Charging for copies.
Posted By: varies on 2005-09-02
In Reply to: How much do you charge for copies? sm - Ga Peach
My charges for copies depend on who it is and how many copies. I had one guy who wanted to use me and my little inkjet printer as a personal photocopy shop. I was charging $.10 per copy to cover paper and ink, but he'd want 20 copies of each page I typed. Finally, I told him to go to Staples to make copies because I wasn't going to do it any more. I was driving there every few days for more ink and paper anyway, and he was just someone I didn't want to do business with.
I don't charge my other client for carbon copies because he usually only wants one or two copies. Besides, he pays me really well and I've been typing for him for 8 years. When he wants full color copies of digital pictures printed out, however, it's at least $1 per page because it chews up the color ink cartridges so much.
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
copies of what?? nm
nm
Keep copies
I made copies of all my OPs at first. You will find that even with changing dictators, much of the content is the same.
How much do you charge for copies? sm
One of the doctors I transcribe for wants me to print the notes and the cc's to other docs, but I don't know how much to charge for this. I have never had a doc ask me to do this before, as my other docs just copy everything themselves. TIA
HELP! How much to charge for copies? sm
Just got a new account; however, the doctor wanted me to take half a cent off my rate AND not charge him for his templates (even though it's my ink he's using) AND he wants me to do the cc's and envelopes at no extra charge.....I do not want to do this as I really think that's a lot of extra work with no extra pay....could anyone help me with this? What do yall do?
How much for evelopes??
How much for copies?? Thanks to everyone who replies!!! I realy need help on this one as none of my other accounts have asked for a bunch for nothing.
Suckered in the South
So how much for copies and envelopes? sm
I am about to go crazy trying to figure out how to do his invoice.
ABE books has many copies
www.abebooks.com
Well worth getting. Also research online for Expanders -- there are lots of lists out there to give you an idea how to make your own. Some are free downloads. But you do definitely have to have your own system and just use these to give you an idea how to set up one. No two brains work the same. I refuse to work without my list!!
I keep copies of all my work even what I - sm
copy and paste into the hospital's software, which does the line counting for me, but in their case it is always slightly more than what I get when I figure it myself, we only get the body of the report, but don't have to enter any patient info (or check it luckily). On my FTP work or direct email accounts I report my line counts on a daily basis, which I do and they take my word on it, and are free to check me as I do not cheat on my counts. I just take the told character count and divide by 65 to get my lines, though I have it set up in Excel so I actually don't have to do the math for every report, that would take way too much time which I don't get paid for. But keep your work and verify. Sounds like you may not be getting paid for spaces, or expanded words (only paid for keystrokes, and also no spaces), sit down, do some math and figure it out, good luck.
Aren't macros copies of what others have said?
Aren't macros carbon copies of what someone else is dictating to you? You have it in your pc to make you're life easier, but it is not "your words" coming from your mouth. These words belong to the dictator... Am I missing something here? That is why at the end of the report, the dictators initials come first and they are in CAPS, and your initials come second and are in lower case. 
And most often headers, footers, & copies are not
s
I get copies of the schedule from the offices. sm
you are an IC, so you can call the shots. You can let them know that if you don't receive the work by a certain time, you will assume there is none, something of that sort. If you need a day off, give them advance notice and don't "ask" them for it, because you are an IC so you set your own schedule per IRS rules. You do not need their permission, per se. Obviously, we accommodate the docs as much as possible to keep the accounts, but only to a certain extent. We shouldn't be on call for them 24/7, either. They wouldn't wait all day for a patient that may or may not show (and sometimes even charge if the patient is a no-show!!) If you wait and wait for work, play their game and put it in writing that you will charge for your time -- and then DO it. A few extra charges on the old invoice will likely bring about a change. ;)
Even with the schedules provided, the docs can and do change them at the last minute, so there's no way you can ever know for sure, but at least you can have SOME idea what's going on if they provide them. The way I see it, if he tells you he will be out, then that's what you go by. Even if the staff can't verify it (strange, since most docs are highly reachable by staff), you've heard it straight from the horse's mouth so if you want to take that opportunity to have a day off, let the staff know you'll be off that day, period.
If the doc changes his mind and comes in that day, well, I'd still take the day off if I made plans. Keep that saying in mind that poor planning on their part does not constitute an emergency on your part. If they don't like it, then maybe they'll make better future efforts to keep you in the loop.
