Robbie James - The Typing from Home Guide: A Guide for At-Home Transcription Contractors

ISBN: 9781483554624

Table of Contents

Typing From Home Guide

With many Internet-based positions that are not legitimate, rewarding, or are discreditable once you have signed up, I have devised a list of home based business providers for experienced document typists or data entry typists who want to run their own business from home or who want to be legitimately engaged by a transcription company from home as a contractor. I have also listed ways you can become a freelance typist an entrepreneur running your own business.

I have been a career typist for many years in order to supplement my bachelor education and I also continue to type from home for a legitimate transcription company and for myself. I do hope that this career support guide assists in finding the right position for you, and ultimately you are happy, home, and financially secure.

I have designed this document as over the last 15 years I have signed up to many online services believing I was able to have a legitimate, rewarding job from home, only to find out I purchased a useless list or signed up into a multi-level marketing program that I did not want to be in. I hope this information is rewarding for you.

Best of Luck,

Robbie LeNepveu

How Transcription Contracting Works

Transcription contracting is a very simple process. Running a transcription company is a whole other story and that is why being a contractor from home is so attractive.

Transcription companies have clients (for example doctors, financial institutes or lawyers) who upload dictation to them via the Internet or telephone under the understanding that the transcription companies have enough typists to type the document and can provide a quick and accurate turnaround.

This is why many transcription companies are looking for additional typists. Additional typists ensure a quick turnaround and better control over workflow.

As outsourcing of typing is very much the now more clients are outsourcing their dictation to transcription companies.

Some transcription company client examples are:

Doctors

Lawyers

Real Estate Agents

Allied Health Professionals

Politicians

Movie Script Writers

Journalists

University Students

Authors

Transcription service providers, instead of having in-house employees, have tapped into the Internet revolution and are allowing the work to be sent to the homes of contract typists.

Contract typists are introduced to the firm through training and support via the Internet and provide the same services as they would if they were in the offices of the transcription company they are contracted to.

Transcription providers notify their contractors via email or discussion service that files are available to type. The transcriptionist downloads the audio files from the Internet and types them for the service and uploads the typed file back to the transcription provider. The provider then forwards the typed document onto their client.

Contractors can be paid the following ways:

Per Line CPL

Per Character PCH

Per Stroke PKS

Time Taken Per Hour

Per Audio Minute PAM

Contract typists add up their payment option (from the list above) and may bill/invoice the transcription company weekly, fortnightly or monthly.

A typical day for a contract typist (using myself as an example):

1. I have pre-booked myself to contract type from 10:00am to 2:00pm on a Monday.
2. At 10:00am I log onto my computer and see if there are any messages from the company that I am contracted to and at this time I will receive feedback on work I have completed the day before. Feedback is great because I can see any mistakes I have made and also it assists me with client preferences (e.g. whether I type their work verbatim or not).
3. I will log onto the companys server and see what work I have available for me. I will download each document according to its priority (e.g. some are urgent, some are not).
4. I will commence typing the documents until 2:00pm.
5. At 2:00pm I will upload back to the transcription companys server all the dictation I have typed and my day is complete.
6. And so it goes into the next day!

A very simple day for me! And I love being at home and autonomous.

Sample reports you would type as a contractor:

1. Medico-legal report for a specialist Psychiatrist to an insurance company.
2. Movie script dictated by a script writer.
3. Feature story dictated by an investigative Journalist.
4. X-ray, MRI, or CT scan report.
5. Letter from a specialist Dermatologist to a General Practitioner regarding a patient.
6. Forensic report from a Coroner.
7. Legally binding Real Estate sales contract.
8. University student dictating their final thesis.

Maintaining Performance

Though your work may be exciting, may vary or may be boring, transcription companies expect that you maintain the same amount of motivation and accuracy throughout the document. Quality Assurance is practiced by most transcription companies, and you need to ensure you continue to provide quality work, maintain your typing speed as best you can and continue to submit with a good accuracy rate. Trust me, it is very easy to get a long and boring document and your accuracy goes way down so keep your chin up and stay focused.

How Fast Are You?

Here are some online typing tests for your convenience (some include print out certificates with your current speed and accuracy):

Typeonline.co.uk

http://www.typeonline.co.uk/typingspeed.php

TypingTest.com

http://www.typingtest.com/

Typing Certification

www.typingcertification.com

Improve Your Speed With Typing Master

http://www.typingmaster.com/au/

Rank My Typing

http://www.rankmytyping.com/

What You Need To Work From Home

A Quiet Environment Your home based position is extremely important. You need to isolate yourself from noise and interruptions. Employers that contract work to you expect that you are well set up at home and have a quiet and professional environment to conduct your business in. Try to set up an office where you can close the door and are separated from your living space. In order to drown out any excess noise, ensure you have a headset that is suitable for a call centre environment. This means the cushions on your ears will assist in drowning out excess noise.

Behaviour There are specific traits that you will require to be able to work from home. Firstly, you must be able to keep yourself motivated, you must be able to work on your own, you must be able to stay focused, you need to have discipline, you need to be honest and reliable, and your working at home position must not force you to become lazy. It is extremely difficult to get motivated at home, because you are already in a relaxed state and you have not clicked into a work mode like you would in the workplace. Ensure you set your alarm, get dressed for work and behave as if you are in the workplace.

Skills You need at least a 3-5 year solid background in the area that you are applying for, you need to be able to edit your own work this means you need excellent grammar and proofing skills, you will be required to have superior computing, Internet, software and transcription hardware skills, you will need Internet access and broadband not dial up, and you will need to have a typing speed of at least 60wpm. Most companies want 80wpm typing speeds, however, they understand that those who type 65wpm will adjust and increase their speed. You will need to have at least 98% accuracy in the work that you return. I have seen some companies accepting a 95% accuracy, only if they have a quality assurance system in-house. I have also seen some companies who accept typists with a typing speed in the 50wpm bracket, however, they do expect over time that these typists increase their speed with experience.