Need help with calculating expenses for bid on large account. At the moment I do not know *sm*
Posted By: Keli on 2006-05-28
In Reply to:
how many lines they dictate per day/week. I am going to call the person who sent me the bid forms and ask. I do not have my own call-in system and would be using a TASP. Can someone tell me that currently uses a TASP how to go about figuring my costs in so that I do not under bid. I know that each dictator and the type of report is going to vary but on an average what would you say? Bottom line is I need to know how many cents per line I need to charge to cover the call-in system and my other expenses. Another thing they listed in the bid is that the vendor is to provide all other supplies including plain paper to complete each assignment. The hospital will provide any special letterhead, envelopes, etc. How do you provide the paper and probably the toner if you are doing this remotely? Would there be any other expenses that would fall under other supplies that you can think of other than toner and paper? How much toner and paper do I provide or should I ask the hospital what they use on a weekly basis? I would assume I have the right to ask questions as to how much paper, toner, how many lines they do each day or week on average. I want this account very much but I do not want to have to pay a cheap line rate and I need to make this worth my while. Thank you very much for you help.
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275-310 lph - one account-large teaching hospital
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DQS not calculating correctly and repaying?
Those who have gotten checks cause DQS did not calculate correctly, was it only from one regional MQ office? Im wondering as I have used DQS for about one year and I have not gotten any letter or check. Im wondering should I contact my TC? I dont like bothering them if I dont have to cause they are not the nicest people and I truly believe they keep track of employees who call in, ask for time off, question things..ya know? So, if anyone knows, is it just one MQ office or more than one...Thanks, ya'all..
Formula for calculating lines?
Can anyone give me the formula for calculating lines rates? I need to know how much (money) is made if I transcribe 15,000 lines at 8 or 9 cents per line. Also, about how many pages is 15,000 lines (I know that each page will be different in lines for live transcription, but I'm looking for a ball park figure.) It's been a while since I have been on this payment format.
As far as calculating rates, see message inside
I also charge by the line and I use 65 character lines to calculate. I use MPCount, which is a free software that you can download and it works great and is simple to use. Sure makes the line count calculation easy to do. Good luck.
Calculating errors in a typing test
Can someone tell me how to calculate the errors in a typing test per the lines they type and how fast they type. I need to learn how to do this as I may have to give some typing tests where I work and I am not sure how to go about this. Any help would be appreciated. Or if you can tell me where on the internet I can find this information, that also would work.
Thanks
my fav moment
was when Taylor won and he was so overwhelmed! During the whole show last night I felt like he thought Kat was going to win but he was having a good time anyway. He's been my favorite the entire season. I just loved watching his reaction when he heard the news! Kellie Pickler was always annoying to me, but I have to say the little skits of her were funny last night. Like her hair short that way too--it's very cute. Was that her dad sitting beside her? I heard he had been released. Didn't see her grandpa I don't think. He was usually always there to see her.
Fav AI moment
I thought Clay's appearance was great - the other guy was so surprised. I also wondered about plastic surgery - but it may just have been the longer hair that made him look different. He looked more "built", too. I am so glad that Taylor won.
One at the moment, but looking for second as getting slow--nm
nm
Oh no, senior moment sm
Am I describing the right state? Could I mean Utah? So confused. Anyway, I've been to both states and they are both beautiful.
Some need to step out of their box for a moment - eh! LOL. nm
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Surreal moment this a.m./CNN
Today on CNN they had on the phone a doctor by the name of Tony Asher, a local (Charlotte) neurosurgeon.
I have been to him and I work at a hospital where he practices, so ironically this a.m. I recognized his voice before I looked on the TV and saw his name during interview with Sonjay on CNN. For me, it was a weird experience, but only one that another medical Transcriptionist could fully appreciate.
Also I have seen him as a patient. I was misdiagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia and he verified it wasn't that diagnosis. In long run, it was a bad tooth - I actually went to Duke for a consultation and they couldn't figure out the problem, BUT the first thing the doc there asked, "Are you sure it isn't a tooth?". AND it was a tooth, but that didn't happen until a x-ray by dentist later on (which contradicted findings of x-ray when this first happened).
I will always remember the resident that was in with the doc (whose name I long forgot) - the resident looked just like Raymond's brother on "Everyone Loves Raymond." And talked like him.
