OTM – Features

The software contains integrated modules for quality assurance, online communication and administration of all processes. OTM is user-friendly and is provided as Software as a Service (SaaS), meaning that it is available 24/7 from any internet browser.

General Features

• No software installation required; 24/7 availability anywhere, using browser-based access
• Intuitive, process-oriented navigation
• Online help / Online user manual / How-to videos for easy learning
• Multi-lingual – all languages are possible for the user interface and project-related texts (UTF8 coded)
• Integrated quality assurance modules
• Can be individualized (quotes, invoices, forms, standard text blocks)
• Multiple-site support (managing several locations jointly or separately)

Process Control and Workflow Management

• Automated project-related documentation of all processes
• Personalized task board
• Cost estimations, quotation generation
• Price templates – customers / projects
• Wizard for freelancer job postings
• Pre-selection of translators based on availability, language pair, fields of expertise, quality requirements, ranking/job history, …
• Project-related email communications, including documentation (customers, translators, project managers, administrators, accountants, …)
• Email templates, with automatic messaging where required (job offers, deadline reminders, payment advices, etc.)
• Incoming emails containing a project number will be sorted automatically to the relevant project.
• Projects can be delegated to another project manager (in case of absence due to vacation, sickness, termination of employment, etc.)
• Automatic generation of quotes and invoices (including partial invoices) for customers, and of credit notes for freelancers; PDF format – ready to print, send, download
• Process-oriented document control (including archiving)
• Automatic document version control
• Clickable telephone numbers ("callto:" links for VoIP clients)
• Convenient search functions (projects, customers, translators – multiple criteria)
• Customized bookmarks
• Newsletter tool for distribution of internal news within the agency front end
• Comprehensive statistics (revenues, costs, quality control, charts, …)

Online Interfaces

Front ends (SSL-connection)

• Online customer request form Sample
• Web-based front ends for project managers, administrators, accounting, management reporting
• Web-based freelancer front end: Job documentation, document upload/download, email client, credit notes, W9 forms, archiving...
• Web-based customer front end: Project tracking and documentation, file upload/download, email client, quotes, invoices, archiving
• Online freelancer application form Sample

Quality Assurance Modules

• Formal quality assessment
• Linguistic quality assessment
• Recording and evaluation of quality indicators
• Automatic evaluation of performance indicators and characteristics for ranking freelancers when selecting resources for a job (differentiated by field of expertise and language pair)
• Complaints management and documentation

Business Administration, Bookkeeping,
Risk Management and Controlling

• Customer and resources management
• Rights-based routing of tickets for administrative tasks
• Automatic sequential numbering of projects, invoices, and credit notes (customizable)
• Accounting functions including payments, monitoring, reminders (dunning) and management reporting
• Invoicing of customers and freelancers in all currencies, with currency calculations based on the current exchange rates of the European Central Bank (incl. transaction log)
• Automatic blocking of new quotes for customers with overdue payments (customizable)
• Credit limits for customers (customizable by country, registered office and company name)
• Blacklist function (for customers and freelancers)
• Comprehensive statistics (revenues, costs, cash flow, quality control, charts, …)
• Cash flow diagram to visualize average payment performance

CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

• Administration of customer feedback
• Online customer satisfaction scale and testimonials
• Email information tool: personalized emails (e.g. newsletters) to selected customers and freelancers in multiple languages
• Generation and management of discount codes

Administration

Online Back end (SSL-connection)

• Setup Wizard
• Differentiated authorization management for various tasks/roles (users/admins)
• Administration of company and contact data
• Administration of underlying business data (VAT, cost estimation assumptions, etc.)
• Administration of internal employees and agency resources (freelancers)
• Editors for text blocks, general terms and conditions, etc. - all languages are possible

Upcoming Modules and Features

• Import and application of CAT analyses in cost estimation and quote generation
• Modules for follow-ups to quotation and after-sales functions
• Business assessments based on income and expenditures

OTM is mature, tried-and-true software for the language services industry – an expert system that is nevertheless easy to use, with all of the features that language service providers and end customers prefer.