the same address you do - app.awtomated.com - and Awtomated shows them only their own records. They never see your other clients, your vendors, your margins or your internal costs.

Projects and requests

Client portal › Projects

The first screen your client lands on. It lists their jobs and, importantly, lets them start new ones with Create - a request arrives in your Projects list at status Request rather than as an email you have to transcribe.

Estimates

Client portal › Estimates

Every quote you have raised for this client, with its total and status. An estimate stays Open until it is accepted or expires.

Invoices

Client portal › Invoices

What the client owes. Each row carries the invoice ID, the period it covers, the service type, the total and whether it is paid.

What your linguist sees

Vendors sign in at the same address and get their own view, built around the work they have been offered and the money they are owed. Their rail carries Opportunity, Tasks, Tickets, Finance and Settings.

Opportunities

Vendor portal › Opportunity

Task offers awaiting a decision. This is the vendor side of the Task Invitation figure on your dashboard.

Tasks

Vendor portal › Tasks

Work the vendor has accepted and is expected to deliver - the same ATK records you see in Projects › Tasks, filtered to theirs.

Tickets

Vendor portal › Tickets

Conversations tied to the work. Keeping queries here rather than in email means the discussion stays attached to the task for whoever picks it up next.

Purchase orders, invoices and payments

Vendor portal › Finance

The vendor's Finance area has three pages, and together they are how a linguist gets paid.

1. The vendor checks their purchase orders. Each APO order names the task it covers, the amount, the tax applied and whether a payout has been raised against it.
2. They select Generate invoice on the Invoices page to bill you for completed orders.
3. The invoice appears as a payout on your side, under Finance › Payouts, carrying an ABI ID.
4. You pay and record the transaction. Once matched, the status changes on both sides.

How a vendor invoices you, step by step

Vendors do not invoice per task. They pick the purchase orders they want to bill for - often several at once - and Awtomated produces one invoice covering all of them.

1. The vendor opens Finance › Invoices in their portal, which lists the invoices they have already raised.
2. They select Generate invoice. A Purchase Orders window opens listing every order available to bill.
3. They tick the orders to include. Each row shows the code, status, start and end dates, amount and the task it covers. View opens an order to check it first.
4. They can tick several. The checkbox in the header row selects every order at once - the usual choice at month end.
5. They select Submit. One invoice is created covering all the selected orders, with an ABI ID.
6. It arrives on your side under Finance › Payouts, ready for you to pay and match.

Profile and rates

Vendor portal › Settings

Vendors maintain their own details and their own price list, which removes a whole category of admin from your team.

The profile holds name, email, phone, address, country, state, time zone and a description, plus professional details such as work experience. A Logs tab records what changed and when.

Organization

Settings › Organization

Your organisation's own details - name, address, contact information and identifiers. These appear on the documents you send clients and vendors, so they are worth getting right before your first invoice goes out.

Localisation

Settings › Localisation

How dates, times and currency appear across the workspace for everyone. Because Awtomated schedules work across time zones, these settings change what deadlines actually mean.

Team and roles

Settings › User Management › Team

Your own staff - the people who hold a licence and sign in to run the business. Vendors are managed separately under Vendors.

Inviting a team member

1. Go to Settings › User Management › Team and select Invite User.
2. Enter their first and last name. Last name is required here.
3. Enter their work email address - this becomes their sign-in.
4. Select Submit. They receive an AUS ID and appear under Invitations until they accept.

Pending invitations are listed under Invitations, where Reinvite user resends one that was missed.

Roles and permissions

Roles decide what each person can see and change. Permissions are granted per area as Read, Write or Only me, which restricts a user to their own records.

Services and unit types

Settings › Data Management › Services and Unit Types

A service is something you sell - translation, interpretation, MTPE, subtitling. Each carries the unit types it can be priced in and the workflow stages it passes through. A unit type is how that service is measured and billed.

Rates

Settings › Rates

Rates are your price list. A rate is specific enough to price real work: a service, in a language pair, for an industry and document type, measured in a unit.

1. Go to Settings › Rates and select Add Rates.
2. Choose the service this price applies to.
3. Choose the unit type - per word, per hour and so on. This decides how the amount is calculated.
4. Set the source and target languages. Rarer pairs usually justify a higher rate.
5. Select the industry and document type if the price varies by subject matter, for example a birth certificate versus a marketing brochure.
6. Enter the base rate. Required - the standard price per unit.
7. Enter the minimum rate. Required - the floor charge that applies however small the job is.
8. Add a discount grid if you reduce rates for translation memory matches, then save.

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Languages

Settings › Data Management › Languages

Which languages are available when creating projects, tasks and rates. Every locale ships inactive by default, so your pickers stay short and relevant.

1. Search for the language you want to offer.
2. Set its status to ACTIVE to make it selectable across the app.
3. Check the direction for right-to-left languages such as Arabic or Hebrew, so text renders correctly.
4. Use Add New only for a locale Awtomated does not already list.

