FAQs


Here are the transcription questions I hear most often.

Question? Just call. I’m friendly – no pressure. 262-250-9575, Email.

Confidentiality
HIPAA
Guarantee
Accuracy
Deadlines
Rush
Fair
Quick Quote
National Standards
Any Audio
Formatting
Specifications
Editing
Spelling
Back Up
References

If you don’t see an answer to your question here, please don’t hesitate to Contact!.  Phone, email, post office  – whatever suits you. No pressure.

I love transcribing and helping authors, researchers, editors, and family historians.


Do you guarantee your transcriptions?

Yes.  If the voice is audible and the recording is good, each and every word should appear in your transcript. Our Guarantee:  If you believe we failed this test, I will sit down ASAP and redo your transcript – no charge. 

I guarantee my work to be accurate, to the best of my ability. It’s the pride I take in my handiwork.

No guessing! which can mislead the reader or misrepresent the speaker.

So what I do when I stumble on the voice? I flag the problem so you see it, like: [inaudible], [indiscernible] or [phonetic], [sounds like].

A person present at the recording may well remember what was said. My work represents the voice and flags words I do not understand.

If you want transcripts that are ready for your project, Contact! me today for generous, no pressure comments.


Can you guarantee confidentiality? Do you understand HIPAA rules?

Of course I do; it’s the very nature of secretarial skills, to keep secrets. Confidential is essential to this work.

I take this matter of confidentiality seriously, as much so as lawyers, bankers, medical clinics.

I’ve worked on many highly sensitive transcription projects, so I understand the need for strict professionalism and confidentiality. I, Lyn Woloszyk, will happily sign your confidentiality agreement in advance.

My work ethic regarding transcription confidentiality is an ethical commitment no different from that of a journalist or an attorney. Written agreement or not, I take confidentiality seriously when handling all personal and professional information, documents, and recordings. You can trust iTranscribe.NET

HIPAA? Yes! I understand the law and responsibility of working with information from health care clients. Indeed, I have subscribed to the The National Institutes of Health principles for Extramural Research. See Certificate where you can review the credits for completing the NIH-Web training course Protecting Human Research Participants.

I honor, implement, subscribe and support The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability of Act that governs the handling of all information related to patient care. And deliver transcripts governed by HIPAA by way of a secure, encrypted server.

The rules governing HIPAA are found at:  https://privacyruleandresearch.nih.gov/faq.asp

Also: Click to view Certification of iTranscribe.NET

If you want your transcripts kept private, Contact! me and ask how I feel about confidentiality.


Can I trust you to commit to a deadline?

Yes, I will commit to your deadline. If I cannot manage your deadline, I will turn down the work on the spot, allowing you to turn to an alternative—simple as that. Call early to ensure our availability!

In the event of illness, equipment failure, Hurricane Dorian, Tornado Tweet, or worse, we’ll do whatever we can to meet your deadline. We are a team, so we’ve got each other’s backs—and yours, too.

If you want your transcripts delivered on time and ready to go to work, Contact! me.


Are iTranscribe audio transcription services expensive?

Our transcription fees are competitive. That said, we are experienced voice-to-text transcription professionals. We’ve been in the transcription business for over 25 years, so you get added value: We offer the most accurate transcription services within a reasonable turnaround time. Our transcriptions are on time, done right, and backed up with our 100% accuracy guarantee. [See Guarantee – above]

We do not use conversion software, because we believe that the hype about “98% accuracy” simply isn’t precise enough for your transcription project. Your transcriber is a native, English-speaking human being, savvy to the many accents and nuances of the English language.

Yes, consider cost. But remember, you get what you pay for. An inexpensive transcript isn’t necessarily a bargain. A transcription document riddled with errors isn’t going to save you time or money in the long-run—especially if you have to check every word or repair every sentence. iTranscribe does the job on time and correct the first time, and all at a reasonable price.

If you want transcripts that are affordable and ready for your project, Contact! me today for generous, no pressure comments.


What kinds of audio media do you accept from the client?

All of them.

To name a few that we handle routinely: .WAV, .MP3, .MP4, .DSS, .WMA, .WMV, .MOV are appearing on CDs and Podcasts. Also we transcribe audio files from Email, such as .EML. .EMLs that are created in conference calls. Kindly provide the specs from the service that supports your call, and we will transcribe the audio from the conference call.

Over the years we have met every innovation as a welcome challenge; we have not failed. Some of the challenges have come from surprising sources.

LAW. Audio/video recorders in police interrogation centers allow users to build a police file around evidence, witnesses, police reports. Most likely these innovations will continue to produce a a variety of audio/video players at work in police interrogation centers. We have transcribed dozens of such audios over the years.

We have never failed when asked to work with a new audio format.

We can do it.


Can iTranscribe do rush jobs?

Oh, dear! Please plan ahead. But if you do get that call at 4:45 pm, chance a call to me. I will try my best to be the hero.

Yes, of course. Many loyal customers found me in a crunch. I understand. I enjoy challenges.

If you are in need of fast transcription services, just call. If I’m available to take your project, we’ll get it done fast, honestly, and with just as much attention to detail as any other transcription project. Please understand there may be an additional rush fee, especially if you require evening or weekend work.

The best part? You get an immediate, accurate price estimate, before we even begin—so you know exactly what you’ll be paying and when we’ll be finished.

Whatever the deadline my commitment to a transcript is a commitment to finish on time. If I cannot, I will tell you quickly so you can call around. Whenever possible, please call and get on my calendar.

