Bynes Transcript Typing Services' Websites are Moving!

We are moving!

Due to our sites being plagued by malware, we decided to pick up and move from our current host provider, Hostgator to a better one.

We ask all to email us at fbynesbynestranscriptions.com until further notice.

Email us if you:

• would like to work with us
• would like to order services

 SLIGHT CHANGES

Bynes Transcript and Typing Services have managed to be consistent with the type of products we've sold since 2012. We think it's time for a change...just a little change. We're working on adding solutions for small businesses' HR and personnel departments. 

This is all we're going to say for right now! LOL



Thank you!

Our apologies for the inconvenience! We'll post notification when our sites are up and running.

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Take Our Survey! Should Freelance Transcribers Be Paid for Submitting Poor Work? #TeamBynes

Let's talk 'quality' for a minute.

Hello Subscribers. Thank you for taking the time to follow our blog. We've been pretty busy in our back office and haven't been consistent with our writing. However, I just had to take the time to post this survey.

Some time ago, we blogged several reasons why some freelance transcribers should step away from this industry. Here is the post. I honestly cannot believe that there are people out there posing as a transcriber simply to earn money. What I mean by this is there are people scouring the internet agreeing to work as a transcriber; they get hired, they turn in poor work and expect to be paid for it.

If you've been keeping up with our blog, you know that we are serious about our work. We are serious about the quality of work we present to our clients. Some of our posts talk about work ethics, the importance of listening and doing research when transcribing.

Sadly, in the past year, we've worked with transcribers who've generated sloppy work, turned it in and expected to be equally paid. And when i say 'equally' paid, I mean they expected full compensation as if the work was accurate and acceptable. It is a belief in our company that there are several factors that can influence payment. Come on, why should your client pay you for badly presented work? It's a misrepresentation on your part and it's not fair to them.

Here are several factors that can influence payment.

1. The work is presented to us in poor condition i.e. the formatting is not what we requested. 
2. The file is filled with errors, which we may present to you to show proof of our corrections. 
3. Submitting half of the work you originally agreed to do. 
4. If you miss deadlines.

You are a service provider! And like walking into a store or in a restaurant and not getting what you ordered. Well, it's the same here with transcription. It's not all the time that you get what you pay for specifically after you test a transcriber and they pass. I think it's only fair to pay for what is received. If you do shoddy work, you should be paid a shoddy rate.

Bottom line, DON'T EXPECT BYNES TRANSCRIPT AND TYPING SERVICES TO PAY YOU FOR POOR AND SLOPPY WORK.  

Please take this time to take our survey! Tell us what you think. 

I've communicated with a few transcribers that do not agree with our logic. They actually believe that I should cut them a check for a file that I had to re-do simply because they transcribed it. They'll live. However, I will say this: TeamBynes will pay you. However, it will not be at the full rate or the agreed rate. And to back this up, we have a billing policy that we have all transcribers sign before starting to work with us.


More to come on this topic.

Post your comments below.

Several Real Reasons You Need To Step Away From Transcribing

Revelation and Fact: 

Transcription or the process of transcribing recorded data to a text file is not for everyone. It's totally not. If you do your research [online], you'll discover more sites than I care to count of people saying that 'Anybody can Transcribe'. And this is not so.

In this post, I will go over several reasons why you should leave transcription for people who know what they're doing.

Like Medical Transcription, general transcription IS typing BUT additional skills are required to produce successful results. I've worked with a lot of contractors who think that as long as they can type, the rest is history. And this is not so! They couldn't be further from the truth..

Let's list and discuss the reasons WHY some contractors transcribe in the first place and why this way of thinking can cost a transcription company loads of money!

1. [REASON] Financial [need money quickly] - This is the main reason of course! Internet rumors have it that if you're looking to make money FAST that the way to go is to apply to be a transcriber. It's also rumored that as long as you can type the work, you're good to go.
1. [CONSEQUENCE] - The downside of this rumor is that transcription companies seeking to hire contractors will hire inexperienced transcribers due to the heavy workload. And as a result may spend more money, time and energy fixing your disaster and possibly missing client deadlines.
2. [REASON] The work is easy [I've transcribed before] - This way of thinking can possibly lead a transcriber to over-estimate their skills. It's all a matter of how experienced you are, and what the last time you worked.
1. [CONSEQUENCE] - Transcription companies are blind-sided and at times desperately seeking 'skilled' and 'fast' workers only to realize the the person they hired do not know what they're doing. Like the consequence listed in the first reason, this move can potentially cost transcription companies loads of money, time and energy

Bynes Transcript and Typing Services initially started working with newbies in the very beginning. We believe that everybody need a start somewhere. But as time progressed and business picked up, we started realizing that inexperienced workers are not the way to go. Taking a step back and looking at the performance logs we keep, we came to the conclusion to start seeking more experienced contractors.

