Apart from the indispensable skills a translator needs to qualify him/herself as a professional linguist, it is important to have from the very onset an idea on how you will charge your customers.
The most common way to price is per word or per page pricing and the method you choose depends on a number of factors that only you can determine. An uncommon way to price translations has been per hour. In Africa this unusual way has not been well embraced due to mistrust and lack of understanding of the same as it is quite easy for companies to drag the work of a customer in order to increase the price of his work. The opposite is also true. Some clients would pay a higher amount for translations that are done in fewer hours. As mentioned earlier, it depends on a number of factors.
We prefer to charge per page but in certain cases, do invoice our clients per word.
The most important aspect to understand when pricing per page is the format of the document. We have had clients who send their documents using the smallest front and front size to reduce the number of pages, which has forced us to develop our own format and ensure that it is non-negotiable when pricing. Doing high quality work on an on-going basis requires that you approach the job from an effective commercial standpoint.