These are my issues with VR (at the moment, that is)
I say this because the platform I work on has changed from 1 of really, really good to now: No periods even though starting another sentence and the next letter of next sentence capitalized so it knows; numbers can be completely haywire from 4,4, 3, 1, 4 and 5 to perfect for some dictators, mostly not though, doctor's names no longer in although previously had them in; no matter what the patient's name is, completely opposite from what is being said; sometimes throws in categories capitalized not even said and in wrong place. Now the good thing about VR, I am my own spell check now. Everywhere I go I am seeing misspelled words and I find literally hundreds all over the place. Just found 1 this morning in the doctor's office, surgeies. I guess the person making the sign did not have or use spell check. I do not think literally possible to do that many lines per hour myself.
At this moment I have 5011
and that's just in my ShortHand dictionary. All of my spelling correction type things go in the autocorrect file, and since I work in DQS, I'm not sure if there's a way to count those....
I'm adding more expansions every day, as I think up new and different things that need expanding. And not so coincidentally, my average daily line count is creeping up as well... although I am sure that is partly due to just getting more and more familiar with the dictators as I go along.
I have no expenses except to buy my
computer, desk and chair, which after time becomes a wash and are nominal expenses. All my references are online paid for by the company (all Stedman electronic word books, my free personal subscription to Monthly Prescribing Reference, etc.)
Maybe you can cut your expenses? sm
If you are using telephones for dictation, maybe switch to handheld units? Or use a TASP to save money on calls? Use the Internet more to cut down on expenses. Hope this helps. If you can, keep your clients. They are hard to come by nowadays.
Say "I'm having a MedQuist Moment" instead of "Maalox."
My only "where were you" moment was JFK assassination.
I was a sophomore in high school and was in English class. I remember being devastated and the guy sitting next to me made a rude comment and laughed. I wanted to knock the heck out of him. 
My favorite moment of the night was
when Simon made that remark about Ryan with the Desperate Housewife look. Did everyone see those pictures of Ryan and Terry Hatcher? It may be a shock if Katherine or Mandisa go. I hope it's not Chris.
HA!!!! Lucid, don't you mean "Lucy" moment. LOL. nm
.
LOL. It took a moment to realize you weren't
nm
Please don't flame me, I'm having an Alzheimer's moment, but what is the (sm)
basic 4. I know it includes H&P, discharge summaries, and operations and procedures, but what is the 4th. My brain is just not functioning today...it's my only day off and therefore I don't have to think right??? TIA
MAKE GOOD $$ AT THE MOMENT BUT I WANT OUT
Have just landed a great job. Good $$. No nights, weekends, or holidays. How long do you think that is going to last? Look at the trend 6 months ago, now, and 6 months from now - or a year from now. The face of the MT business is changing. No one is secure and one thing is for sure - we can not all stay. I have a good client in a specialty I love now. I guarantee you, this client is going to obtain a cheaper source than me in the next 12-18 months. I am at the age where I need steady, secure, decent paying work. When this one goes, I am hanging up my headphones too. Hope to get my social security figure up first though.
I am drawing unemployment at this moment
due to being laid off my primary job. I can earn up to one-third the amount of my weekly benefit without being penalized. I have to be available and actively looking for work every day of the week, and I must be willing to accept work on any shift. I was specifically told that enrolling in school would forfeit my eligibility for continued UI benefits unless I was accepted into a state-endorsed training program because I have to be available for work 24/7. Tomorrow I have to attend a 2-1/2-hour job-search-assistance class and will ask about this again, but I know things worked the same way in my previous state of residence.
there are a bunch of these on ebay at the moment. NM
Remember that's $40 before all expenses. nm
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Medical expenses
January, 2000 - DH tore rotator cuff, needed MRI/arthrogram, followed by rotator cuff repair.
January, 2001 - I had foot surgery in podiatrist's office.
January, 2002 - DH had cervical MRI/myelogram, followed by anterior cervical diskectomy with fusion, two levels.
January, 2003 - DH had knee MRI, followed by arthroscopy.
January, 2004 - I had LASIK surgery.
OMYGOSH, it's almost January again! 
Why not just add it to your business expenses? nm
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You can still deduct your MT expenses if your and IC - sm
regardless of taking the standard deduction. Your write offs for MT are on the Schedule C (not B). My husband and I take the standard deduction as we don't have enough on our Sch. B; then I write off all my IC deductions and report my income on the Sch. C.; putting the bottom line (income minus IC write-offs) on the 1040 line 12. So I am not quite clear on what you are talking about but I know how I do it is how most of us (if not all) do our deductions. You may want to do an amended return.