Here are some of the mistakes we see happening all of the time:

• Pronunciation
• Grammar
• Formatting
• Communication
• Honoring deadlines
• No listening skills
• No research skills

These are core skills needed to be a success in this industry. Getting these factors mastered is the key to landing long term work with a transcribing company. We highly recommend practicing, and taking classes to improve your skills.

Bynes Transcript and Typing Services specializes in general transcriptions for small businesses, marketers and the like.

TeamBynes group - Yammer [ask for an invite]

Staying Organized In A Transcription Company

Staying organized in your workplace organization is vital to maximize the success of your transcription company. It's not just during those busy times that you have to stay organized, but the quiet days are as important. That is why it is quite essential that you constantly work towards staying organized no matter what. To get started, you can try out these tactics that we have laid out for you to help you stay organized.

Tactics

1. Organizing your files make it easy to find them so you save time and effort and focus on the important things.

2. Have a To Do List that syncs with your mobile phone and use a strategy that makes it simple for you to cross off things.

3. Don't let your electronic devices or applications control you. Instead, make them work for you.

4. Simplify your life and take the necessary steps to unclutter your life and your lifestyle.

5. Use applications and software that can help you stay organized and stay on top.

Applications

If you are wondering what applications to use to stay organized, you can check these out and utilize them for your own.

1. Evernote can help you stay on top of office needs and live a more organized life as a working professional. You'll be able to put similar items together in one notebook making it easy for you to retrieve them.

2. Yammer acts like a social networking application that allows you to organize meetings and events, share them with your employees and keep track of their progress and performance. It allows you stay up to date with the happenings in the company and helps you delegate tasks in an orderly way.

3. Insightly is a great CRM tool that will help you manage your customer relationships and projects. This in turn, will make you become more organized and efficient.

4. Another tool that we recommend is Zendesk which is a lightweight help desk solution. Zendesk's job is to help you organize your knowledge base into categories making it easier for you to look for content that you need.

5. And who can forget Gmail? Gmail is outstanding when it comes to managing your email as it syncs with other Google apps that may be vital to the company. You can organize your emails into separate tabs so that you can get to your most prioritized emails without the other emails blocking your way.

With these tactics and tools, you'll be able to get started in staying organized with your transcription company. Staying organized is quite crucial to your business as this helps you progress and become more successful at what you do. 

You'll be able to focus on the most important things in your job and will help you increase your personal productivity skills. That means more work is done in less time.

What applications are you using to keep your business organized?

Verbatim Transcription Rules

When you receive a transcription job and you are requested to transcribe it verbatim, are you just going to type away with your knowledge about verbatim transcription? Or are going to search more about it to be able to deliver the perfect verbatim transcription? What about retrieving clarification from your client?

Here in this post, we'll share some of the rules that you can consider for a verbatim transcription. 

But first, let's have a look at what verbatim transcription is.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, verbatim means "In the exact words" or "word for word". Does this mean that we have to transcribe every word including false starts and the uhms and ahs in the file? 

Absolutely. 

Verbatim Transcription means typing out every sound and every word on an audio/video recording. You should convert the original source to text with every corresponding word and you must be skilled in doing so.

You should be able to listen attentively without ignoring the fillers and false starts. You must have a great attention to detail and the patience to clarify every word you hear in the recording. 

Aside from the obvious, here are some rules that you can follow with regards to Verbatim Transcription:

• Don't leave out the non-verbal communication

When transcribing, you may have the tendency to just transcribe the spoken word. However, when you are required to do a verbatim transcription, you must also consider the non-verbal sounds in the recording such as laughing, hand gestures, and pauses. Be sure to include those in your transcriptions.

• Note external sounds

The difference between the non-verbal communication and the external sounds is that the external sounds pertains to doors banging, phone ringing, or dog barking. 

There are some instances when clients and customers require that this should be included in the transcript. Especially for transcriptions needed for market research or qualitative research, they often want to know what's happening with the surroundings while someone is speaking. It is vital to have these sounds noted. It can be placed inside brackets and may or may not have time stamps in them.