Keep copies of your original report
& if you are being blamed for other's mistakes, get your "ammunition" out & go straight to the owner/manager and ask how this can be corrected and that you will not be taking responsibility for someone else's error. If your owner/manager is a decent person, he/she will have a resonable doubt from now on when someone like QA complains about "your" work. Always CYA and don't be afraid to speak up.
I have signed it and sent copies to my congressman and
senators. I also call the White House, my congressman and senator every single week and email them. The one guy who answers the phone at my congressman's office said to me to keep squeaking.
We all need to do the same. Talk to everyone, your MD, you neighbors, your friends, clergy, send emails to the Editor of every news agency you can think of.
Sometimes I feel like I am the only one doing this. I also feel like we have already lost the battle, though.
It makes me sick to think that big business is dictating everything down to our medical care and how that information is handled.
copies of previously transcribed reports
What I always found helped, make copies of reports from the medical record charts. Make a few copies of each doctor and keep them in your desk that way you can refer back to the report when doing the doctor. You will get the hang of it. No hospital wants to go through the money and time hiring someone just to let them go right away. Usually you get about a three to six month probation period.
How much do YOU charge for extra copies and envelopes? sm
Need some help here ---- have a very cheap doctor who wants everything for nothing. Need to know what to charge him for copies and envlopes as he seems to have a lot of those. THANKS!!
Keep copies of your reports and do a line count yourself
Then you will know won't you? Get MPCount (think that's the name)(free), or abacus, or any other number of line counting programs. This website (MTStars) has one you can get for free too. Try it and then you will have your answer.
Do you have Word set to make backup copies (sm)
of the documents? Check the folder your document is in for a backup file. I've also been able to recover using a .tmp file as well. You didn't delete the file so it wouldn't be in the recycle bin. You just didn't save the changes you had made, so hopefully along the way Word saved a version and you may be able to recover something.
Keep copies of all jobs and when you hit the bonus level,
p
Office Max has 25 colored copies free until 6/9. (nm)
:)
Names & addies on copies sometimes aren't
s
I use the paper copies of each of those and get new ones every year. Love
s
You may find that actual copies of the reports are also useful. sm
I did strictly OPs for two years. There were some doctors that I had to check 4 or 5 different reports for every time, just to find the subtle variations he used. I might have 4 copies of appendectomies for him, and need them all to complete a difficult one. Complete copies really are almost necessary, I think.
Document everything! Save copies of your reports
Then, when you get an email contradicting the email that she sent you earlier, you have proof. You can print it, or copy & paste that info. into an email to your supervisor. And hers. Same with the reports. If you're getting incorrect corrections, go back and check your copy of the report. Double check with the company's policies, and with the BOS if necessary. Then, if you're right they they're wrong, you have written proof to back you up when you complain about it to whoever is responsible for that QA person's work.
Charging
The equipment you have will last for a long time so there is not that much to get into business. 13 cents sounds okay, 1 to 1 1/2 cent higher than I charge but I am out in the NW area. I do pick up of tapes, printing, delivering, use of "sticky paper" etc. But I average $30 to $45 per hour depending on the clinic. I haven't raised my prices in a while as I feel it is good money for me. I buy transcribers off E-Bay, some last for a long time, some not so long. I am planning on going digital in the next few months but I don't feel it is fair to pass that along to my clinents. It is my decision. Will still have to deliver back printed material. But you have to get those accounts and keep those accounts so charge a fair price -- the docs have more overhead than we do -- make a decent living and provide an extra decent service and you will do okay. I have said many times -- my accounts have been with me the oldest now 16 years -- psych account and my shortest is 5 years. They pay on time, have never had to ASK for my check, never a bounced check, and always Christmas bonus and a Birthday present. So that is why I keep my prices a little lower and spoil them a little but in the long run -- for five years now -- have not had to look for a new account/client and I know that they will not go overseas. I have had my share of those accounts that stayed with me for a little while until they got something cheaper and those that were just not for me and so that is why I will do most anything to stay where I am right now until I retire in 7 more years. I put in about 25 hours per week on these accounts as an IC and make $38 K per year. So for me it fits just right.
If you are only charging 11 cpl
They'll never know the difference, and it will make it worth your while. These doctors do not care about 65 characters and all that jazz. Just highlight the document, and charge them under line count. This will enable you to be compensated for any searches or extras that come along with the territory. They won't know the difference. Take it from me. You'll be fine, and you won't need to do all of this math. These people are cheating themselves using 65 character lines and the like. If it is an account you got on your own, then charge it like that. I'm living proof it works, and provide great TAT, and they won't mind paying you at all.
