They want it in another language. Here’s the extra.

One language was in the quote. They asked for another.

A 2026 Slack still says “also in Spanish,” “we need a French cut of the same deck,” or “can you just convert the copy.” That is not a README. That is not the native .fig. That is not looping legal. Same screens, different words — a second locale on a number that already assumed one. Bill that typing clock at the hourly floor already sitting on the hub — yearly keep, billable weeks, any tax buffer you typed there. This card does not clone that buffer and is not a 50-state tax engine. $720 is 8 × 90 written as money. Invoice in another currency on the hub. Still guessing at $90? Start on how to set a freelance rate.

Translation extra = hours you type for the second language × hourly floor. Time the work from the first line you retype to the export they can ship in that locale. Eight hours is 8. A long site is 16. A native pass or a third locale is extra hours you type — not $0.12 a word, not 30% of the original quote, not a per-locale SKU. This card will not mint “translation is 30% of the project,” a free second language, or a per-word mill.

Worked USD: 8h × $90 = $720

Preset: 8 second-language hours. Floor $90. Review hours 0. Translation extra: 8 × $90 = $720.

That $720 is the second language. It sits on a quote that already named one. It is not a written runbook so the next person can operate the thing. It is not the Figma zip. It is not you talking on Zoom after the ship. Name the dollars before you open the second file. Do not wait for “the other language was in the original fee.” This page never put a second locale inside that fee.

Third preset: 16 hours at the same $90. Extra: 16 × $90 = $1,440. You typed the 16. This page did not. A longer second-language pass — every screen, every caption, a second export — is still hours × floor, still billed because they asked for another locale, still not 30% of anything and still not a per-word mill.

A native check is extra hours, not a word price

Second preset: same 8 second-language hours, same $90. They also want a native speaker to sit on the copy. You type 2 extra hours for that review. Billed hours: 8 + 2 = 10. Translation extra: 10 × $90 = $900. Second-language labor is $720. Review labor is $180.

Those review hours did not mint a $0.12/word line. There is no per-word mill here, and there is no “30% of the job for localization” this page will run. You typed extra hours. The card multiplied hours × floor. If they said “have a native look” and extra hours stay 0, extra hours stay 0 — this page will not invent a percent of the original quote so the math looks official, and it will not invent a per-word ticket. Type the hours that review or that third locale actually costs, or leave that box at 0.

This is not a runbook, a zip, a Zoom, extra inboxes, or a nameless pack

Written steps so the next person can run the thing without you live on the documentation card. Worked example there: 6h × $90 = $540. A runbook is still the same language, a stranger following your steps. A second locale is the work itself in other words. Writing an SOP does not produce Spanish copy. Typing Spanish copy does not leave a wiki. If they want both, put writing hours there and second-language hours here.

Captions, alt, or a transcript after the quote shipped the work as-is lives on the accessibility card. Worked 4h × $90 = $360. Not 15% of the project, not a WCAG mill, not a per-minute caption rate. A French deck is not a caption file in the language they already bought. A .vtt is not a second locale. If they want both, put second-language hours here and caption / alt / transcript hours there.

The native Figma / PSD zip after they already bought the PDF, MP4, or site lives on the source-files card. That extra is package/handoff hours × floor (worked 2h × $90 = $180). Sending the .fig lets them edit layers. Typing a second language lets them ship the same screens in another locale. Those are not the same zip. Want both? Package hours there, second-language hours here.

A live Zoom after the ship so their people can operate it while you talk lives on the training-handoff card. Worked example there: 3h × $90 = $270. Extra people become extra hours you type, not a classroom ticket. Talking on a call does not rewrite the deck in French. A French deck does not replace a walkthrough. Want both? Session hours there, second-language hours here.

More people in the loop — legal, brand, a VP who was never on the SOW — lives on the extra-approvers card. Extra people you type × hours per extra person you type × floor. Worked 2 × 2h × $90 = $360. Extra inboxes are extra reviewers of the same language. A second language is extra typing, not extra signers. Do not hide a French cut inside “we’re looping people in,” and do not hide three new inboxes inside a second locale.

Taking your name off the work and rebuilding a pack they can claim as in-house lives on the white-label card. Strip-branding hours × floor. Worked 3h × $90 = $270. Not 20% of the project, not a portfolio-value multiplier. A nameless English PDF is not a Spanish PDF. A Spanish PDF can still have your name on it unless they also asked that card. Want both? Strip hours there, second-language hours here.

Paste the line before you open the second file

Name the second-language hours. Name the floor. Name $720 (or whatever the card shows). Name that it sits on a quote that assumed one language. If review hours are on, name those too. Copy from this card so the dollars in the email match the dollars on screen.

• 8h × $90. Translation extra: 8 hours I type for the second language × $90.00/hr = $720.00. The quote was one language. A second locale is hours × floor — not 30% of the project, and not a per-word mill. Please confirm $720.00 before I open the second file.
• Same 8h, 2h native review. Translation extra: 8 hours I type for the second language + 2 extra hours I typed for a native review = 10 hours × $90.00/hr = $900.00. A native check is extra hours, not a per-word mill. That is not 30% of the project. Please confirm $900.00 before I open the second file.
• 16h second language. Translation extra: 16 hours I type for the second language × $90.00/hr = $1,440.00. The quote was one language. A second locale is hours × floor — not 30% of the project, and not a per-word mill. Please confirm $1,440.00 before I open the second file.

Leave out guilt and “everyone knows translation is 30%.” That speech turns a second locale into a fight. This page has no official localization percent and no per-word mill. No confirmed fee, no second file opened. A written runbook belongs on documentation. Captions, alt, or a transcript after the work as shipped belongs on accessibility. Native working files belong on source-files. A live Zoom after delivery belongs on training-handoff. Extra people in the loop belong on extra-approvers. A nameless pack belongs on white-label. If the $90 floor moved, rebuild it on the hub, then name this second language.

Planning math, not a localization policy

Planning numbers only — not legal, tax, or collections advice. No mandated translation percent, no statute that prices a second locale, no 30% slice of a shipped job, no per-word mill, and no 50-state tax engine. Keep the contract you already signed. Need enforceable localization language? Hire counsel where you work before the second file opens. Filling this card does not draft that language.

Inputs: hours you type for the second language, hourly floor, extra hours for a native review / third locale (not a per-word dollar). Outputs: billed hours, translation extra, one pasteable sentence. USD labels here; live currency and the tax buffer stay on the hub.

Rate calculator Written runbook, not a second locale Captions / alt, not a second locale Native Figma / PSD zip Live Zoom after delivery Set the hourly floor

Billable weeks moved? Recalculate the floor on the hub before you price the second language. This page names a second-locale ask — hours you type × floor, a native review as extra hours, not 30% of the job, not a per-word mill. Written docs the next person reads without you: documentation. Captions, alt, or a transcript after the work as shipped: accessibility. Native files after a bought delivery: source-files. A live session so their people can run it: training-handoff. Still guessing at the floor? Start on how to set a freelance rate.

FAQ