Tax Deductible Expenses
We ran a business for years from our home. As far as I know, you can take the base rate of your telephone bill as an expense (which includes FCC taxes) and any long distance calls related directly to the business. As for Home Owners Insurance, you can take 7% of the insurance because you use 7% of your home for your business. Also, anything related to the business such as equipment, paper, tapes or special software programs can be taken as well. If you have to travel to deliver the finished reports, I believe the rate is 28 cents a mile. If you travel, you can also deduct any maintenance on your vehicle. Hope this helps.
Taxes, Expenses
I would have internet anyway; now I get to write it off. I would have long distance anyway; now I get to write it off. Everyone pays taxes and insurance, it is just a matter of who is doing the bookkeeping. Walmart STARTS at $8/hour and then when they pay all that same stuff they are really making $5- $6. You can write off ALL your health insurance, a portion of your utilities and the area you work in, computer, software, and other supplies.....save on gas (this is HUGE right now), work clothes, make up, day care, and and and. There's always more than one way to view something.
Also, are these figures before tax/expenses or after? sm
Some ICs might be quoting their pay before taxes and expense deductions, which isn't their ACTUAL pay for the year. If someone has their own accounts and says they bring in $50K per year, that's possible, but probably not the amount they receive free and clear.
I find it hard to believe anyone makes that much free and clear unless they are working 12 hours a day, every day, and pulling in a significantly high per-line rate. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I base this opinion on the fact that I make a very good line rate, type over 100 wpm for easy accounts I've had for years, and still don't bring in that kind of money free and clear. I come close with my gross income, but after taxes and expenses, it's only about 65% of that! And I work 9-10 hours a day with only one week of vacation per year.
Come to think of it, that's pretty sad when I see it on paper. LOL I'm going to go look for a new line of work now.
It's the topic of the moment. You must be in a foreign country maybe.
There was a catastrophic hurricane with a devastating flood afterwards! A disaster of biblical proportions! Many people lost their homes, the worldly positions, billions of dollars in loss. Lives were lost, the poor, the elderly and the infirmed. We watched it on the news (it was on here in the U.S. around the clock). Try www.cnn.com for all the details.
Hey! I just got my second dach (mini). Henry is in my lap at this moment.
dd
Calculating lines using Word Count in Word
I have recently started a job where lines are calculated using the Microsoft Word word count tool. I think I read that you get cheated out of lines if a company counts this way. Is this true?
What is the cost of your living expenses? sm
I would really like to know this as mine seem high. My cost for the bare minimum, not including insurance, medical costs or entertainment, is about $1,800.00 per month.
Is that high to most people? TIA.
$350 a month for my share of expenses.
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get a credit card just for your IC expenses
it will keep all your expenses in one place and you won't need to keep receipts, just the credit card statements. Other than that, track mileage, though to be frank most people will just claim an average mileage and then create a mileage journal if audited. Also if you will take the home office deduction, you can claim percentage of heating, etc. but easy enough to do that. Might be worth your while to consult with a CPA if you take the IC job, and then the first year that you do your taxes. He can explain everything you need and then you can take it from there. Just one or two more forms to fill out, nothing earth-shattering.
Poll: Earnings vs Expenses
1. What are your monthly earnings -- just you (no spousal income) -- doesn't matter how many jobs....monthly earnings?
2. Do you work more than one job?
3. What is your base line rate? If you have more than 1 job, list all base rates.
4. Now what is the minimum bring-home pay you need to survive each month? This is your housing, energy, transportation, insurances, food -- what you have to have to make it.
5. What's the difference? Are you in the hole? Got surplus? Breaking even?
My answers:
1. About $3100 each month.
2. One job.
3. $0.095 cpl plus some incentive bonus each month.
4. $2287 gets everything paid. Savings and pocket money not included in that figure.
5. Surplus but not much. Trying to save as much as possible and have a few greenbacks in my wallet each week.
Was told could deduct pet expenses. sm.
If it is a dog and is over 50 pounds, you can claim its food, vet bills, pet insurance, vaccinations all that as long as your business is run from your home. It applies as a guard dog. It does not matter which breed the dog is either. This is the state of Missouri, not sure about other states.
I am gonna try it as we shelled out alot of money over a period of time for a dog that was poisoned. Luckily, he lived.
WORK-AT-HOME EXPENSES JUST AS MUCH - sm
as if I were working outside the home, if not more. The only thing I would spend money on an outside job would be the $4.00 daily bus fare. I have more than enough clothes for work, no problem there, maybe lunch or can brown-bag. The company pays the office space, light, electricity, internet, cable, AIR CONDITIONING in summer (imp.)
