I charge by 65-char line with spaces...sm
Posted By: Apple Scruff on 2006-10-16
In Reply to: Question versus gross lines versus 65-character lines.... - AzMT
The two accounts I've worked on wanted 0.5 inch margins on both sides. One of the accounts wants 10-point Times. The other wants 12-point Times. They want the margins so big because they are trying to save on their paper costs, because the sticky back paper (I think that's what they use) is apparently quite expensive. I send the documents via e-mail for them to print on their own. Anyway, charging for a 65-character line with spaces nets me more than a gross line because of the margins, font, and typeface. Try it with your line counter. I have one built into my Instant Text (which I don't use for invoices) and SylCount. Both of them show that the gross line is quite a bit less when the margins are this big.
Why not charge for spaces? You type 'em like you type a letter or number! 
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What is a 55 char gross line compared to a 65-char line including spaces?
t
10 cents/line 65 char. w/spaces,
Small company (about 7 of us, I'm the only part-timer) Acute care, mix of dictators, 1 year part-time experience.
65-char line to client and charge for gross? sm
That's a bit underhanded. If they ever get suspicious, your line counts are going to exceed what they count at 65 char. a line. You said yourself that 65-char/line and gross line are two different things, so why do you contract with the client saying you bill for one and actually bill for another ?? That's shady, IMO, and I would never quote my client a 65-char line and then charge them for gross line.
Two companies, both 65 char lines including spaces, one pays 0.10/l and the other 8.5/gross line. n
x
My line including spaces is 65 characters. I've heard that not counting spaces
takes away over 35% of your line count. I believe it too because you have at least 15 or so spaces on each line that you type. Use your first sentence up top as an example; you had 77 char and 21 spaces - in that line that would be a little less than 30% of your characters that you didn't get paid for. I don't think it's worth it and wouldn't want to work without getting credit for my spaces.
What's the diff between a gross line and a 65-char line?
Mebbe just got my first OWN ACCOUNT YAY! He said to charge him the "going rate" since I pay him that. This could be the start, baby! (I hope)
10 cpl per 65 char line
I include all spaces, headers, footers, etc with a 24 hour TAT.
65 char line
while you are in a Word document, click on Tools from the bar at the top. Then click on word count. You will see characters (no spaces) and characters (with spaces). If you are paid by 65 characters with spaces, take that number and divide it by 65. Then take the result and multiply the result by .08 or .09 if you are paid 8 or 9 cents per line. That is the amount of money you made for that one letter.
7.5/gross line or 10/65 char line?
Anyone have any idea which would come out to more? TIA
1385 by 65 char line.
nm
65 char per line is not the same as gross?? sm
You said "Anyway go with gross line, I still quote it as 65 characters per line which it is but I count by gross and 12 font."
65 char per line is NOT the same as gross. How in the world do you come to the conclusion that it is? If it was the same, then the 65-char line would not even exist. Gross line count means that even a line containing only one word is counted as a whole line. 65-char. line means that a line must contain at least 65 characters (i.e., letters, numbers, or symbols) to be counted as a whole line.
Gross line does not equal 65-char. line and you are doing a huge disservice to your clients and to the other MTs asking for advice here by saying it is. Clients do sometimes check the line counts to see if they match (obviously yours don't so you have been lucky so far) and if you bill them at gross lines and they are counting at 65 chars per line, your line count will be quite a bit higher and it will look like you have been padding your line counts.
Please, do clarify how it is you feel a gorss line is the same as 65 char. per line. Also, font does make a difference when using gross lines but does not make a difference when using 65-char lines so again, your theory that you are switching fonts tells me you are, indeed, charging gross lines and yet are quoting clients at 65 chars a line.
Does anyone else think this is just a tad on the shady side ???
.11 cpl/60 char. line for hospital
account that I do from home and am also considered an employee. They pay my insurance and also offer family insurance for 110.00 a month. I also have another account for a brain and spine trauma center that pay me .13 cpl/65 char. line.
Here's the thing. We were paid on a 50-char line SM
because we were on new software and it was hard (before EDiX). Then we went to 60 char and you have never heard the screeching and griping (LOL. We just didn't know).
I have told this story before, but for five years I was the supervisor in the MT dept. All I did was evaluate MTs, line counts, average lines per hour, just endless figuring. I could tell you off the top of my head what any particular dictation should count out to.
In fact, after I decided to go back to transcribing, I knew the very day that my former employees started cheating - our line counts were posted by ssn on a computer-generated list. I knew that work like the back of my hand.
When EDiX did their spiel, I was eager to start with them because I knew how they supposedly counted their lines and I knew how many lines a day I could type. Man, I was gonna be RICH.
