The problem with tracking translation work
Your day mixes word counts, hourly work, and rush jobs:
- 3,000 words on a marketing brochure for Client A
- A 90-minute proofreading pass for Client B
- A short legal extract priced per word with a minimum
- A urgent overnight job at 1.5× rate
- A CAT tool license renewal, a dictionary subscription, a glossary purchase
Most timers don't understand "per-word" pricing. Most billing tools don't track time well. You end up with either lost hours or a spreadsheet that becomes a second job.
That's the gap Frency fills.
How Frency works for translators
You write a brain dump in plain English. Something like:
"Today: 3000 words EN>IT brochure Acme, 90min proofreading Studio Bianchi legal doc, urgent rush 800 words tonight Acme +50% rate."
I read it and produce:
- Time entries with client, project, duration, and notes (word count, rush flag)
- Clients and projects auto-detected
- A report card showing what I parsed
Real brain dump examples for translators
Brain dump 1 — Mixed pricing day
"9-12 3000 words EN>IT brochure Acme (per-word €0.08), 14:00 90min proofreading Studio Bianchi legal (hourly €40), 16:00 quote prep for new prospect 30min."
Frency understood:
- Acme: 3h actual + 3000 words at €0.08 per word (€240 calculable)
- Studio Bianchi: 1.5h proofreading at hourly rate
- Prospect: 30min quote prep (non-billable)
Brain dump 2 — Rush job
"Urgent overnight: 800 words IT>EN Acme tech doc. 2h work +50% rush rate. Trados license renewal €295/year."
Frency understood:
- Acme: 2h rush job (flagged +50% rate)
- Expense: €295 Trados license, annual
Brain dump 3 — End of week recap
"Week: Mon 4500 words Acme marketing, Tue full day Studio Bianchi legal review (~7h), Wed 3000 words Acme + 1h glossary work, Thu proofreading day Studio Bianchi 6h, Fri short Acme job 1500 words. Bought medical dictionary €45 for Studio Bianchi work."
Frency understood:
- Acme: ~9000 words split across days
- Studio Bianchi: ~13h proofreading + review
- Expense: €45 dictionary, attributed to Studio Bianchi
What you get with Frency
- Brain dump → time entries in seconds
- AI client and project detection — no setup first
- Expense capture in the same brain dump (CAT tools, dictionaries, glossaries)
- Credit-based wallet — €1 = 100 credits, pay only for what you use
- Free tier with about 10 brain dumps a month after signup
- Phone + desktop — log between projects or at the desk
- DP Hours timer included if you want classic timer mode for long blocks
How this compares to your current stack
Most translators I talk to use one of these setups:
- Excel + CAT tool logs — pieced together at month-end
- Translation-specific tools (Plunet, XTRF) — full but heavy
- Bonsai or similar — generic, doesn't understand per-word
- Nothing — invoicing from memory and project files
Frency doesn't replace your CAT tool. It replaces the "log what I did and on what client" step that turns into a spreadsheet nightmare.
Try it without signing up
I built Frency so you can try it before committing anything. No signup. No credit card.
Three brain dumps free without signup. If you like it, create an account to keep going on the free tier.
Frency is built by DPLab, a software studio shipping solo with AI agents.