Case Study General translations, specialised system: how Sandrine stays efficient with LSP.expert

In the world of translation there’s nothing better than developing a lasting, trusting relationship with a client, is there?

At LSP.expert, we’re proud of the fact that some of the translators that use our software have been with us since the very beginning of our journey!

We reckon that means we must be doing something right.

Sandrine Plunus has been using LSP.expert to run her Belgium-based translation business efficiently so she can spend as much time as possible on billable client work from day one.

In fact, she even used the first incarnation of our software back when it was a tool called Linguition, right from the beginning of her freelancing career.

So she never had to go through the painful stage so many of us went through (some for longer than others!) doing battle with Excel spreadsheets. Yes, we’re a little jealous too!

Here’s an insight into her life as a Dutch and English to French translator.

Discovering translation

Sandrine knew she wanted to pursue languages from when she was very young, but it wasn’t until she went to a study fair where the Institut Supérieur de Traducteurs et Interprètes (ISTI) in Brussels had a stand that she became aware of translation as a career option.

She didn’t take much convincing and went on to study a bachelor’s degree in translation and interpretation followed by a master’s in multidisciplinary translation, both at the ISTI.

“I decided to go for multidisciplinary translation in order not to close any doors and I am still very happy with this choice today. Over the years, I have developed a certain affinity for medical translation, but I also translate in rather technical or general fields.”

Like so many other translators, Sandrine enjoys the variety that general translation can offer. Lots of different projects keep her on her toes and mean no two days are ever quite the same.

Taking the sting out of admin from day one

Sandrine started working as a freelance translator in 2014. She knew from the very beginning that her strengths lay with words not numbers and was daunted by the idea of having to generate invoices, worried about the risk of making mistakes.

Sound familiar?

But rather than just ploughing ahead like so many of us do she realised needed a system she could rely on to make the project management side of her new business easier. So, she jumped at the chance to try LSP.expert’s predecessor, Linguition.

She used it for three years before LSP.expert was launched to replace it and has been a happy user of that ever since.

Easy and effective project management

Like many of our translators, one of the main things that Sandrine relies on LSP.expert for is an overview of the projects she’s already committed to at any one time and whether she has the capacity to accept any other requests that land in her inbox.

It helps her manage her time, pinpointing exactly how long certain projects will take and when she’ll be able to work on them, so she’s never at risk of missing a deadline.

As Sandrine works on a task, she updates the percentage of the translation completed so she can see a clear picture of all her outstanding work at a glance.

And of course she keeps a close eye on her profitability and efficiency in the reports tab to make sure she’s always on track.

Did you start using project management software from when you first started your business, like Sandrine, or did you discover it later on? We’d love to hear your story!