Terms and Conditions of Sale

01Definitions

Throughout these terms, the words below carry the meanings given here.

• Company means TECHNIWORDS, provider of the technical translation services described on this website.
• Client means any individual or legal entity requesting services from the Company.
• Services means all translation, certified translation, editing, proofreading and related linguistic work performed by the Company.
• Standard Translation means a non-certified translation supplied for informational or professional use.
• Certified Translation means a translation accompanied by a signed statement attesting to its accuracy, intended for official or legal use.
• Deliverables means any translated document or material supplied to the Client.
• Quote means any price proposal issued by the Company to the Client.

02Scope of Services

The Company supplies professional technical translation, including but not limited to manuals, specifications, safety data sheets, engineering drawings, patents, quality documentation and software content. The full range is set out across the pages of this website, from the document types we handle to the industries we serve.

Both Standard Translations and Certified Translations are available. Deciding which of the two a given purpose requires, or which the receiving authority will accept, rests with the Client alone. Where the Client is unsure, our project managers will share what they know of the relevant authority's practice, but that assistance is informational and does not shift the responsibility.

The Company does not practice law or engineering and does not give legal or engineering advice. The Services are confined to linguistic work and its immediate accompaniments.

03Orders and Acceptance

An order becomes binding on the Company at one of two moments: when the Client accepts a Quote in writing, an email confirmation being sufficient for this purpose, or when the Client pays the requested deposit or the full amount where payment in advance applies. Until one of those events occurs, no project is scheduled and no delivery window is reserved.

04Pricing and Quotations

Prices are set per word, per page or per project, depending on what the work involves. Quotes state their own period of validity and may be revised where the scope changes, where the source documents are altered, or where new requirements appear after the original acceptance.

Charges beyond the base rate may apply. These include rush fees for accelerated turnaround, formatting and desktop publishing, certification fees, shipping and handling of physical documents, and additional copies of a certified translation. All amounts are expressed in United States dollars unless the Quote states another currency.

05Payment Terms

5.1 Individuals

Private clients pay in full when the order is confirmed.

5.2 Companies

Unless agreed otherwise in writing, invoices issued to business clients fall due thirty days from the date of issue.

The Company may require a deposit, or payment in full before work begins, in a number of situations: first orders from a new client, clients based outside the United States, clients whose business details are incomplete or cannot be verified, including those corresponding from generic free email addresses, and projects that are unusually large or complex.

5.3 Accepted payment methods

Payment may be made by credit or debit card, by bank wire transfer, or through the electronic payment methods offered at invoicing. Checks are not accepted.

5.4 Late payment

Where an invoice goes unpaid, the Company may suspend or end work in progress, hold back Deliverables not yet released, and cancel active or scheduled projects until the outstanding balance is cleared.

06Delivery Timeframes

Delivery times quoted by the Company are estimates given for information only. They do not amount to a binding obligation unless the Company has confirmed a guaranteed date expressly and in writing.

The Company undertakes to apply commercially reasonable efforts to meet the timing agreed for each project, and in practice the overwhelming majority of files arrive on or before the estimate given. That record is not a guarantee, and the estimate should be read as what it is.

Delays can arise from circumstances outside the Company's control: source documents arriving later than expected, instructions that turn out to be incomplete, technical failures, or events of force majeure as described in clause 17. No claim, penalty or cancellation may be founded on a delay in delivery.

Where a filing deadline, a production milestone or an audit date makes timing critical, the Client should say so at the quoting stage and request a guaranteed date in writing. The Company will confirm whether that date can be committed to before the order is placed.

07Client Responsibilities

Source documents supplied to the Company must be accurate, complete and final before work starts. Material changed after the project is under way may attract additional charges and a revised schedule.

Where particular terminology, house style or internal conventions matter, the Client must supply the relevant glossaries, reference material or instructions before translation begins. Absent that guidance, the Company applies its own professional judgment and prevailing industry standards, and later objections founded purely on preference are treated under clause 8.

Reviewing and approving the Deliverables before they are used, published, filed or circulated remains the Client's responsibility in every case.

08Revisions and Acceptance of Deliverables

The Client has eight calendar days from delivery to review the Deliverables and to notify the Company in writing of any alleged error or non-conformity. Where no claim is made within that period, the Deliverables are deemed accepted and compliant in all respects.

Any revision request must be supported by clear and objective justification, identifying the passage concerned and the reason it is said to be wrong. Genuine errors attributable to the translation are corrected at no charge, as quickly as the correction can be made and re-checked.

Revisions asked for after the acceptance period has run, or arising from matters of personal preference, changed instructions or requirements that were never disclosed at the outset, may be quoted and billed as additional work.