Charging
I was offered the opportunity to type for a doctor that is moving in wiht another group of doctors and need a transcriptionist. I have typed for other clinics in the area, but these physicians only paid by the hour.
I am wondering if it would be in my best interest to see if they wont pay by the line or character. I have never done this before. I work full time at a hospital and will be doing this at home in the evenings.
Any information on this would be much appreciated.
Thanks
When i was charging
17 cpl as an IC I did. Now I make less.
Could make that if I put in the hours but my priorities are the same. Would rather make less and have more time to do the things I enjoy but guess I'm fortunate to be able to make that choice.
Charging
I have my first interview with a Dr. tomorrow and I won't know what to say when he asked me how much! Should I charge by the line, and if so , how much or should I charge by the page? He will be my first Dr ever so I have no idea! I have been reading about lines but I just wanted to know what active transcriptionists are charging! Thanks.
I tried to download it. It says do not file these copies for some reason. I'm going tomorrow to S
pick up the ONE stinkin' form I need from the federal building. Beats buying 50 at Office Depot!
As can the looking up of addresses, names for the copies, deleting stuff that's not used on the
s
charging per character
What is the average charge per char?? A dr called me and told me he is currently paying .002 per char. If I calculated right, that would be .13 cpl. Is it standard to charge char w/spaces or not? Thanks for any info, I always have charged by the line 
Just look out for people CHARGING for same.
If someone offers you FREE mentorship, jump on it. But don't fall for some folks on boards that will offer to mentor you if you send them a private message/e-mail, etc.
A lot of local hospitals and a handful of services have mentoring (legit) programs. Do a search for MT services and their mentor programs. I know that TRX Inc. in Portland had one several years ago. I'm not sure if they still do. There are several that are trying to promote growth of the MT workforce.
Just ignore the crabby, tainted, bitter older MTs that don't want anyone else coming into "their" industry.
I know Kaiser MTs that make $100,000/year. If you're good, have a GOOD ATTITUDE, and apply yourself and work hard, and don't fall into the trap of becoming persnickety and bitter :) you'll do great! It sounds like you have a really good attitude. Just avoid all the negativity! It's just jealousy, angst, fear, self-pity.
You are so right. Our pay goes down from same folks who are charging us more when we
Right now McDonald's in our town starts employees at $8/hour and pays benefits and some school benefits.
I have worked 30 years in transcription and make less now than I did in 1985. That's 20 years ago. I know more and earn less. In fact I am a fraction above poverty level.
If you don't think MQ is getting ready to take us all below poverty level right down there with Mexico City, just hide and watch. Or rather, sit here and think you are with a "good" company. I didn't, because they are making millions in profit off your hard work and not sharing a penny of it with you.
In the old days an employer spread the wealth of the company with the employees who made it happen. This group has never heard of the concept.
But I think MTSO's are charging less
I know for a fact that it is very difficult here in the Chicagoland area to land an account for more than 11 cpl, and we used to routinely get 'em for 14 to 17...so I think you are seeing the trickle down effect. I used to pay up to 10 on gross lines, but I can't do that if I only can get an account for 11.
charging more works
I can agree with you. I used to run a small "word processing service" as it was called back in the 80s. I was competing with others and I figured one high-paying job was worth more to me than a bunch of inexpensive jobs. My fees were higher than anyone else's. I charged $25 an hour for anything other than regular text, be it medical, legal, foreign language, technical, editing, compiling bibliographies, checking footnotes for correct site within the text as changes were made.... I had more work than I could handle and it was all by word of mouth. I had to hire 2 others to help with the overflow and still turned down work. Would have continued except for needing to care for terminally ill father. I had graduate students trying to book me years in advance to do their dissertations.
Cheap doesn't work. Not in the long run. You do indeed get what you pay for.
If If U have your own accounts, U should be charging MDs more. nm
.
The offshores should be charging more, too....
... even though lots of their work is cr@p.
charging for tapes
Hi. Could anybody give me the going rates for tapes (per line of course) that are not printed out and just e-mailed back to the clinic when completed. I have been charging .11 per line including spaces. I have charged this for approximately 1-1/2 years. Could I charge more? Thanks in advance.
