Which version did they send?
A client emails files for translation on Monday. On Tuesday they send a WeTransfer link with 'updated versions'. On Wednesday a colleague at the client emails one more file directly to a PM who was on leave. Your translator is working on Monday's version. On Friday you deliver, by email, with attachments too large for the client's mail server, so you send a link instead, which expires before the client's reviewer gets to it.
Two weeks later the client asks for last year's German version of the same document, and nobody can find it quickly.
Why file exchange gets messy
- Files arrive through several channels, to several people.
- Updated versions are sent without clear labels.
- Download links expire, and large files bounce from email.
- Deliveries go to one contact and do not reach others at the client who need them.
- Past deliveries are hard to find, on your side and the client's.
What it costs
Translating the wrong version of a file, which means rework and delay. PM time spent reconciling files and resending links. Confidential documents sitting in inboxes and third-party transfer services. Clients frustrated that they cannot find their own past translations. And a less professional impression than your quality deserves.
| Moment | Email and links | Client portal |
|---|---|---|
| Placing an order | Email to whoever they know | Order form with files and requirements |
| Updated files | New email, unclear version | Uploaded as a new version, PM notified |
| Job status | Email asking | Visible in the portal |
| Delivery | Attachment or expiring link | Download from the portal, notified |
| Past jobs | Search inboxes | Listed with all versions |
How we build the client portal
- Clients log in with their email and a code, or their company's Microsoft account, and see only their organisation's jobs.
- Orders are placed with files, languages, deadline, subject area and any reference material, and go straight into your TMS or job system.
- If a client uploads a new version of a file, it is recorded as a version, the PM is alerted, and the change can be analysed for a revised quote.
- Job status is shown as it progresses: quoted, approved, in translation, in review, delivered.
- Deliveries are downloaded from the portal, with notifications to the named contacts at the client, and nothing expires until your retention rules say so.
- Past jobs and all their versions are searchable by the client, so they can find last year's translations themselves.
- If you use a TMS with a client portal, such as Plunet or XTRF, we look at configuring or extending that before building anything new.
Files are stored in a region and under retention rules you agree with your clients, with access limited to the named people at each client and to your staff.
What changes
Reference material benefits too. Style guides, previous translations the client liked, product images and glossaries can sit in the client's portal area, attached to every new job automatically, instead of being re-sent (or forgotten) each time. Translators get the context they need without the PM hunting for it.
Multi-contact clients are handled properly as well. A client with a legal team, a marketing team and a product team can have separate areas and approvers, with a manager who sees everything. Deliveries go to whoever placed the order and anyone they choose to copy in.
One route in and one route out. Versions are clear, so translators work on the right file. Deliveries reach everyone who needs them and do not expire. Clients help themselves to past translations and status updates, which cuts down routine emails to PMs. Confidential files stay inside controlled storage, which makes it easier to answer clients' security questionnaires.
Does this happen at your agency?
- Client files arrive through email, links and shared drives.
- A translator has worked on an outdated version of a file.
- Delivery links have expired before the client downloaded them.
- Clients ask you for copies of past translations.
- You struggle to answer clients' security questionnaires about file handling.