Think well of us, and early—and you’ll like our work. If you give me a Rush Call, I will give you a quick quote. I will promise to meet your deadline (or turn down the job).

If you want transcripts that are on time, Contact! me for no nonsense delivery requirements.


How do you ensure a fair rate for my transcription project?

At iTranscribe, we adhere to national standards to ethically calculate the time it should take to complete a transcription job. These standards were developed with the cooperation of hundreds of transcribers all across the nation. The standards protect your costs while providing us with a management tool to measure our performance.

No tricks! We want you to return.

Thus, you are never billed for coffee breaks, computer downtime, walk-ins or telephone interruptions, or even slow typing. We bill you only for recorded time of your audio, backed with our years of industry expertise.

If you want transcripts that are affordable, Contact! me today for a quote, and your questions.


I need a quick quote for my transcription project. Help!

Need a quick quote? No problem! Just call or email the iTranscribe team—we’re here to help.

Can you please send me a Rate Sheet?

If you’re looking for a transcription project rate sheet, you won’t find it here. Please give us a call so we can take all of your particular audio-to-transcript needs into account (including deadlines, accents, time codes, patient protections, mandates from your IRB and more).

We offer a quick consultation and quote, with no obligation and no personal information required.

If you need a quote fast, use the phone. I will quote my work on the spot in one short phone call. Contact! me (262-250-9575 or lyn@itranscribe.net) today for generous, no pressure comments.


I heard voice-to-text software isn’t very accurate. How to you ensure an accurate transcription?

I am Mid-West born, several years of grad school in Washington, DC, a native English-speaking American. I am accustomed to the many American English accents and many worldwide English dialects and accents as well. Our team has a keen ear for many English accents and dialects, including: African American, Hispanic, Southern, East Coast, Chinese-American, and more.

While individual, trained voice-to-text software is improving all the time, there is simply NO tool that can convert voice to text as well as the human ears, eyes, hands, and listening skills. Human ears do a better job. Our experience, track record, and guaranteed work set national standards for transcripts.

The accuracy of your transcription is important to us. If you want transcripts that are ready to go to work, Contact! me today for an explanation how I work on a transcript.


My transcription project requires certain specifications. Can you adjust to meet our specs?

Absolutely.

Quality transcription will clearly report what was said and what was recorded. Sometimes our clients require we attend to certain transcription details or formats. We do our very best to accommodate your specific transcription needs, and at no extra charge, whenever possible.

For example, there is no extra charge for most modifications to the format of a Word document. However, there may be a small extra cost for including filler words and stuttering, such as: “you know,” “um,” “well,” “you know what I’m saying,” and others.

Contact! me today to discuss your specific transcription needs. I have years of experience to back up my pledge.


Do you edit?

Sometimes, but editing is different from transcribing; we may recommend other professionals for editing. Editing and grammar clean-up is available here, but we quote editing as a separate project. Our policy is fidelity to the voice, so our goal is to provide you an accurate rendition of the voices in your transcription project.

That done, I will deliver the transcript and then the edited transcript as separate jobs.

That being said, we do honor requests for your preference for including or excluding ‘filler’ words such as “um,” “ya know,” “like,” “hear what I’m saying?”

If you want transcripts and/or editing, I’m your staff. Contact! me today with your requirements.


My transcription contains proper names and/or requires knowledge of difficult words. How do you ensure accurate voice-to-text transcription?

The fool-proof solution is simple.

Send a list of proper names for best results. If I don’t understand a word or name, I put a note in the transcript.

If I can find the word (consulting a book or using the Internet), we add it to the best of our ability, but we never guess. If we’re not sure, we always leave a note. If we can spell the word phonetically we do so, but we add a note, such as: [sounds like] or [phonetic]. If we cannot spell the word phonetically due to recording quality, noise interference, or lack of voice volume, we type [inaudible] or [indiscernible] in place of the word. We add [sic] to note misspoken words.

No guessing! Guessing can misrepresent the speaker and, thereby, mislead the reader.

So what I do when I stumble on the voice? I flag the problem so you see it quickly, e.g., [inaudible], [indiscernible] or [phonetic], [sounds like].

If you need transcripts that are ready for your project, Contact! me today for generous, no pressure comments.


How do you deliver your transcriptions? What formats do you offer?

A clearly annotated Word document is my format of choice. Normal delivery is a Word file attached to an email, or a confidential upload to my encrypted, secure File Transfer Server.

Your choice: WORD, PDF, or pure text, no formatting. Or all three, no extra charge.

Legal documents are always certified, notarized and delivered printed and bound – ready for court. Need multiple copies? Just say.

If you require other formatting specifics, please contact me to see if my transcription service is right for you. If you want transcripts that are ready for your project, Contact! me today. I want to be your champion.


Will you perform backups and hold my transcription documents long-term?

After we deliver your transcribed text of your audio, we securely archive your files, your Word document transcripts and your sound files, for an indefinite period. While we do not guarantee (and do not charge for) long-term storage, chances are excellent that we will still have your files, should you call us and ask for them back, for whatever reason.

Our policy is that these files are your data, and there is no charge to retrieve and deliver your files to you via the Internet. Additionally, at your request, we will immediately destroy our copies of your files.

If you want transcripts that are ready for your project, Contact! me today for generous, no pressure comments.


Can you provide references and testimonials?

Of course! Please check our Clients’ pages – Creative, Law, Media, Academic – for sure, read what our Happy Clients report.

To become a satisfied client of iTranscribe, let’s talk. I’m personal, friendly and grown-up enough to feel confident in my work. Feel free to Contact! me today for generous, no pressure comments.