FAQ

FAQ

Regarding Quotations

How do I request a quote?

We accept requests for quotes in multiple ways, including

  1. You can use theQuote Request Form
  2. Email address for quotation only (estimate@atglobal.co.jp) can also be used. Please include your company name, address, telephone number, name of the person in charge, target language, number of words (or characters) in the document, and desired delivery date in the body of the email. If you attach the data to be translated, we will perform a word count and provide you with a quotation.
  3. If you have difficulty requesting a quote by e-mail, you can also make a request by phone or fax.
    Phone number: 03-5778-7617
    FAX number: 03-5778-7667
  4. In the case of paper manuscripts, please send them by mail to the following address
    Aoyama Palacio Tower 11F, 3-6-7 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0061, Japan
    Sales Department of Atglobal Corporation
  5. If the data is highly confidential or the volume is large, you may use our dedicated server to receive your documents. Please fill in the remarks field of the Request for Quotation Form or send us an email address dedicated to quotations (estimate@ atglobal.co.jp).

When can I expect a response to my estimate?

If your request is received during business hours, a representative will contact you within a few hours.

If the manuscript is large and the character count takes time, or if it is in a minor language, it may take up to one business day.

Can you handle urgent translation requests?

Yes, depending on the language, it is possible.

Additional charges may apply depending on the requested delivery date. Please see Minimum Charge and Express Charges for details.

We will do our best to accommodate your needs, so please do not hesitate to contact us.

How is the translation price calculated?

It is calculated by considering the following elements

  1. The number of words in the manuscript (word count for English, for example), the level of difficulty, and the requested turnaround time.
  2. The number of words in the manuscript includes all characters, symbols, and punctuation in the manuscript.
  3. In some cases, such as accounting documents that contain many numbers and symbols that do not need to be translated, we may be able to determine the number of characters by excluding the parts that do not need to be translated.

For more information, please refer to the “Price Plans” or “Fields of Translation” on our website.

The translation fee seems to be lower than the industry standard, but is the quality okay?

Many of our clients tell us that “Atglobal’s translation fees are reasonable. We are proud of the following corporate efforts.

  • For more than 15 years, we have provided our services primarily through telework. This has allowed us to maintain a small office space and keep fixed costs at a reasonable level.
  • With affiliated offices in Shanghai, China and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, we are able to achieve reasonable costs by building a team of over 1,700 overseas local staff.
  • We have established a complete communication system by making full use of web communication and conference tools such as Skype, Slack, and ZOOM.
  • We do not use any machine translation tools such as Google Translate unless requested by the client. Our two-person team of native translators and native checkers will provide you with high-quality translations.

In addition to the above, we also implement a variety of other quality control measures. Some of them can be found on our website under “About our quality assurance”. If you would like to inquire further, please do not hesitate to ask us by using the “Inquiry Form” or by phone (03-5778-7617). Please do not hesitate to ask for more information.

I have a limited budget, do you have any good suggestions?

Depending on what level of quality is required, there are several options

● No double-checking, just translation by the translator and checking by the tool.

● In the case of Japanese-English translation, use only a Japanese translator without native checking.

Of the three atglobal price plans, the “Draft Translation” plan is the one described above. Please feel free to contact us for more information. Please feel free to contact us.

What is your standard turnaround time?

The turnaround time varies depending on the number of characters to be translated, the content, the level of difficulty, whether or not layout editing is required, and other factors.
For example, in the case of Japanese to English translation, the standard turnaround time for translating 4,000 Japanese characters (10 sheets of manuscript paper) into English is 4 business days, and 7 business days for 10,000 characters.

Can you issue a translation certificate?

Yes, we can issue it. English, Chinese, and Japanese are available.

Please note that we charge an administration fee of ¥2,000 or more per letter (plus additional postage costs if sent by mail).

I would like to request a free trial translation.

We understand that you may want to check the quality of the translation before deciding whether or not to order your important work from atGlobal. At Global, if you can promise that your order will be of sufficient volume if it passes the trial, we will, in principle, offer you a free trial within the following scope.

● The number of words in the original text within 400-800 characters, or 200-400 words in the original text.

● If the client agrees in advance to a certain level of at-global’s unit price level.

Please do not hesitate to discuss this with our sales staff or the PM in charge.

Can I bring the translated document directly to you?

