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I also charge whatever the line count totals. How are you--sm

Posted By: Debra on 2005-08-29
In Reply to: Hope I'm asking in right forum. sm - Anon

supposed to keep track of what she changes and what is a straight normal? It still takes you time and Keystrokes to input the macro.


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You need to watch your line count. I was working for them and got reports that had line count of 0
You need to watch your line count. I was working for them and got reports that had line count of 0 in them. They did not pay for templates, they would deduct the template even if it was not used and deleted. I notified them and said they could not change it.

So I asked to be put on another account and they refused. I quit.

I was also promised they would have an incentive plan going into place if you type a certain # of lines. Two years went by and nothing.

I was really disappointed in OSI.

They also offered to pay half on joint AAMT, which they failed to do.

I am glad I am no longer there.
I'd still charge by line, just charge a lower
rate, like maybe 8 cpl.  Do you have to pickup and deliver work?    You could also setup a one-month contract until you see how it goes and then you can figure out the best way to charge and go from there.  You could also charge a flat rate per page and keep it fairly low.  
Take the character count divded by 65 and that will give you your line count.
x
Curious, do most IC's usually charge by the gross line or 65 character line?
Thank you~
New England, 16.50/hr, 8 cents a line after minimum line count..
full benefits available with general contribution by the hospital before you start paying for them, retirement, 403b, all benefits, and working at home as an employee, BUT, you have to live local to the hospital.
PS on line charge
One thing to remember is that if they add those other six facilities you will need help and with only charging 8 cpl you won't be able to pay someone much to help and so your quality of help might not be that great.  Also I count my headers in my gross line. I do a lot of 9 to 12 page consults and add on 4 to 5 spaces depending on the length of the header per page to the line count.  And my accounts know that my line count is based on Courrier 12 and NOT the font that they chose to use.  I am upfront about that.  Change back to it when I do my line count.  Again, it is a starting point and good luck.  If you need help or have questions either E-mail me or post on here again.  Patti
how much to charge per line
I have the opportunity to transcribe insurance reports.  I would be subcontracting.  Any idea how much to charge per line?  Is WordPerfect the best program?  I live in the Southeastern US.  Any other info greatly appreciated.  Thank you in advance.
Charge by line

Hi Laurie,


The last time I had an account for myself, and not through an MTSO, I charged 14 cents a line.  That was as recently as December.  I did not print the reports out though!  I also did the pick up and drop off but since it was extremely close to the hubby, he did that for me   So I'm guessing since you are doing all that extra work, 16 cents a line?


Good luck!


charge per line
I do 11.5 to 12 cpl but gross lines.  My accounts have been with me many years -- some 18+, and so I know them inside and out.   For any new accounts that might come along I would start them at 12.5 cpl.  I do pick up and deliver, provide sticky paper, envelopes all in the price.  Reruns also.  But again, my accounts have been with me  a lonnnnnnnnnnng time and I can do 500 to 600 lines per hour and they pay on time without questions asked about my lines or anything.  In fact have stopped giving them daily line counts, they only want totals now.  So we trust each other.  But start around 12.5 or so and go from there.    Patti
I charge per line.

I do the clinic notes for a clinic in our area for free since they are a ministry/outreach program. I cannot take a charitable deduction at the end of the year for this. It's considered volunteer work and is not tax-deductible.


and how much do you charge a line?
are you willing to say? most people wont which is weird since most of you on here are anonymous.

I never thought to factor those costs into my line count, especially after i was just underbid for 2 cents less than I already charge.
Charge per line

I thought I posted this successfully earlier but I don't see it.


What is a fair charge per line. I currently am charging my client 12 cpl but am thinking that is low. Also, how many characters per line are you using?


Thank you


Lynn


 