• Capture every word (Don't paraphrase)

Since this is a verbatim transcription, you ought to transcribe it word for word even if it's not quite readable. For business transcriptions, you might not need to do this. However, if the transcription is for researchers and analysts, be sure not to paraphrase the statements and always transcribe the recording word for word. This is because the emotion is captured more when each word is transcribed. Depending on the purpose of the transcription, this will really have a big difference. So when you're asked to do a verbatim transcription, always type them word for word.

So whenever you are being asked to do a verbatim transcription, consider these three rules and you can never go wrong.
 

Meet Our New Bookkeeper - Bynes Transcript and Typing Services

Hello guys! I hope everyone is having a good day. Here at The Perfect Transcriptionist, we only want to give

you useful and insightful information that can help you further your career in the transcription arena or we give you a snippet of what it's like working in a transcription company like Bynes Transcript & Typing Services.

So for this post, we'd like to introduce to you our new bookkeeper Roxanie and what role she plays in our company. First, we'll be defining what a bookkeeper is to give you a clue on what she does and how she impacts the overall success of the company.

A financial bookkeeper's main role is to keep an official track of the company spending so when it comes to filing accounts there is an accurate trail of all the outgoings. In order to perform better at this job, one must be highly organized and also great with numbers. 

So there you have it. An overall description of what a bookkeeper is. But what does she usually do? In our company, Roxanie is responsible for maintaining our financial records which includes but not limited to accounts receivables, accounts payables, bank reconciliation, and tax preparation for the company's accountants. Generally she performs general accounting duties. She maintains complete sets of financial records, keep track of accounts, and verify accuracy of procedures used for recording financial transactions.

To be a bookkeeper, one needs to be well-organized, thorough and careful since they deal with large sums of money. And we sure are fortunate to have a bookkeeper like Roxanie who passes all these criteria.   

Say hello to Roxanie
She's over on Yammer

Transcription for Starters

For newbies who are just starting the Transcriptionist Career, transcribing can be a daunting task especially if you've been given an audio where you can barely hear what the speaker is saying and has a lot of noise around it. You'll end up getting frustrated without finishing the job. You might be confused as to what equipment you need to prepare or what software to use in order to transcribe effectively and efficiently. To have some clarity in transcribing, here are some snippets of what you can do to start transcribing away.

Transcription Software and Headphones

First and foremost, you need a transcription software and headphones that you can become comfortable with. The software must have all the functions and features necessary to transcribe seamlessly and that it must be user-friendly as well. There are many transcription software that you can choose from and here are just some that you can try out for yourself. You can weigh out their pros and cons to find the one according to your preferences.

Express Scribe - It is a free transcription tool that can both run on PC or Mac. It's one of the most popular transcription software out in the market so go ahead and give it a try.

InqScribe - With Inqscribe, you can caption and transcribe audios. It's very useful when it comes to transcribing and it quite easy to use. You will be able to work faster and more efficiently in using this tool. InqScribe comes with a price but you can, however, download a 30-day trial so you can try it out for yourself.

EureScribe - EureScribe is another software which can help you in transcribing audio files and supports a lot of audio and video formats. You are sure to face transcription challenges with ease using this powerful software.

With regards to the headphones, make sure that both channels are working and are enough for you to hear every word spoken from the audio.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Once you have selected your preferred transcription software and downloaded it, you will now need to set up keyboard shortcuts that you are most comfortable with. If the software that you are using is user-friendly, you will be able to find the settings on how to change this base on your preference. 

Audio Transcription

Now that you have set up your transcription software and keyboard shortcuts, all you need to do is upload the audio that needs transcribing and then start away.  

If you are transcribing an audio wherein the speaker speaks very fast, a lot of transcription software has a key to slow down the audio. This will make it easier for you to clarify what the speaker is saying. Then you can just return it to the normal speed by pressing another key when it's not hard to understand anymore. This is to save time in transcribing.

Proofreading

Now that you have finished transcribing the file, another important thing to do is to proofread your transcription and find any spelling, grammar, punctuation and comprehension mistakes in it. You must have a good command of the English Grammar, Spelling, and Reading Comprehension to make sure that the transcript is impeccable. And after that, you can then format the transcript based on your template to retain consistency.

Now this does not constitute all there is to know about Transcription. This is just the beginning and it will take a lot of practice and a lot of transcription jobs before you get a hang of it. Be sure to practice always and find ways to become better at transcribing.