Not one line count EVER matched what it used to. Bad thing about that is, I just got blank silence on the telephone when I asked what was the deal. When I asked my immediate supervisors how they were counting these lines, I got "I don't know. I'll get back to you." Nobody ever answered my question. I gave them a year full time, and then I had to start working other jobs to make ends meet so I quit.
They asked me to come back, and I said I would, part time. They said they really needed me on that account. All told, I was employed there three times in three years. I never made enough money to even cover my basic expenses. I cannot live like that.
My biggest problem with nationals, and the reason I refuse to work for them, is that the money goes to the suits first, the MTs next. People who do what we do simply do not need that much supervision. If they hire newbies who do need extensive supervision (and they do, we all did), we all pay for it in that situation -- I'm not against hiring newbies, by the way, but the $ it takes to hold their hands the way the need their hands held should not come out of the pocket of the veteran MT who sits down and chugs out her work day in, day out.
So no more nationals for me. I make three times what I made at EDiX now, working for a company that could be considered a national because we're scattered out, but it's still run by the owner, and her aim in life is for us to make as much $$$ as possible because then SHE does. That's the way it should be.
National companies treat MT as a cost center and that is not right. That's for the facilities to do. The MTSO should treat us as an income-generating entity instead of a hole to divert money away from their executives. They've got it all wrong!
Gross versus 65 char line
Can someone tell me how a gross line is calculated. Thanks.
Only if that is coupled with a line definition of greater than 55 char.
.
At 40 hours a week? Is that gross line or 65 char?
You'll never get an accurate comparison unless you have every single detail lining up, i.e., same rate per line, same amount of hours, same type of work, same doctors dictating, same amount of Expander entries, same typing speed, same method of payment, etc., etc.
It just doesn't matter what anyone here posts -- it's going to be different for each individual. There is no real true way to predict what you will make at this profession!
then they'll offer you 8 cents/ 65 char line. very sad nm
dfd
I'd still charge by line, just charge a lower
rate, like maybe 8 cpl. Do you have to pickup and deliver work? You could also setup a one-month contract until you see how it goes and then you can figure out the best way to charge and go from there. You could also charge a flat rate per page and keep it fairly low.
127 if based on 65-char line (8243 divided by 65 is the formula) nm
c
I quote a price per gross 65 char line, say 12 cpl, but then convert
I have one client who doesn't want bulk and is Franklin condensed 10; another is on Garamond 12 with a 1 inch margin R and L. I take a large block of type, put in a format that gives me 65 char per line and do a line count that way and get a price for the whole block, for example, 58 gross lines at 12 cpl = $6.96. Then I take the same type and format it as the client wishes, get a line count and divide the dollar amount by the lines. If their formatted version came to 28 lines, then 6.96 divided by 28, would come to 24 cpl for their format. I always include a line on the invoice to indicate their 65 char line rate. Something like
2586 extended lines at 0.24 cpl = $620.64
(your line rate converts to 0.12 cpl for standard 65 char line)
I always educate the client as to the industry standard of the 65 char line which allows clients to compare apples to apples...
I just re-read his email and he said he paid 9 cpl per 55-char line! Must be offshore. sm
I'm going to bring up the offshore issue with him and HIPPA issue as well. My OB/GYN just switched over to that practice to do just GYN and specialize in urological gyn, so they have my records too and I sure don't want them overseas. Even if they don't want to hire me, that's fine and I'm not going to sales pitch him at all, but I don't want my records outsourced.
need more info - what kind of transcription, geographic, charge for spaces, headers
etc.
Yes if gross line or 65 character line with spaces....Good Deal!!! nm
x
What is the average line/hour for a 65 character line with spaces? NM
.
Curious, do most IC's usually charge by the gross line or 65 character line?
Thank you~
IC, by line, 68-72 character spaces/line
@
65 with spaces=line/12 cpl
Without spaces, what line is that on? 65 characters?
t
65 character line with spaces
TIA
PS on line charge
One thing to remember is that if they add those other six facilities you will need help and with only charging 8 cpl you won't be able to pay someone much to help and so your quality of help might not be that great. Also I count my headers in my gross line. I do a lot of 9 to 12 page consults and add on 4 to 5 spaces depending on the length of the header per page to the line count. And my accounts know that my line count is based on Courrier 12 and NOT the font that they chose to use. I am upfront about that. Change back to it when I do my line count. Again, it is a starting point and good luck. If you need help or have questions either E-mail me or post on here again. Patti
how much to charge per line
I have the opportunity to transcribe insurance reports. I would be subcontracting. Any idea how much to charge per line? Is WordPerfect the best program? I live in the Southeastern US. Any other info greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Charge by line
Hi Laurie,
The last time I had an account for myself, and not through an MTSO, I charged 14 cents a line. That was as recently as December. I did not print the reports out though! I also did the pick up and drop off but since it was extremely close to the hubby, he did that for me So I'm guessing since you are doing all that extra work, 16 cents a line?