Charge per line
Thank you for the information. May I ask what state you are working in. These will be office notes, pretty basic stuff.
Why don't we (MTs) charge by the gross line?
-
I, too, charge by the gross line (sm)
I used to charge 14 cents a gross line and delivered and picked up every day, printed reports, provided a list of each report transcribed, and reprinted lost reports, all at no extra charge. Only one of my clients has ever been a real stickler for 24-hour TAT, so I'm lucky in that regard. When things get too busy, I do the best I can. Then I went to 12 cents a gross line as I could no longer pick up and deliver every day. This was 10 years ago that I switched from 14 to 12 cents. I haven't raised my rates in a long time but am pretty comfortable where I'm at now with my rates as I no longer print, have gone digital, have good dictators and report types, and also there's India to consider. I'm in central California which is not nearly as expensive a place to live as southern California. I would *think* your area could support 16 cents a line but I really don't know if India would be a concern for you? We have quite a few docs around here using India but a lot wouldn't consider it an option. You can always ask for more and see what they say, but you also want to be given the chance to dazzle them with your skills so they think they can't do without you. With the cost of living increasing, if you aren't making enough due to the type of reports/dictators you already have, I would definitely approach them with the idea of an increase. 
I charge by 65-character line (sm)
My clinics have wanted 0.5-inch margins on the side. One of them wanted 10-point Times font. I think 65-character lines are fair for both parties.
average charge per line

Just starting out on my own and have been asked by a local chiropractor to handle his transcription.  I don't want to undercut other sub-contractors charges but don't want to quote too high either, especially being new.  How can I find out the average charge per line for chiro transcription?


I charge .10 a gross line.
.
They reportedly charge 7 cents a line. nm

I am in Ohio, but have friends in MI and MO that charge 15/line.
You may need to check further.  You may undercutting yourself.
Tell him for demand jobs you charge .02 more a line - sm
maybe that will cool him off, or if he wants 12 hour TAT .01 more a line.
I charge by 65-char line with spaces...sm

The two accounts I've worked on wanted 0.5 inch margins on both sides.  One of the accounts wants 10-point Times.  The other wants 12-point Times.  They want the margins so big because they are trying to save on their paper costs, because the sticky back paper (I think that's what they use) is apparently quite expensive.  I send the documents via e-mail for them to print on their own.  Anyway, charging for a 65-character line with spaces nets me more than a gross line because of the margins, font, and typeface.  Try it with your line counter.  I have one built into my Instant Text (which I don't use for invoices) and SylCount.  Both of them show that the gross line is quite a bit less when the margins are this big. 


 


Why not charge for spaces?  You type 'em like you type a letter or number! 


15 cents a line AND charge mileage
nm
65-char line to client and charge for gross? sm
That's a bit underhanded. If they ever get suspicious, your line counts are going to exceed what they count at 65 char. a line. You said yourself that 65-char/line and gross line are two different things, so why do you contract with the client saying you bill for one and actually bill for another ?? That's shady, IMO, and I would never quote my client a 65-char line and then charge them for gross line.
Own accounts, line charge, MTSO percentage
I think you might have posted this same question about a week ago.  I take anywhere from 20 to 30% on an account from my IC's that covers my being the QA, the accountant, the customer service rep, the go between and the relief transcriptionist.  I really think you MTSO is being more than fair.  Stop and think if and when you get your own accounts, would you only keep 25% if someone was typing for you?  Sometimes it is hardly worth my time to keep the accounts for the IC's as the time I spend on those accounts I accounts I could be typing and earning $30 to $40 instead of the $10 to $12 that I get when someone else types it.   Remember when you have your own accounts there is no one to cover for you when you are sick, your child is sick, you go on vacation, holidays, etc.  There is always a flip side to the coin.  I do wish you luck but there is more into doing your own accounts than you realize. 
I charge 1.5 times my regular line rate.
 
Absolutely not! Most editors do not charge by the line. A good editor
knows that line pay is not fair pay, or let's say a quality editor knows that line pay is not fair pay.  I have done some VR editing and believe me, the ones I did you literally had to retype the whole report.  Figure out an hourly rate that would work for you and don't take anything less.  Editors or QA people should not be paid on production.  That's the final step to quality and some of these groups, services, will learn that one day!  Some of the better ones already know that. 
Depends on totals

You may have an additional to pay but it should not be that much if you are putting aside 20% for your federal and social security taxes.  I have a lot of write offs as I do pick up ans deliveries, have a SPEP, take part of my house for my office, phone, internet, medical insuranceetc.  Some IC's that work for me.  So I do have about 20 to 25K in write off's    But on the bottom line, I know that I will have to pay 15% at least to social security.  So that 20% should cover that and some of what will be owed for the federal, but lots of times after my other deductions and then your dependent deductions  -  I pay very little addition to the 15% social security.  So I really think you are okay.   Unless you have very little deductions and make about 75 to 100K.  If you have last years tax book or a friend that has last years Turbo Tax, you need to borriw that and plug in your figures do a fake return and see what you come up with.   But I still think 20% will cover you.