Taxes

Settings › Data Management › Taxes

The tax rates available when invoicing, with one marked as your default.

1. Select Add New on the Tax page.
2. Enter the tax name, for example VAT 19% or GST. Required.
3. Enter the percentage. Required, and recorded to three decimal places.
4. Select Submit, then use Set Default on the row if this should be the standard rate.

Pipelines

Settings › Pipelines

Pipelines are the status sequences your projects and tasks move through. Separate pipelines exist for projects and for tasks.

The Used in count tells you how many services depend on a pipeline - check it before editing one, since changing stages affects every project already following it.

Forms

Settings › Forms

Form templates capture the information a particular kind of job needs. A court interpreting assignment requires different details from a document translation, and templates keep each request complete.

Templates in a typical workspace cover court, medical, conference, business meeting and school interpretation alongside standard translation. Create your own with Create Template, and assign it so the right team sees it.

Building a form template, step by step

A form template decides what Awtomated asks for when someone creates a project or task for a given service. This is how the court interpreting form above came to differ from the translation one.

1. Go to Settings › Forms and select Create Template.
2. Choose Project or Task. Project templates drive the Create New Project dialog; task templates drive task creation.
3. Name the template. It opens as Untitled Template - select the title to rename it. A template cannot be saved without a name.
4. Assign it to services. Use the Services field in the Form Preview panel. Whenever someone picks one of those services, this is the form they get.
5. Add fields with the + in the Field Settings panel. At least one field is required.
6. Arrange the form. Add a Form Break where you want the form split into sections.
7. Set its state. Active makes it usable; Set as Default makes it the fallback for services with no template of their own.
8. Select Save. The template takes an AFT ID and appears in the Forms list against the services you assigned.

Fields you can add

Email and templates

Settings › Data Management › Email Settings and Email Templates

Connect the mailboxes Awtomated sends from and receives into, and control the wording of automatic messages.

Templates use placeholders in double braces, such as {{organization_name}} and {{sharer_name}}, which are filled in when the message is sent. Keep the braces exactly as they appear or the placeholder will send as literal text.

Machine translation

Settings › Data Management › Machine Translations

Connect a machine translation engine for MTPE work. Awtomated supports Microsoft AI Translator and DeepL Translator.

1. Choose the engine tab - Microsoft AI Translator or DeepL Translator.
2. Add the API key issued by that provider.
3. Use Edit Key to rotate it when the provider issues a new one, or Delete Key to disconnect the engine entirely.

Invoice and payout settings

Settings › Finance

The rules governing how money documents are produced: when vendors may invoice you, the currency thresholds that apply, and how invoices and estimates look.

Choosing when vendors can invoice

You can also set a currency and minimum amount due before a payout is released, and require that invoices are generated only once a project is complete.

Currency

Settings › Finance › Currency

Sets the currency the workspace works in. It is the default applied to new estimates and invoices, and the base every other currency converts against on a document that shows a second total.

Discount profiles

Settings › Finance › Discounts

A discount profile is a reusable reduction you can apply to documents rather than retyping the same percentage per invoice.

1. Go to Settings › Finance and select the Discounts tab.
2. Select Add Discount Profile.
3. Name the profile and set its reduction - name it for the reason it exists, such as Volume 10% or Agency partner, so whoever applies it later knows when it is appropriate.
4. Save. The profile becomes selectable on estimates and invoices.

Invoice and estimate previews

Settings › Finance › Invoice Preview and Estimate Preview

These two tabs show exactly what your client receives, rendered with sample data. Each has a Preset selector for switching layout.

Vendor agreement

Settings › Vendor Agreement

The contract vendors accept when they join your workspace. Awtomated supplies a translator services agreement you can edit to match your own terms.

The supplied template covers purpose, services, independent contractor status, project assignment, and the requirement that each assignment specifies language pair, scope, deadline, pricing and delivery format.

Timesheet approvers

Settings › Timesheet Settings › Approver

Who reviews and approves submitted timesheets. Approvers are organised into groups, so different teams can route to different reviewers.

API access

Settings › API

Generate a key to connect Awtomated to your other systems.

1. Go to Settings › API.
2. Select Generate API Key.
3. Copy the key immediately and store it in your password manager.
4. Follow Documentation for the available endpoints.

Billing

Settings › Billing

Your Awtomated subscription: the plan, how many licences you hold, your payment method and past invoices.

Billing profile, payment method and history

Settings › Billing

Three further tabs sit beside Plan.

Task pipelines

The Pipelines page has two tabs. Projects controls the statuses a project moves through; Tasks does the same for tasks, with its own Default Task Pipeline. They are configured identically but kept separate, because a task's stages follow the service's workflow while a project's track overall delivery.

Task form templates

Forms likewise splits into Project and Task. Task templates drive what is asked when a task is created, and carry their own AFT IDs and service assignments.

DeepL configuration

Machine Translations holds a tab per engine. Each stores its own API key, shown masked with a Reveal Key control, plus Edit Key and Delete Key.