The eight-day window exists to give both sides certainty. It is long enough for a substantive review by the Client or by the Client's engineers, and short enough that a file does not remain contractually open indefinitely after it has been delivered, filed and relied upon.

09Certified Translations

Certified Translations are issued in line with applicable professional standards, and only for translations produced by the Company itself. Further detail on what our certification contains and where it is accepted appears on the certified technical translation page.

The Company will not certify, endorse or validate a translation produced by a third party or supplied by the Client. Any such request requires full retranslation and is treated as a new order.

A Standard Translation cannot be converted into a Certified Translation once delivered. A subsequent request for certification constitutes a new project and is billed accordingly.

Where a Certified Translation is wanted in physical form, printing, handling and shipping fees apply in addition. Requests for more than one original copy are also charged separately.

10Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Company's total liability arising out of or in connection with the Services is strictly limited to the total amount paid by the Client for the Services concerned.

Under no circumstances is the Company liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special or punitive damages of any kind, including lost profits, lost business opportunities and reputational harm.

The Company bears no liability for any use made of the Deliverables without prior review by the Client, nor for consequences flowing from the Client's failure to verify that a translation is suitable for the purpose it is being put to.

Nothing in this clause seeks to exclude or restrict a liability that applicable law does not permit to be excluded or restricted.

11Confidentiality

The Company treats every document and every piece of information supplied by the Client as strictly confidential, and uses them for no purpose other than performing the Services.

Reasonable administrative, technical and organizational measures are applied to protect Client material. On request, the Company will sign a separate non-disclosure agreement or supply its own standard confidentiality undertaking, and it is content to work from the Client's template where the Client prefers.

This obligation continues after the Services are complete and is not limited to the duration of a project.

12Data Protection and Privacy

Personal data is collected and processed only to issue quotes, perform the Services, manage the client relationship and satisfy legal obligations. It is never sold, and it is disclosed to third parties only where performance of the Services requires it or where the law demands it.

The Client may ask to access, correct or delete personal data, subject to the legal and contractual obligations that require certain records to be kept. Our privacy policy sets out the whole framework, including retention periods and the rights available under CCPA and GDPR.

13Suspension of Services

The Company may, at its sole discretion, suspend or terminate performance where the Client is in breach of these terms, non-payment of an outstanding invoice being the clearest example.

Where several projects are running or follow one another, failure to settle an earlier invoice may bring about immediate suspension of all current and future work until payment is received in full.

Suspension does not release the Client from the obligation to pay for Services already performed.

14Shipping and Delivery of Physical Documents

Where a Certified Translation is requested on paper, dispatch is carried out by a carrier chosen by the Company or agreed with the Client. Shipping costs, together with handling and packaging, are invoiced in addition to the price of the Services.

Once documents have been handed to the carrier, the Company is not liable for delay, loss or damage occurring in transit. Clients working to a hard filing date are advised to take the electronic version as their working copy and to treat the paper originals as a follow-on delivery.

15No Legal Advice

The Services are confined to translation and related linguistic work. No Deliverable, message or conversation with the Company may be construed as legal advice, a legal opinion, or legal representation of any kind.

The Client accepts sole responsibility for obtaining independent legal counsel on the content, interpretation and use of any translated document.

16Non-Solicitation

For the duration of the business relationship and for twelve months after it ends, the Client agrees not to solicit, hire or engage, whether directly or indirectly, any employee, contractor or linguist of the Company without the Company's prior written consent.

Breach of this provision may give rise to damages corresponding to the loss the Company can show it has suffered.

17Force Majeure

The Company is not liable for any failure or delay in performing its obligations where the cause lies beyond its reasonable control. Natural disasters, acts of government, war, cyberattacks, power failures and breakdowns in telecommunications networks are examples rather than an exhaustive list.

For as long as such an event continues, the Company's obligations are suspended.

18Business Operations and Address

The Company operates as a fully remote business. The address shown on this website and on official documents is a registered business address kept for administrative purposes.

The Company does not receive clients or visitors there, and in-person visits are neither required nor permitted. All exchanges take place by electronic means, principally email and telephone, which is also why files reach a project manager and a quote comes back so quickly.

19Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These terms, and any dispute arising out of or connected with the Services, are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

Any legal action or proceeding is to be brought exclusively before the competent courts sitting in that State, and both parties consent to the jurisdiction of those courts.

20Entire Agreement and Amendments

These terms, read together with any accepted Quote, constitute the entire agreement between the Company and the Client, and supersede all prior discussions, arrangements and understandings, whether written or oral.

The Company may amend these terms at any time. The version that applies to a given order is the one in force on the date that order is placed.