Are you a newbie and would like to share your experience? Post it in the comments section below.

Proofreading and Transcribing Comes Hand In Hand

Working as a Transcriber

Working as a transcriber also requires you to proofread your transcription. It may not apply to all, but it's quite essential to proofread transcriptions as it enhances the quality of your work. Also, you get to avoid unnecessary grammatical errors, punctuations and typos just because you typed them by mistake in the first place. Mistakes like these can never be avoided when transcribing. That is why it is important to proofread after every transcription job. 

One of the main goals about transcription is to provide an accurate and lucid transcription to the client requesting for the transcript. Clients and customers who receive badly transcribed documents with typos and improper grammar would start to wonder if they have hired a professional transcriber. Being a professional transcriber takes time and effort. One cannot easily become a professional transcriber simply by knowing how to type and listen accordingly. It is a skill that is mastered with time and with conscious efforts to develop it. Proofreading is part of that skill.

Here are some guidelines to consider when proofreading a transcript:

• Always consider the clients'/customers' needs on his/her request to have a file transcribed. Clients have different needs and you must cater to them based on their instructions and how they want the outcome to look like. How they are going to use the transcript is also important to know so that you can customize based on their uses of it.

• Consistency. When proofreading, you should have consistency in mind so that your transcript can easily be understood. Double check the formatting, layout and style of your transcript to make sure that they are consistent all throughout the document.

• Completeness. Be sure to check that you have transcribed all the important sections of the file being transcribed and that you didn't miss anything. That's what constitutes completeness.

• Correctness. As you proofread the transcript you have just made, always check the correctness of the spelling, typography, layout, and grammar. This is where most transcribers get wrong as they transcribe the file away. Simple words can get their spelling scrambled up and it only takes a careful proofreading job to identify it. Make sure to consider the correctness of the whole document when proofreading.

In this ever-changing world where time is very valuable, people may overlook the little details just to accomplish a project, task, or job. Transcribers are no exception in this. Quality should not be compromised over quantity and if quality is not to be compromised, proofreading is as important as transcribing.

Do you proofread? Share your story in the comment section below

Join Our Team! Job Opportunities

This year is looking good and moving along pretty fast. It's already mid-January. The Bynes Company has jumped on board with various projects this year. See projections. In turn, we will be needing your help. As most of you know, our recruiting is done on Odesk. We suggest you create a profile, take the necessary tests/quizzes, upload your portfolios and list all of your job experiences accordingly. An incomplete profile will not yield possible results in your job search.

For contractors - working on Odesk gives you the opportunity to generate a healthy income by working with more than one client at a time.

• Odesk allows you to quiz yourself to see where you are with your skills

For Clients - working on Odesk provides an all in one Human Resource and Management platform that's reliable and safe. It allows clients to bring in their off line team as well as hire new team members directly from the site.

Bynes Transcript & Typing Services is constantly posting ads for assistance to handle projects of all types and sizes. Currently, we hired a web designer to re-design our website, which is going on right now.

Here are our departments

Accounting
Administration
Marketing
Billing
Customer Service
Account Support

Positions within these departments 

Transcribers
Proofreaders
Social Media Specialists
Marketing Phone reps
Accounting-Bookkeepers
Clerical Specialist
Writers/Bloggers

At any given time, and if you're looking, we will have an ad posted for one of the mentioned positions. The opportunity is there.

Is General Transcription a Career Move for You?

Let's get this New Year started!

Hooray! You've made it past the proverbial 'end of the world' scare featured on December 21 2012 and a few hours ago, wished and prayed a new year in. Like we said, you made it.  Now what? January 1st is here already knocking on the door of tomorrow. Time to start thinking goals, objectives and career.

Why we created this blog

Goals, dreams, minor pursuits, success, stability. Whatever your aspirations are, we want you to know that we know exactly what you're thinking and your thoughts are probably up in the air about what you want to do. Okay, so our industry is transcribing and if you've subscribed to this blog, chances are, transcribing is your industry too.

This blog was designed with you in mind, the freelancing transcriptionist, the freelance worker who transcribes for a living. If you're just starting out, you'll soon realize that this industry can be a scary place simply because there is a tremendous amount of competition. There are several niches to choose from and loads of do's and don'ts to follow. If you've been in the business for a while, then you know exactly what I am talking about. New or not, we want you to take a look around here, feel comfortable and grab all of the information we have to share with you.


