With the world slowly but surely moving towards digitalization, the need for transcription is increasing tenfold. And because of that very reason transcription is growing into an industry of its own.

Today, every sector and field is in dire need of transcription. And that is why knowing your budget is so important before outsourcing a transcription company.

One of the reasons you may want to outsource transcription work is to get high-quality transcripts at affordable rates.

However, how can you ensure that you’ll get a good deal and high-quality transcripts from a transcription service provider?

In this blog, we will be telling you all that you need to know about ways you can get good-quality transcripts under a budget.

1. Pick your Preferred Kind of Transcription

Many people might not be aware of this but transcription has many kinds, some need to be done by professional transcribers and others don’t. You must know which type of transcription you need or you might add up paying for the extra details that aren’t even required for your transcripts.

There are four main types of transcripts offered by most transcription services companies:

Clean Verbatim

Clean verbatim is also known as intelligent verbatim transcription. In this kind of transcript, all details in the audio file are captured apart from fillers, stutters, and non-verbal communication. The purpose of removing some of those details is to make the transcript easy to read and understand.

So if you need an error-free and ready-to-read transcript then clean verbatim is what you should opt for. This transcript is best for business recordings.

Edited Verbatim

The type of transcription that captures everything in an audio file but also adds grammar and tenses to make the document easier to understand is called edited verbatim. The result is a readable and accurate transcript.

Edited verbatim transcripts are mainly used for medical and academic purposes. So if you have a lecture, you need notes for or video records of a patient’s medical sessions to transcribe, edited verbatim is the best option for you.

Full Verbatim

The type of transcription that capture every minute and seemingly unimportant detail in an audio file or voice recording and converts it word-for-word into text is called full verbatim transcription. The transcript includes filler words, gestations, stutters, and even external noises. The purpose of this transcript is to give the full picture to the reader of what was happening at the time of recording.

Full verbatim is often preferred for legal and journalist transcripts that require a high level of detail. This kind of transcription requires to be done by professionals and thus, verbatim transcripts are the most expensive among the four kinds of transcription.

2. Detailed Notes Transcription

Detailed notes transcription is the best if you are on a budget and need your transcript fast. The transcript captures on-topic conversation and excludes off-topic speech. The details provided in this transcript are concise and brief. Since the transcript is easier to produce, it is also cheaper compared to the other three transcripts.

Be flexible in turnarounds

One of the key factors that the transcription cost depends on is the turnaround time. If you need your transcription to be done faster and are in a hurry; needing rush transcription. Then transcription service providers will charge you more. A slow transcription turnaround time will see you paying less for a quality transcript. If you are not in a hurry, give the transcription services company more time to work on your audio.

For your transcripts to not be rushed, you should plan ahead of time and give your transcription company all the time to work on your transcript.

The fewer extras, the better

Extras are one of those things that work to increase the cost of your transcript. Having more extras included will cost you more money. Once you determine the type of transcript you need, you need to make a smart choice about the extras to be included.

The extras may include:

– Speaker names

Identifying speaker names and speaker names to be added to each dialogue being spoken by the speaker

– Timestamps

Timestamps are included in the transcriptions to indicate when the adjacent text was spoken in the audio. It allows the readers to identify which part of the audio corresponds to which section.

-Tone annotations

Annotation is the process of labeling relevant words, phrases, sentences, or sections with codes. These codes help identify important qualitative data types and patterns.

-Pauses and laughter

Depending on the transcription service company you choose, you may have to pay for extras. However, some providers include them in the initial price.

If you don’t need all the extras, do not include them, since you’ll end up paying more.

On the other hand, if you require all the extras, you are better off looking for a service provider that includes them in the base price.

3. Factors that Can Increase Your Fees

Some audio files are complex and thus, need more time to be transcribed. For the same reason, they will cost you more too.

Consider the following to know whether more time will be required to transcribe your audio: