Transcription Page Rates

[Karen Negri]

What are average page rates for legal transcription? I saw an advertisement for a company that is offering $1.25 per page for legal transcription. It sounds very low, but I am not sure.

Thanks!

Karen

[Melissa]

Hi Karen,

$1.25 is about as low as I would go. It depends, too, on how many lines per page and formatting, of course!

I'm looking to add one more client and if you would feel comfortable sharing the company, that would be terrific! After you're hired on, maybe you could pass along the info to the place you're talking about. [e-mail]

Thanks and best of luck!

Melissa

[Jennie Ann]

I'm a newbie to CSRnation but not to transcription rates. A page rate is how most are paid in my area. Recently, since I have been surfing the Internet for transcription-related sites, I am discovering that many folks today are being paid per audio minute and/or per audio hour. This is mainly for general transcription. In the legal arena, page rates seem to be the norm.

As Melissa said, the format of the transcript page is key when trying to figure out a fair and equitable page rate. For instance, one company in my area has 21 lines per transcript page, and another one has 25 lines per transcript page. One company in my area has transcript margins that are flushed LEFT and RIGHT -- yuck! -- and most companies use flush left only. Some companies' transcript format is 45 characters per line of text, and others have 60 characters per line of text.

So $1.25 for a transcript format of 21 lines per page, 45 characters per line, and flush left and right margins could equate to about $2.00 a page for a transcript format of 25 lines per page, 60 characters per line, flush left only.

Oh, let's not forget about the font. Most in my area use the Courier New-12 font. Of course, if a Times Roman 6 font were being utilized, you just might be making less than minimum wage when it's all said and done.

I guess what I am trying to say is the page rates are commensurate with the transcript page format. I call them "codes," and most people today call it a "template."

Also, the turnaround time or delivery can determine one's page rate. Overnight delivery should get a higher page rate than a standard turnaround time of, say, 10 business days.

Hope this helps. You probably knew all of what I wrote, but I thought I'd throw it out there to get my very first post on the Transcription Group forum!