Why we consider our freelancers to be a part of our team

Freelancers are considered team members with Bynes Transcript & Typing Services because they are just that  - a team. I have to tell you most of the time, if it wasn't for our team, we'd still be back there purchasing 'liquid' white out from Office Depot to correct type writer errors! Funny, huh? Our members are diligent in providing the best work on the planet - yes, the planet! They're dedicated, they communicate, they improvise if need to. These are traits worth fighting for when you're working with people.

How are we able to pick such pristine workers?

Passion for what you love to do

It's all a part of our interview process. No, we do not grill our candidates. We simply ask them a series of questions about themselves, past experiences working online and to give a detailed description of the most challenging project they've worked on.  We do this to be able to learn more about each person that will be potentially working with us. I observe how they answer just as well as what their responses are. Believe it or not, you can learn great things about people this way. In my organization, I look for compassionate, patient, well-mannered, leader-ship type candidates to become a part of our team.

More to come

There is more information to share with you, which will be distributed on a weekly basis. Please feel free to comment in the boxes below in each post.

Take our poll!
Take a minute and take our poll, thanks.
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Senior team member and captain,
Frann

Three Awesome Advantages of Working with Experienced Contractors

Experienced transcriptionists earn more

As there people who gamble for mediocre companies or contractors to handle their work, there are also prudent ones who entrust their volumes of tasks be acted upon by experienced contractors. Which of them will surely get the better output? The answer lies on experience. Experience comes not in quick. It is seasoned by time, dedication and innovation. Contractors driven by mediocrity are usually motivated by profit to the extent of sacrificing output quality, customer satisfaction and warranty. But experienced contractors know very well what customers or clients want. They want the great value for their hard earned money, they want their work be done and delivered on the agreed time, and lastly, they want quality work. Anchoring on these three wants customers view as essentials, it is likewise on these three that this article will be dealing as the three advantages of working with experienced contractors.

Great value for your money

The risk of hiring or working with experienced contractors is minimal if not at zero level. It is a given fact that experienced contractors are asking higher rates for their services than others but the end result will definitely result to customer’s satisfaction. In this way, customers get the great value for the money they spent. Given the vast experience they gained in the business, contractors mean what they specified in the agreement or contract. Normally, they did not play “hocus focus” deal in terms of fees as compared to some who practice collecting some hidden fees after completing the tasks which left customers caught off handed. Experienced contractors’ asking price may be high but worth taking when viewed in the eyes of a potential client.

Timely

Working with experienced contractors eats minimal time. When the agreement is deemed final between you and the contractor, the least you can do is wait for the agreed time of delivery. This is true to experienced contractors doing transcription services. They are primarily the ones who will give updates to the customers regarding the tasks they are working on and the other way around. They regard customers’ time very important and they want them not to be distracted from their usual work. Experienced contractors know well the craft as they are in the business for years.

Quality work

When the final work is done, customers can expect great relief as the output work is guaranteed to be of high quality. Experienced contractors employed seasoned employees. The pool of workers doing the job is well trained and fully acquainted with the nature of the work. Quality comes when the ones working on the specific job have the passion, dedication and skill or talent to perform the given task. There is simply no quality to the work if the motivation is purely based on economic gains, done in haste and clouded with malicious intent. Quality work makes a lot of sense as to the relatively high amount paid. Working with experienced contractors is justified by the quality of work rendered to the customer’s delight and satisfaction accompanied by warranty and good rapport. 

Can you think of some advantages of working with experienced contractors?  Leave your answers in the comment box.

    

Goals in 2013 for Freelancers

Company's goals for this blog

We at Bynes Transcript & Typing Services have a lot of wonderful ideas and ventures in store for this blog and the members of this blog. One of our main goals and the main reason why this blog was created in the first place, is to keep freelancers informed and encouraged. This will be the hub for news pertaining to the transcription industry.

Here are some other goals

• Advertising opening projects/jobs
• Setting up a mailing list for e-courses
• Creating a database for clients requesting service
• Opening spots for guest posting

Send an email to us if you have ideas you feel will help this blog. Teammembers@bynestranscriptions.

Time to Wake up

 Yes, it's time to wake up and get the new year 2013 started. If you're serious about being a transcriptionist [or transcriber], then you've come to the right place.

Bynes Transcript & Typing Services
BynesTranscriptions.com