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Definition: freelance - working for different companies at different times rather

than being permanently employed by one company: e.g. a freelance journalist.

In the eyes of the government and business

worlds, a freelance worker (whether a journalist, accountant, contractor or graphic designer) means you are self-employed and must follow all laws, practices and procedures carried out by small business owners.

As a freelance interpreter, you are a small business owner. When you interpret privately and bill directly for service, all monies earned must be declared and expenses related to the service can be deducted. Whether you receive contracted, freelance hours from the local interpreting agency Equality Communication Centre of Excellence, ECCOE or interpret privately for other companies and organizations, everything must be documented appropriately.

Some self-employed professionals keep their documents and receipts in a generic box and turn it over to their accountant to organize and process accordingly every year at tax time.

Personally, I enjoy all aspects of business. As a freelance interpreter, I created a company name, wrote service guidelines and designed business cards and invoices. I have a highly organized paperwork system. For a long time, I filed my own financial reports and tax returns. Only recently, after the acquisition of another company with complicated paperwork, I have started hiring a tax preparer and accounting service.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) states: For income tax purposes, a business is an

activity that you intend to carry on for profit and there is evidence to support that intention. A business includes: a profession; a calling; a trade; a manufacture; an undertaking of any kind; and an adventure or concern in the nature of trade

The three most common types of business structure are: sole proprietorship, partnership, and corporation.

The type of structure you choose has a significant effect on the way you report your income, the type of returns you complete each

Freelance Interpreters ~ You ARE a Business Owner!

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year, and many other matters. One of the most important concerns will be

your liability for business debts. Sole proprietorship A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated

business that is owned by one person. It is the simplest kind of business structure.

The owner of a sole proprietorship has sole responsibility for making decisions, receives all the profits, claims all losses, and does not have separate legal status from the business.

If you are a sole proprietor, you pay personal income tax on all revenue generated by your business. You also assume all the risks of the business. The risks extend even to your personal property and assets. Resource: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/sm/menu-eng.html

Most freelance interpreters are sole proprietors.

The Basic Steps Let us say you have recently graduated from

Red River College’s ASL-English Interpreter Program and have decided to become a freelance interpreter. This may mean you only accept hours from ECCOE. Alternatively, you may accept only hours from other private businesses and organizations. Or you may have a mix of both.

In any of these situations, you are considered a self-employed business owner and must record all income and expenses.

Income: all monies collected and earned privately.

Quick Tips: • If you are a hired staff member who receives

an annual T4 slip with deductions for Income Tax, Employment Insurance and CPP, that is not considered self-employment. Expenses cannot be deducted from that income under those employers. (In Winnipeg, this includes the Universities of Winnipeg and Manitoba, Red River College and School Divisions for K to 12)

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• You will require an invoicing system to bill for your interpreting service. ECCOE supplies one for you online through their website. Microsoft Word has a variety of templates you can use or you can create your own.

• Know your hourly rate for interpreting service.

Expenses: all monies paid out for the operation of your business.

Quick Tips: • This includes gas charges, car insurance and

repairs, parking costs, bus passes, office utility costs, supplies and equipment, professional development, research costs and membership fees to name a few.

• Keep ALL your receipts and mark on them what they were for.

• Keep a mileage record. Write down your car’s odometer reading on January 1 of each year; keep a spreadsheet to record all dates and mileage driven for your freelance appointments and business operations. With Google Maps and Directions, this can be easily recorded. On December 31, record the odometer reading again. Calculate the percentage used for freelance work; this becomes the percentage used to claim for gas, car insurance, car repairs, etc.

These are the basic steps to starting life and business as a freelance interpreter. Operations become more complicated as you earn more private income. For example, you may want to register for a business number and a business name. Once you earn $30,000 or more gross monies, you’ll have to register for a GST number, collect GST on all income and fill out GST reports.

By Kristi Dorian

The Nuts and Bolts

Freelance interpreting is a fun, challenging and incredibly rewarding career. It can also be a difficult and unpredictable one. Predicting the difficulties that come hand in hand with freelancing has been an important part of improving the quality of my work and professionalism in difficult assignments. Interpreting students, interpreters who have not worked as a freelancer and interpreters with no experience as independent contractors often have a lot of questions. Here are some things that I did or should have done that may help make the new experience easier for those who want to give self-employment a try.

AVLIC Code of Ethics: Business Practice Guidelines The following points remind interpreters that we

are nationally guided to operate ourselves and our business with professionalism and integrity.

1.3.3 Members will refrain from manipulating

work situations for personal benefit or gain. When working as independent contractors, members may promote their professional services within the scope of their practice.

When working under the auspices of an agency or

other employer, it is not ethical for the members to promote their professional services independent of the agency or employer.

5.0 INTEGRITY IN BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS:

Interpreters establish and maintain professional boundaries with consumers and colleagues in a manner that is honest and fair.

5.1 Business Practices 5.1.1 Members will refrain from any unfair

competition with their colleagues, including but not limited to: (a) engaging in comparative advertising (b) willfully undercutting; or (c) artificially inflating fees during times when market demand exceeds supply.

5.1.2 Members will conduct themselves in all

phases of the interpreting situation in a manner befitting the profession, including negotiating work and contracts, obtaining suitable preparation material, and choice of attire and professional demeanor.

5.1.3 Members will honour professional

commitments made when accepting work, and will follow through on their obligations. Members may not unilaterally terminate work or a contract unless they have fair and reasonable grounds to do so.