We apologize for any inconvenience, however we do not accept translated manuscripts in person.

What We Can Do For You

In how many languages can you provide translation services?

In total, more than 40 languages are supported, including English, Asian languages, European languages, and Middle Eastern and African languages.

For more information, please see the Languages Translated page of our website.

What fields can you undertake translation work in? Are there any fields that you do not undertake?

Atglobal, we can handle translations in a variety of fields, including IT, precision instruments, inbound/tourism, outbound/overseas expansion, various websites, business, marketing/PR, medicine/medical equipment, law, financial accounting/finance, government affairs, mass media, articles/academic materials, and more.

On the other hand, we currently do not translate patent application materials or clinical trial-related materials.

We also do not translate materials that are offensive to public order and morals, or those related to politics or religion.

Do you accept translation requests from individuals?

Yes, we have undertaken many translation requests from individuals, so please do not worry.

Depending on the volume and amount, we may ask for payment before starting the translation. Please understand this.

Would you agree to signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA)?

Of course, we will be happy to do so. If you have a company template, please send it to us and our General Affairs Department will check it and sign it. We also have a template for NDAs, so please feel free to contact us if you need one.

Can you issue a translation certificate?

Yes, we can issue it. English, Chinese, and Japanese are available.

Please note that we charge an administration fee of ¥2,000 or more per letter (plus additional postage costs if sent by mail).

Can you translate requests for even small amounts of text?

Of course, we will accommodate you. However, if the original text is less than 400 words or 800 characters, we will charge a minimum charge of 400 words or 800 characters. Even if the order volume is small, we will still incur minimum in-house administrative costs, and we ask for your understanding that we will absorb these costs. We appreciate your understanding.

For more information, please see the Minimum Charge and Express Charge page.

I would like you to create a translation with the same layout as the original document...

Of course, we will be happy to accommodate you. In such cases, we will charge an additional fee for DTP work (optional service).

Please feel free to contact us for a free estimate.

I would like to request a free trial translation.

We understand that you may want to check the quality of the translation before deciding whether or not to order your important work from atGlobal. At Global, if you can promise that your order will be of sufficient volume if it passes the trial, we will, in principle, offer you a free trial within the following scope.

● The number of words in the original text within 400-800 characters, or 200-400 words in the original text.

● If the client agrees in advance to a certain level of at-global’s unit price level.

Please do not hesitate to discuss this with our sales staff or the PM in charge.

Regarding Translation Quality

Do you provide native checking and proofreading?

Yes, as a standard practice at atglobal, a native translator and a native checker work on the translation.

If you require rewrites, proofreading, or transcreation by native speakers, this is possible for an optional fee.

For details, please see the Optional Services page on our website.

Is it possible to specify the translation of technical terms? Is it possible to unify terminology?

Yes, if you have a bilingual list of the source and target languages, we can provide it. For more details, please feel free to contact us.

Do you use machine translation (e.g. Google translate)?

We will not use any machine translation unless requested by the customer.

Other

What happens if the source text is changed after the translation is ordered?

We will be happy to accommodate you.
Additional fees will be charged in the following cases

● If the translation has already been completed for the changed part of the original document

● In cases where there is an administrative burden, such as not knowing where the changed part is located.

Please feel free to contact us for the best proposal for each case.

Can I cancel an order after it has been placed?

Yes, cancellations during the course of the program are possible.

However, we will charge the regular fee for the portion of the translation that has been completed. In addition, for projects that require a lot of time for pre-processing, we may charge a translation fee plus α as an administration fee.

What kind of support system do you have after delivery?

In principle, the follow-up service assumed in the standard unit price is limited to one time. Of course, we will respond free of charge as many times as necessary to corrections of translations caused by our mistakes.

Depending on the type of manuscript, there may be multiple steps involved before the final product is considered complete, such as first proof, second proof, and final proof. In such cases, please contact us and we will provide an estimate after considering the workload of our translation team.

What other services do you provide in addition to translation?

We offer a full range of promotional services for foreign or international audiences. Specifically, we offer the following

● Digital marketing for overseas markets

For more information, please see the Digital Marketing page.

● Overseas Market Research

For more information, please refer to the Overseas Market Research page.

● Transcription

We can also transcribe foreign language audio recordings. Please refer to the Transcription page for details.

Inquiry and Request for Information Materials