1. Will your translation company provide proofreading free of charge or will quality control be performed in an alternate fashion?

2. How does your translation/localization firm count the volume of the source text to be translated? This could be shown in terms of number of words, number of pages, or number of sentences?

3. Are your translation team members exclusively residing in-house i.e, in the office or are they also consisting of outsourced translators or a combination of both?

4. How long have your translators been translating, on average and what are your credentials, and/or qualifications. Some translation agencies are members of what is known as the ATA or American Translation Association, which oversees professional translators.

5. Can you offer my organization any kind of past references of medium/large translation projects which your firm has successfully undertaken relating to my area of need?

6. Are your translators not just qualified to translate the language itself, but the specific subject matter i.e., engineering, IT, literature, along with all possible nuances to effectively render the original meaning of the source dialogue?

7. What kind of discount would you be willing to offer me as a first time client and potential ongoing customer? Don't be afraid to try and negotiate as translation companies are known for cutting their rates to satisfy their potential clients.