On the other hand, even as an employee, I am not reimbursed for my high-speed, HIGH-COST cable/DSL/telephone I need to make these few cents a line, electric costs, lights, AC BILL JUMPS WHEN SITTING AT PC ALL DAY IN SUMMER, buy my own office supplies, books, references.
Just another mind sc---ing they give you by telling you it's cheaper to work at home. (I have no kids).  
My favorite moment last night of American Idol...
I loved the moment when that Clay Aiken wannabe was given that razzie award and was singing Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me (much to the regret of my ears, LOL) and out walks Clay Aiken, the crowd goes wild and I'm sure the wannabe thought they were cheering for him. LOL I think he was truly shocked that Clay was there. Nobody could have acted his reaction out! I loved it.
Ditto that. Some of us are just extremely lucky and are there at the right moment. The rest of us...
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6 months of expenses "tucked/socked" away? No way. sm
I am the owner of a small transcription company. We have 50 transcriptionists. We invoice $150,000 per month. Our payroll, taxes, manager salaries, postage, bank fees, overhead, etc run approximately $140,000 per month. That means that we should have $840,000 tucked away somewhere. No way. We depend on our customers to pay. Our employees are paid on time and paid a decent rate. Our bills are paid. To say that someone needs 6 months of expenses put away is unrealistic and naive. Where did I attend school? For undergrad, University of Michigan, for graduate school, Northwestern University, with a master's degree in Business Management and a Bach degree in Finance. The rule of thumb is to have one payroll worth of cash on hand or a line of credit available equal to that amount.
It's really annoying that people can toss out comments like that, stating them as if they were fact, without any basis of fact. Most companies do not have close to a million dollars lying around. If they do, it is foolish.
I also took home office expenses as an employee, but --
You can only get any good out of it if you are also a homeowner with a lot of mortgage interest or have a lot of medical expenses, etc., that would make it higher than the standard deduction.
deducting home office expenses -
For the home office expense - You would measure the amount of space you actually use to work (your desk area) and figure the percentage of that square footage to your total square footage. Then you would use that percentage of your utilities costs, etc., to count on your taxes.
I would NOT recommend Transcend at the moment.Worked there recently for several months, and it was
a HUGE disappointment. Very antiquated platform - total chaos on account rules - shuffling thru piles of papers for each job - horrible. Supervisors were totally unorganized. Most accounts had no work. I had work, but it was just a huge bummer...job was opposite of everything promised...or implied.
I totally loved Instant Text from the moment I started using it.
I imported my Expanders from my PRD that I used in WP5.1 so that I didn't have a great learning curve. You can import a lot of different programs expansions so that you can use what you're used to. The other part of the program I truly like is the ability to make compilations from files of reports that I've already type. IT makes the lists for me of phrases that are often used in the reports. IT is less profitable to use if you're just expanding words. Why exactly are you expanding entries that you don't intend? Guess I don't understand.
What is the difference between an acute care account and a multispecialty account??..nm
nm
I got into this because it paid more money and I didn't have daycare expenses.
I have more time for a social life now that I work at home. I go to lunch or coffee with family and friends. I used to run errands on my lunch half-hour at my old job and either pay my bills or balance my checkbook on my breaks. I know all the other parents at the school now, so we get together on weekends or chitchat at the school. When I used to work outside the home, I was so exhausted from dealing with crabby people all day long that I just wanted to isolate myself at home on evenings and weekends. Now that I work at home, I actually seek out friends to keep from getting isolated.
You could take him to small claims to get expenses and pain and suffering.
:+
One thing also - keep all your receipts of any business related expenses
I have a folder and everytime I buy anything related to work whether it be a pen, a printer ribbon, a book, a keyboard, etc. I put in that folder. Those things add up and they are all deductible which comes off of your gross. This is in addition to the home use of your office. A statutory IC is a great way to go because you don't have to pay the entire social security but you are still IC and can utilize the business deductions. If you pay your own health insurance and it is in your name that is also deductible. Keep good records...this is the most important I have learned being an IC. Also you will probably have to file quarterly if you make over a certain amount. If you don't you will be penalized by IRS and have to pay the penalty fee with your April 15th filing. And also remember to figure your state taxes for the year. However it does depend on your personal situation and if you file jointly with your husband that may change things. Good luck.
Personally I think IC is great but unless you have some really good deductions you can end up paying a lot in taxes . If you have to pay your own social security at 15% and you were taxed at 20% rate for federal and let's say 6% for state you would be paying 41% of your income in taxes which is no fun. But you only pay on your net income and not your gross so it sort of comes out in the wash.
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