5.1.4 Members shall take reasonable care of

material and/or property given to them by a consumer and may not lend such or use it for purposes other than those for which it was entrusted to them.

5.3 Reimbursement for Services 5.3.1 Members will bill only for services provided.

Members will negotiate fees, including cancellation policies, preferably in writing or contract form before service is provided. Members will be sensitive to professional and community norms when establishing fees for services.

5.3.2 Members may also provide bartered or pro

bono service in situations where the profession of interpreting and the livelihood of other practitioners

will not be threatened.

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Before we begin, I would like to recognize that I have been very lucky to have great mentors and colleagues I can rely on for guidance. I have a lot left to learn despite the growing number of lessons along the way, and their assistance and advice has been crucial to my success as a freelance interpreter. Before you jump into the world of freelancing, consult the experienced people you know. The tools and resources they share will be invaluable, and most will be glad to share.

While the interpreter education program provides information on many work settings, the amount of variety you will encounter while freelancing is not something that will ever be completely predictable or reducible to classroom scenarios. Further, regular employment tends to occur in more structured and consistent environments, to which we become habituated, despite our best efforts. When changing work environments often the ability to predict aspects of each setting, and thus prepare, is reduced. As a freelancer, you must learn to recognize the unexpected aspects of your work settings, and handle them in a manner both professional and appropriate to the setting, often spending a greater amount of time on preparation.

Being a freelance interpreter is running your own business, and needs the tools of a business to succeed. You will need systems for scheduling, invoicing, and generating documentation but do not feel you need to reinvent the wheel with these systems. These needs are fairly standard across all small businesses, so off-the-shelf solutions can be excellent fits. Even a book or course on managing a small business would not be awry. Just be sure to have something in place to manage the business aspects of being a freelance interpreter.

Being self-employed also means that you will have to budget more carefully for health insurance, holiday and sick time, professional development and taxes. Planning ahead will get you moving in the right direction.

It is also important to get an idea what the industry standard is for terms of service and fees, perhaps using the Terms of Service of a colleague as your template as I did. Knowing these things will keep you from pricing yourself out of the market or selling yourself short, as well as allowing you to avoid many possibly messy contractual situations.

Once you have these tools, you will need to consider how you will organize and manage your schedule. A well-organized system is important with such a varied schedule. Freelancing work is not always stable, nor predictable, and your schedule will reflect this. Ongoing contracts will

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get cancelled, dry and busy spells will strike, and booking times will conflict. It is a good idea to talk to other interpreters about their scheduling challenges, and plan ahead. This may mean looking for other work, saving up money for summer and other down times, or advertising your business to bring in more work.

It is equally as important to plan well for busy spells as it is to plan for quiet spells. When there are a lot of bookings coming in, it can be tempting to not leave yourself enough time for transportation, parking, arriving early for on-site

iPhone Features used by Interpreters

After surveying interpreters this summer here are some of the apps local interpreters enjoy:

• Phone, Text & Email to stay in touch

• English Dictionary • Flashlight – to use during

those black out moments we’ve all encountered

• GPS mapping and directions

• Pay By Phone - parking city wide (on metered streets and Impark lots), texts a five minute warning that meter is up, extend time easily from your phone, supplies email receipt

• Netflix, Global & CTV to watch documentaries, news and current events in-between assignments

• Internet browers & Google for research, info gathering and prep material

• Digital Clock to keep track of time • GAMES! Important for down time to relax

or hone your memory & language skills. Noted were: Angry Birds, The Lost City, Boggle, Simon Says, and Solitaire

• iTalk – audio recorder for PD purposes • Dropbox – to hold prep and reading

materials • Weather apps – know what to wear! • Create your own ‘home page’ buttons for

quick access to websites i.e. ECCOE schedule, work emails, and other favs

Send your favorite apps to newsletter@mavli.com

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preparation, lunch, breaks for your body from interpreting, time to complete your off-site preparation, billing and professional correspondence. By not taking these things into account, there will be an impact on your body, work, colleagues and consumers.

Overworking yourself is another risky idea. Our work produces more physical injury than any other occupation, even construction work. The risk of Repetitive Strain Injuries and other injuries are less if we don't overwork, and cut down our hours when feeling some strain.

When taking assignments, be aware of your limits. When appraising your time and ability, you make choices that affect your consumers directly. Choose experienced interpreters to be in touch with when you need ethical and professional advice. Continue to expand the type of Deaf people you connect with; you need to stretch your knowledge and language.

Getting ready for tax time can be another important part of each year. It is better to first seek advice from a professional about what you can write off and to what extent. Write-offs will reduce the amount of income your business claims, so you will essentially get all or part of the taxes back from anything you write off. Bear in mind that you will not get back all of the money you spent even with a 100% write-off, unless you also paid 100% taxes for that item. Keeping organized and honest records will keep your bookkeeper or accountant sane, and save you, should you ever be audited.

Working as a self-employed professional in the service industry is very socially driven. Most of your work will come to you through non-advertised channels. Word of mouth is invaluable. It is important to be polite, friendly and respectful to all consumers, even if they are not to you. This will pay off in long-term contracts, and will often develop rapport over time despite difficult circumstances. It is also beneficial to expand your network of general business contacts. Winnipeg is such a small community in many ways - there will always be someone who knows someone who needs an interpreter.

I look forward to learning more as I continue my career as a freelance interpreter. I hope that some of you will provide me with your advice and perspective or your questions. In our work, the best tool in our kit is each other!

By Darla Stewart, darla_lin@yahoo.com