Software for freelance translators

Most translation admin is quoting. A law firm sends a 30-page contract on Friday afternoon, you run it through your CAT tool for the word count, and the quote has to go out before another translator's does. Certified translations for immigration add a layer: a signed certification for each document and clients who aren't sure what they need. SoloWOS handles the quote, the paperwork and getting paid; Trados, memoQ or Phrase handles the translation.

From a quote request to a paid translation

1. The client fills out your quote request form: language pair, document type, deadline and whether it's for USCIS, a court or a business. Forms can't take file uploads, so the confirmation email tells them where to send the file.
2. You run the count in your CAT tool and send a proposal with the count as the quantity: for example, 4,800 words × $0.14, plus a rush line for 48-hour delivery. Birth and marriage certificates usually go per page. Set a 7-day expiration.
3. For agencies and corporate clients, the NDA or service agreement goes out through E-Signatures before confidential files arrive. The NDA template is a starting point.
4. Create the deposit invoice from the accepted proposal; for example, 50% up front for new direct clients, while agencies usually pay on their own terms after delivery.
5. Deliver the translation as a PDF through Document Tracking with a watermark until it's paid, or upload it for approval in the client's portal, where their in-house reviewer comments and approves the version with their name.
6. Send the balance invoice from the proposal. Once it shows Paid, send the clean PDF with your signed certification for certified work.

A typical week

• Monday: three quote requests over the weekend, two of them birth certificates for a green card application. You quote both per page within the hour.
• Tuesday: a law firm accepts a 9,200-word contract quote. The NDA is signed before lunch and the deposit invoice is paid by card that afternoon.
• Wednesday: an agency purchase order arrives. You log it as a task with its deadline and track the hours of terminology research on the timer.
• Thursday: you deliver the contract as a watermarked PDF and see the client's paralegal open it twice.
• Friday: the balance is paid, you send the clean file, and you log your CAT tool subscription and ATA dues in Expenses.

All 13 tools, one by one

A translator lives in a few of these and touches the rest now and then. Here's each one, honestly:

• Link in Bio: one page with your quote request form, your language pairs and your credentials, for your ProZ profile, your LinkedIn or the directory listing of your professional association.
• Short Links: a short link to your quote form for the flyer at an immigration attorney's office or a community center, with a QR code and a count of who used it.
• Forms: the quote request: language pair, document type, word count if they know it, deadline and purpose (USCIS, court, business). No file uploads, so files still come by email or file share.
• Scheduling: a free 15-minute call for larger projects or certified-translation questions, and paid consultations for terminology reviews if you offer them.
• Proposals: per-word or per-page quotes with the count as the quantity and the rate as the price, rush and formatting as their own lines, a deposit percentage and an expiration date.
• E-Signatures: NDAs before you receive confidential files and service agreements with direct clients. It doesn't notarize, so a translation that needs a notarized signature still goes to a notary.
• Document Tracking: deliver translations as PDFs with a watermark until paid, a passcode, an expiration date and downloads off; you see when the client opened them.
• Screen Recording: a 5-minute video showing an agency's project manager where the source file has untranslatable images or scanned pages, before you quote the extra work.
• Notes & Boards: a board of jobs by stage (quoted, in translation, in review, delivered, paid), a task per job with its deadline, and a page per client with their glossary notes and style preferences.
• Time Tracking: per-word work doesn't need a timer, but hourly extras do: terminology research, desktop publishing and review. Track them and add them to the invoice with "Add unbilled time".
• Invoicing: invoices from the accepted proposal with a card pay link and your ACH or PayPal details, plus reminders for the agency that's 30 days past due.
• Expenses: CAT tool subscription, dictionaries, ATA dues, certification exam fees and continuing education, with receipts, exported for your tax preparer.
• Automations: when someone submits the quote form, email them where to send the file and your turnaround times; when an invoice is paid, create a task to send the clean final file.

Certified translations for USCIS

USCIS requires a full English translation of any foreign-language document submitted with a benefit request, and the translator must certify that the translation is complete and accurate and that they're competent to translate from the foreign language into English (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), as the USCIS Policy Manual describes it).

• The rule asks for the translator's certification, not a specific credential. ATA certification is a separate, voluntary credential: the American Translators Association certifies translators in a specific language pair and direction through a proctored exam, and certified translators must meet continuing education requirements to keep it.
• Keep your certification statement as a template you attach to each translation, with your name, signature, date and contact details. If a client also needs it notarized, that happens outside SoloWOS.
• Courts and state agencies set their own rules for translated documents. Check with the court or agency that will receive the translation.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by state; check yours with a lawyer or your licensing board.

SoloWOS or Protemos: which fits

Protemos is a translation business management system with a free Freelance edition for translators who do all the work themselves. Since it's free and built for translation, it's the fair comparison.

Choose Protemos if:

• You want a free tool and your clients are mostly agencies that pay by bank transfer.
• You want quotes, projects and receivables organized around translation jobs.
• You want clients to log in and submit projects themselves.

Choose SoloWOS if:

• You work with direct clients (law firms, families, small businesses) who should accept a quote online and pay by card.
• You need NDAs signed, watermarked deliveries you can track and a booking page for consultations.
• You'd rather have one account for the client side than a free tool plus separate e-signature and payment apps.

Prices and features checked on October 23, 2026 on each company's site.

Start with these three

Proposals with a per-word and a per-page template, Invoicing connected to Stripe, and Document Tracking for deliveries. Add Forms when quote requests start arriving from more than one place.

Free tools that help

• Freelance rate calculator to turn the income you need into a per-word rate at your real daily output.
• Business days calculator to quote a delivery date that skips weekends and holidays.
• Payment fee calculator to see what card processing costs on a large invoice compared with ACH.
• Invoice late fee calculator for agencies that pay past their own terms.
• Time zone meeting planner for clients and agencies abroad.

What SoloWOS won't do for a translator

• No word counts, CAT tool, translation memory or termbase.
• Clients can't upload source files through a form or the portal.
• No notarization; E-Signatures gives an audit trail, not a notary's seal.
• One currency per workspace, so a client who pays in euros gets an invoice in your workspace's currency.
• SoloWOS doesn't file taxes, issue 1099s or collect sales tax for you. Invoicing sends the invoice with a pay link (card through your Stripe account) and your other payment details; your accountant or tax software handles the rest.