Patti


I have some docs that say totals if counseling is

part of the visit as they get paid extra for the visit with certain insurances.


Line Count...
Does anyone know if the Word 2000 line counter is generally the same as what most MT companies go by? I'm trying to see how I do being paid by lines as opposed to report.
Line count. No way, no how, ever. nm
Nope!
Line Count
I have worked for SS for a few years and I DO NOT like the fact you cannot check individual line counts. I do not like having to trust someone to be in charge of my line count and I have no way of verifying it is correct. The line counts bounce all of the place. Try it yourself. I have a line count program and one day it is a couple of lines off and others over 10%. Not good and I can't believe they get away with this.
changes in DQS line count..sm
Apparently, now the ASR count is included in the "transcription" count. As of yesterday, I had to
look under "correction" to see ASR count and as of today, there is no "correction" listed. Hmmm.
line count
When they first started ASR it was under transcription, then they separated it, now put it back. Actually QC is a level higher than QA, at least that is how it has been explained to me, if QA can't fix it then it goes to QC
mq line count
Yes, I was surprised to see that suddenly happen on Sunday, I believe it was.  Seems like explanations should be given to us before or at least shortly after making such a change.  Maybe their lawyers suggested they do it this way?  I have not yet had a pay cut for ASR.
line count
Hit F9
Hit detail
Hit today
Get line count
Line Count
I have a Line count software, if you want please do email me, I shall help you out!
DQS and line count
I have been frustrated with line count on DQS since I started on program well over a year ago, but have adjusted to it. It might not have been as disappointing/frustrating if they hadn't made such a big deal about how many MORE lines we would be able to do on this program....... even had "employee statements" to back it up. I have since decided they were just actors, like you see in those drug commercials, you know, "I am a doctor/nurse/medicine man", etc. ......... It DOES get better ........
MQ line count
YES - I work for a hospital that uses the DQS software from MQ. Our pay went down 40%. Nobody knew what was going on, until we discovered that they cheat their transcriptionists! QUIT THEM... I want to see them go totally under. They are horrible, horrible people!
Line count
Can anyone tell me what is good for a newbie to get for line count?  I have a company that is going to pay 8-10 cents a line. Is that good?  Please help!!!
line count
No its not a IC position, its a employee position, I have benefits and so on.
line count
It depends on how the company is counting the lines. Transcription companies are getting better as to what they can count and what they don't. Spaces after lines have entered can easily be taken away. As technology moves forward, so does the ability to be more accurate with counting.
line count, etc.
It has been my experience that companies get defensive and leery of hiring you if you ask much beyond the very basics.  They have sort of a do you want the job or don't you attitude.  I hate it too that we don't even get to find out what their software is like before we accept the job.  I usually can tell IMMEDIATELY if I want to work for them after being on their software for 5 minutes.  Waste of their time and mine if I don't. 
Line count
I count gross lines using the Microsoft Word.  It will count the blanks between lines but I count those also.   Have used Syncount and liked it, a little different to get used to and you have to save your documents differently but it did fine.  You can define it to count several ways.   Guess there is a lot out there and you should get several answers. 
line count++
Please Miss, may I have one.
getting my line count up
I would love to get your book. What is the charge? My email address is above.

Thanks
Paula McCann
getting my line count up
I would love to get your book. What is the charge? My email address is above.

Thanks
Paula McCann
LIne count
Okay, lets cut to the chase.  The way our lines are counted has been RADICALLY changed.  I've done this for 15 years and you get a feel for how many lines you are producing in a set amount of time or in the number of reports you generate.  Everyone is denying it but the line count is NOT the same.  But I'm sure the clients are still being charged the same.  They also cut out our pay for headers and footers.  So what to do?  There is nothing we CAN do.  These large companies are all about end results.  If they have to hire armies of TYPISTS what do they care?  They only have about a zillion QA people who can clean up the reports and make them look good.  Lets pay the typists peanuts instead of paying our TRANSCRIPTIONISTS decent pay.
line count
I know I have seen this posted before, just cannot find it, is there a good line counter out there that is freeware? I have MPcount, but it does not count headers unless you upgrade from the freeware version. Thank you
Line count
Charge them for all the lines. If they have doubled their provider staff, they have to expect to pay more to have all the names on the template. That's only fair. If they had lost half of them, you would have cut the price, right?
line count
banging stapler, rummaging through chart, shaking paper clip cup while talking, looking up referenced doctors names, stumbling, starting over.