Attachments and Trash

Drive has two sections beyond the main file list. Attachments gathers files added to records elsewhere in the app, so a document attached to a project is findable without opening that project. Trash holds deleted items.

Welcome to your project portal

Your language provider has given you a login. This portal shows your own work - the projects you have commissioned, the quotes you have been sent, and the invoices you owe. Nothing else in their system is visible to you, and nothing of yours is visible to their other clients.

Signing in

1. Go to app.awtomated.com and enter the email address your provider invited, plus your password.
2. Select Sign in. You land on your Projects list.
3. Forgotten your password? Use Forgot Password ? beneath the password field - your provider cannot see or set it for you.

Your projects

Every job you have commissioned, with where it has got to.

Requesting a new project

Client portal › Projects › Create

You do not have to email your provider to start a job. Create on your projects list opens a request form, and what you submit lands directly in their system with its languages, dates and files already attached.

The one thing to understand before you start: the form changes depending on the service you pick. Your provider builds a different set of questions for each thing they sell, so a document translation asks about files and industries, while a conference interpreting job asks about venues and equipment. Choose the service first and the right questions appear.

Step by step

1. Open Projects and select Create at the top right. A Create New Project window opens with a single field.
2. Choose the Service. This is the only field shown at first, and it is required - the note underneath reads "The form will load based on the service you choose". Select it to see everything your provider offers.
3. Wait for the rest of the form to appear. It rebuilds itself around your choice, which takes a second or two.
4. Give the job a name. Project Name (or Event Name on an interpreting service) is required and is what your provider sees first in their list, so make it specific - Q4 investor report, EN→DE beats translation.
5. Set the languages. Pick the Source Language you are supplying and the Target Language you need. A Recent: row of shortcuts sits under each one - the pairs you last used, one select away.
6. Attach your files. Drag them onto the Attachments box or select it to browse. Sending the real files now is what lets your provider count the words and quote accurately.
7. Set your dates. Start Date and End Date arrive prefilled a week apart. Change the end date to your actual deadline rather than leaving the default.
8. Fill in anything else the service asks for - a description, an industry, a location, or the event details on an interpreting job.
9. Select Submit. The request appears in your list at status Request straight away, and your provider is notified. Cancel discards it.

A different service asks different questions

Pick an interpreting service instead and the form changes completely - no attachments, and a set of event questions in their place.

Your estimates

Quotes your provider has sent you.

Your invoices

What you owe and what it covers.

Welcome to your linguist portal

An agency has invited you to work with them through Awtomated. This portal shows the work they offer you, the jobs you have accepted, the purchase orders covering them, and how you invoice for them. You see only your own work - never their other linguists, their clients, or what they charge.

Getting started

1. Accept the invitation emailed to you. Until you do, you cannot sign in and will not see any offers.
2. Sign in at app.awtomated.com with that email address.
3. Complete your profile - contact details, time zone and professional background, under Settings › Profile.
4. Add your bank details in the same place, under Withdrawal details. You cannot be paid without them.
5. Set your rates under Settings › Rates, if the agency has allowed you to manage them.

Work offered to you

Opportunity

The first screen you see. Each row is a job the agency is offering, with everything you need to decide.

Your accepted work

Tasks

Everything you have taken on, with deadlines and the service each job needs.

Task IDs begin ATK. Quote one when you query a specific job and the agency will know exactly which you mean.

Questions and messages

Tickets

Queries about the work live here rather than in email, so the whole thread stays attached to the job.

Getting paid

Finance

Three pages, and together they are how the money reaches you.

Raising an invoice from your purchase orders

This is the part that actually gets you paid, and it works differently from invoicing by hand. You never type an invoice. Every task you complete produces a purchase order, and an invoice is simply a selection of those orders bundled together. You tick what you want to bill, and Awtomated writes the invoice.

That is why one invoice can cover a single order or a whole month of them - the choice is yours at the moment you raise it.

Step by step

1. Open Finance › Invoices. This is your invoice history, and the place every new one starts.
2. Select Generate invoice at the top right.
3. Wait while it collects your orders. The button changes to Generating… while Awtomated works out which purchase orders you are allowed to bill. This takes around twenty seconds on a busy account - it has not frozen, and selecting it again only starts over.
4. Read the Purchase Orders window. It opens with every order available to you, one row each, showing its Code, Status, Start and End Date, Amount and the Task it pays for.
5. Check anything you are unsure of. View at the end of a row opens that order in full before you commit to billing it.
6. Tick the orders to include. Use the checkbox at the left of each row, or the one in the header to select every order at once - the usual choice at month end.
7. Select Submit. One invoice is created covering everything ticked, and goes to the agency for payment. Closing the window with ✕ instead leaves everything as it was.

After you submit

The new invoice joins the list on the Invoices page, and that list is where you track it from then on.

Your profile and rates

Settings

Keeping these current is worth the few minutes - it is what stops the agency chasing you for details and what ensures you are paid correctly.