Client FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions Why does anyone need transcription services today? In the worlds of business, law, medicine, or academia, there are many situations where you may need a written record of either formal or informal spoken English. Sometimes there is a legal need for an accurate record of a conversation--physician-patient records or corporate earnings calls, for example. On other occasions, transcriptions can serve useful archival purposes so people unable to be present at an event can read a record of what happened during a presentation at conferences, an interview, at a board meeting, or on a webcast. Whatever the event, transcription takes time and money. You can pull staff off their normal duties to transcribe information for you (or even do it yourself), or you can choose to outsource the transcription to a company like CMR Transcription Services. Given the cost of quality staff today, it makes business sense to keep your staff focused on their jobs and let transcription professionals handle your transcription needs. How does the process work? Once we receive your audio files, we match them with a CMR transcriptionist with experience transcribing the type of audio and business field that matches your event. They transcribe your file into a MS Word or .txt document, which they return to CMR Transcription. A quality assurance editor then reads and reviews the document while listening to your audio to ensure the quality of the transcription. Once they finish, the files are returned to you in the format you requested in the guaranteed turnaround time. What format audio does CMR Transcription Services accept? CMR Transcription Services accepts any digital audio file format as well as almost any physical recording. We accept mini-cassettes, regular cassettes, videotapes, CDs, and DVDs. We also accept .wav, .mp2, .mp3, .mp4, .wma, .aiff, .mov, .avi, and Quicktime files--just for starters. If you don't have the bandwidth to email the file, CMR can provide you with a password protected FTP site for you to upload the audio file. If you have any doubt about whether we can handle your file or not, contact a representative at sales@cmr-transcription.com. How do I know my information is secure? All CMR transcriptionists, editors, and employees sign a confidentiality agreement to ensure that your information stays private. All handling and processing of medical transcription is performed in compliance with HIPAA regulations. All file transfers are made through secure password-protected FTP or through secure web portals. If you have additional security concerns, CMR Transcription is happy to arrange alternate means for secure file transfer. How do I get my files back? CMR Transcription returns your files to you in the format you want and how you want them. We can easily return your transcriptions as Word 2003 documents, Word 2007 documents, Adobe PDF files, .txt files, .rtf files, or in hard copy. We can return your files by email, password-protected FTP site, or through standard mail, UPS, or FedEx delivery. Please note that printing, shipping and handling charges will be added for physical delivery of files. How fast can you get my transcribed files back to me? You choose the turnaround time you need for your files, so you never pay for rush services that you don't need. Our standard service has your files back to you within 48 hours. If your need isn't urgent, CMR offers three business days and one week turnaround as economy rates. If you need your files back sooner, CMR offers one business day (24 hours) turn around for any project. If you need your files back even faster, CMR can accommodate your needs. We provide six hour turnaround, but to arrange this turnaround time, we need to make sure your project is scheduled in advance (24 hours). Does CMR Transcription Services accept weekend/overnight transcription orders? CMR Transcription accepts orders through its automated online order system 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, all orders received outside of our standard US Eastern Standard Time business hours (8:00 am to 8:00 pm) should be considered as received at 8:00 am the next business day. We can accommodate special requests for weekend turn around with advance notice. Where is CMR Transcription Services located? CMR Transcription Services operates out of offices in the Boston, MA, and Los Angeles, CA, areas, so we have representatives and transcriptionists ready to help you throughout the US business day. (Of course we welcome foreign clients as well!) Can CMR Transcription Services handle large projects? Resoundingly yes. CMR Transcription Services has experience handling very high volume conferences, corporate retreats, and earnings conference calls. With advance notice, we can accommodate almost any project you have. How does CMR Transcription Services handle billing for projects? For high volume projects CMR creates a payment schedule with the client prior to the launch of the project. Invoices generally are submitted on set volume or date schedule. For regular work, invoices are issued the 1st and 15th of the month. Payment is due Net 15 via ACH, EFT, wire, check, or PayPal. Anything else? If you have any questions that this FAQ doesn't answer, please contact us at info@cmr-transcription.com and we'll happily get you an answer--and we might even add the question to our FAQ!