Good luck!
charge per line
I do 11.5 to 12 cpl but gross lines. My accounts have been with me many years -- some 18+, and so I know them inside and out. For any new accounts that might come along I would start them at 12.5 cpl. I do pick up and deliver, provide sticky paper, envelopes all in the price. Reruns also. But again, my accounts have been with me a lonnnnnnnnnnng time and I can do 500 to 600 lines per hour and they pay on time without questions asked about my lines or anything. In fact have stopped giving them daily line counts, they only want totals now. So we trust each other. But start around 12.5 or so and go from there. Patti
I charge per line.
I do the clinic notes for a clinic in our area for free since they are a ministry/outreach program. I cannot take a charitable deduction at the end of the year for this. It's considered volunteer work and is not tax-deductible.
and how much do you charge a line?
are you willing to say? most people wont which is weird since most of you on here are anonymous.
I never thought to factor those costs into my line count, especially after i was just underbid for 2 cents less than I already charge.
Charge per line
I thought I posted this successfully earlier but I don't see it.
What is a fair charge per line. I currently am charging my client 12 cpl but am thinking that is low. Also, how many characters per line are you using?
Thank you
Lynn
Charge per line
Thank you for the information. May I ask what state you are working in. These will be office notes, pretty basic stuff.
Gross line count without spaces?
I've been corresponding with an MTSO, and she tells me that she pays gross line without spaces. Is there such a thing? I have both Abacus and MPCount, and neither of those programs has an option to count gross lines without spaces. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!
11 cpl, 65 line w/spaces. No headers/footers except
nm
I think that means they pay for spaces, 65-charac line.
x
In Word you take the line count with spaces SM
and divide it by 65. That will give you your line count. So, if my report had 11,700 characters with spaces, that would equal 180 lines. Multiple 180 lines x. 0.11 (your cost per line) and that would equal $19.80 for that particular report.
Good luck!
Chickadee
Why don't we (MTs) charge by the gross line?
-
I, too, charge by the gross line (sm)
I used to charge 14 cents a gross line and delivered and picked up every day, printed reports, provided a list of each report transcribed, and reprinted lost reports, all at no extra charge. Only one of my clients has ever been a real stickler for 24-hour TAT, so I'm lucky in that regard. When things get too busy, I do the best I can. Then I went to 12 cents a gross line as I could no longer pick up and deliver every day. This was 10 years ago that I switched from 14 to 12 cents. I haven't raised my rates in a long time but am pretty comfortable where I'm at now with my rates as I no longer print, have gone digital, have good dictators and report types, and also there's India to consider. I'm in central California which is not nearly as expensive a place to live as southern California. I would *think* your area could support 16 cents a line but I really don't know if India would be a concern for you? We have quite a few docs around here using India but a lot wouldn't consider it an option. You can always ask for more and see what they say, but you also want to be given the chance to dazzle them with your skills so they think they can't do without you. With the cost of living increasing, if you aren't making enough due to the type of reports/dictators you already have, I would definitely approach them with the idea of an increase.
I charge by 65-character line (sm)
My clinics have wanted 0.5-inch margins on the side. One of them wanted 10-point Times font. I think 65-character lines are fair for both parties.
average charge per line
Just starting out on my own and have been asked by a local chiropractor to handle his transcription. I don't want to undercut other sub-contractors charges but don't want to quote too high either, especially being new. How can I find out the average charge per line for chiro transcription?
I charge .10 a gross line.
.
I think it is a 65 character line without spaces but doesnt that mean you have to type a lot more to
get your lines in so you really arent making 9.5 cpl in fact right. I am not sure I understand when you dont get paid for spaces how much you really lose from that. Is it 20% a report or what percentage do you lose. If a report is 100 lines with spaces then what do you really get paid for on those 100 lines without spaces. I think that is what I mean. I am just tring to figure out how much longer you have to work to get your lines in at 1000 lines a day without spaces versus 1000 lines a day with spaces. Seems it would take quite a bit longer.
Both 65 characters per line -- one counts spaces, one doesn't NM
X
Do the math. I am figuring on a 65 character line with spaces. SM
Getting credit for headers and footers or not, doesn't make much difference in the math. It's simply not possible. Even if you figure she gets 10 free lines per report for headers and footers, she still would have to type 300 lph for 10 hours a day and her hands would virtually never have to leave the keyboard!
Her pants are on fire!
I was referring to gross 65 character per line with spaces, sm
but again, it was very grueling, but possible. Granted, I had no life besides the keyboard.
Sorry- meant ඉ character line w/spaces!" - NM
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