B. Krultz & Associates
Word processing, general transcription, medical transcription
NOTE: At this time we are only seeking subcontractors within a 40 mile radius of Greenwood, Wisconsin.
We do not "hire" individuals; we do not have "employees." We use the services of American subcontractors.
Subcontractors are selected based on their ability to fulfill our needs and our customers' needs. Because we work with subcontractors only, a resume is not a requirement; however, the more we know about you and your capabilities (including the type of software and hardware you have), the easier it is for us to select a subcontractor who meets our needs. We cannot use your services if we do not know the types of digital audio formats you can work with.
Submit optional resumes via e-mail (we will not open file attachments).
Specify the types of transcription equipment and software you have (word processors and digital audio transcription file formats).
We need to know your e-mail file size limitations because we do send digital audio files via e-mail file attachment to subcontractors.
State your rates (hourly, line, per page, etc.) and payment terms.
We need to know your availability. It is okay if you have an irregular schedule.
General information for subcontractors:
We do a lot of interview transcription and some focus groups. Audio is a mix of tapes and digital audio formats. The most popular digital audio formats seem to be .wma, .wav, and mp3.
We will attempt to convert huge audio file formats into smaller file formats and improve audio quality and/or volume before submitting to you. If you find the audio file needs further adjustment, let me know.
The majority of our customers use Microsoft Word, the full-feature version that comes with Microsoft Office.
Some customers load their audio files to our file storage site, which is password protected. Each subcontractor will receive a user ID and password to gain access to a particular customer's work. I will provide you with a link to the demo so you can practice first although it is easy to use.
All of our customers have a very tight turnaround time, particularly medical transcription customers. In some cases, particularly with interviews, we may split the digital recording among transcriptionists so we can meet the customer's deadline.
When possible, I will give you templates provided by the customer. I may also be able to provide word lists in some cases.
All documents must be returned to me. You may not submit documents to clients or contact customers for any reason. You may not submit invoices to customers; all invoices are delivered to B. Krultz & Associates. If there are any problems with a customer's source materials, contact Barb as soon as possible.
Do not contact anyone mentioned in audio files or transcripts. I am not allowed to contact anyone except the customer either.
You must proof all documents, however, a second proofreading against the original recording will be done here.
All work is considered confidential.
Please contact Barb if you have any problems including equipment problems, software problems, word processor problems, document set-up problems, changes in your availability, etc.
If you think you may be running behind or feel you won't make the deadline, please let Barb know as soon as possible so we can split whatever work is remaining between you and another subcontractor. This is common and will not be held against you.
If you find that a recording quality is very bad and it may not be worth transcribing or would be prohibitively costly for the customer, contact Barb.
Some customers request that we, and any subcontractor who will work on the project, sign a confidentiality agreement prior to supplying us with the work.
We use InstantText Pro to calculate line counts. We also keep productivity statistics for all work performed by subcontractors.
Your invoices must include the exact audio file name, document file name, date submitted to Barb, the recording time for a digital audio file in minutes (obtained from the itself), time it took to complete project (minutes), line rate or rate per minute. Barb will use your data to complete project information for your productivity statistics, to calculate average customer page costs, and to watch for problem customers or projects. This information is also used to pay you and to bill the customer.
Helpful software and equipment:
Submit subcontractor information to:
Barb Krultz
B. Krultz & Associates
N10334 Sidney Avenue
Greenwood, WI 54437
e-mail: pkbk@badger.tds.net
Information on InstantText Pro
We use InstantText Pro software to calculate line counts for customers and subcontractor line count verification. This software program counts all keystrokes including spaces, bold, indent, insertion of symbols, etc. The program is set to count headers and footers only once for an entire document (because you type it only once in the header/footer feature). The font size does not matter. For most customers, a line consists of 65 characters or keystrokes. If there is a short line, for example, a date at the top of correspondence, it will take the number of characters in that line and add it to the next line, and the next, and the next, and so on if necessary until it comes up with 65 characters.
We don't pay for boilerplate text, but do pay for the keystrokes to insert that boilerplate text. At this time, we have only one customer who uses a large enough chunk of boilerplate text (at the very end of his correspondence) where we deduct that amount from his bill. This is a separate issue from macro or shortcut insertion of words or phrases