I dunno. I sure do miss my Selectric and those onion-skin copies. nm
nm
Anyone with experience in charging by the word?
xx
charging for OFFICE NOTE mt
Hey gang ! Today I went my family's podiatrist for the first time for an ingrown toenail. As soon as the doc sat down with me, and saw my chart, he commented on my occupation of "transcriptionist". Within 30 minutes I left his office minus an ingrown toenail, and plus a new account doing his transcription !
And this is going to be a lucrative account - 20-25 office notes per day, x 6 days a week. Yippee !
Question - how do you guys bill your private docs for office notes? He said some notes are only 1 paragraph, while some can be 2 pages. Doc said he'd prefer to pay by the page. So should I charge a 1/4 page price, 1/2 page, full page? How would you guys handle office note charges ? I will be emailing the files, btw.
Thanks !
Which font if charging by page?
I am doing something very different from my usual transcription. They want it single space and a different format. I am using Courier New 10 and it looks like they are getting a heck of a lot on the page for what I am charging - I am working for ZIP with this setup. Can anyone tell me what font to use, this is so small when I print it, that I can barely read it, my eyes are killing me as well. Help! You can E-mail me if you wish, I am very, very tired, 12 hour days on this with little to show for it.
How to handle this re: charging account sm
How do you handle an account with a doctor who is constantly changing things? I'm talking about a guy who will give an entire 4-5 sentences then have you go back and delete and change it.  I'm getting really, really tired of typing it all out only to have to go back and delete and retype.
Do you keep track of how much you deleted and charge for that also? It is really cutting into production. This isn't occasional either. He does this at least once, if not several times, in EVERY single report. It is like the man can't string together thought. Not to mention it is frightening how much things change sometimes. I wonder often if he is talking about two different patient.
Are you serious? I make 16.5 per CPL and doc hollered I'm not charging enough!
I love my doc. Been with him 12 years. He would love it if I charged more because "it would be fair to me." This is at an IC rate. I would never drop him.
BTW, I live in a low-paying rural area and if it weren't for the self-employment taxes, etc., I would still be an IC. Had 4 accounts on my own and did make great money, but then hubby also went the self-employment route and the taxes ate up all our "profits."
So, I'm back to making peanuts, but love my job now.
Tell them will have to start charging for time
x
You have a point in charging for these items
Be careful when doing your taxes. You can't have it both ways. If the doctor pays for the ink, then you cannot write it off as a supply. Just be careful because you may want to write off those expenses as opposed to letting the doctor write them off. This is also true for mileage I believe. If I were you, I'd get a good tax guy and also draft a contract including the what "ifs". You may also want to include the fact that you do take time off and also you may at any time within reason raise your rate.
MTSO's charging ICs for use of platform?
Has anyone experienced any MTSOs charging their IC's out of each paycheck for use of the platform software the MTSO chose to use???
Companies charging for use of software (sm)
Now I have been in the business for a good while and besides Trans"scam" I came across another company that charges for software. Fast Chart. They use both DocQScribe and EditScript and will charge the ICMT $7.50 per pay period if you do not meet a particular line count every pay period. Now, although $7.50 is not that much, I have worked on both of the programs (in fact, still working on Editscript) and have NEVER been charged to used it. What are these companies trying to do to all of us. ..geez louise. 
Charging doctors for redos......
I was wondering what the general rule here is. Lets say that you type an office note and then months later the doc wants you to add to it. Do you charge them again for the text you already typed, or do you just pull it up out of your computer's memory and only charge the doctor for the new text added to the document? This happens to me a lot, and I would like to know what the general rule is.
Thanks,
Abby
If you're an IC, you should be charging PA sales tax as well. sm
I know there are A LOT of PA MT's who are not doing this, making it more difficult for those on the up-and-up. However, if you are providing MT services to anyone other than a non-profit (with valid PA Sales Tax exemption), then you should be charging the 6% State Sales Tax and filing a Sales Tax Return.
The Use Tax issue that started this post has been in place for a long time, it's just that the Commonwealth has decided to become more aggressive in their pursuit of this lost revenue stream.
How would you KNOW what the owner is charging? You think she is going to share that info?
x
Charging for printing/mailing reports
I just spoke to a doc interested in my services and one of the questions he asked was how much I would charge for printing and mailing the reports to him. The cost of paper and shipping is pretty easy to calculate, but the cost of ink as well as my time is a little more difficult. Is there some easy way to calculate this for an estimate or would some of you mind sharing your rates? I appreciate any help or advice on the matter. Thanks!
|
