TM audit. We find the errors in your translation memory.
A TM audit checks your translation memory for conflicting translations, reversed meanings and formatting clutter. It shows which faulty entries to fix before they come back as 100% matches in every language and on every job. In a free initial call, we work out with you whether an audit is worth it for your memory.
Peer Bosse is your contact for TM audits · 0800 55 133 00 · service@tolingo.com
Documentation and translation teams have worked with tolingo since 2007
What a TM audit finds.
The TM audit checks your entire memory against itself and against your termbase. This catches errors that your CAT tool’s QA check misses, because that check only looks at individual segments in the current job.
On and off, left and right. Each word is correct on its own, so no spellchecker will catch the error.
When the memory holds several translations of one source sentence, someone has to choose again on every job. That costs review time and makes your documentation inconsistent.
Formatting tags, duplicates and wrong language codes lower your match rate. You then pay again for sentences that are already in the memory.
When a TM audit pays off.
A TM audit pays off when a memory that has grown over the years is still in heavy use.
If you are revising instructions for use to meet the EU Machinery Regulation, you build on your existing memory. Left unchecked, its errors carry over into every new language version.
Each supplier and each site has added its own variants. If you plan to merge their memories, the audit shows where they contradict each other.
Your reviewers keep correcting sentences that arrive as matches from the memory. In that case the error sits in the memory itself, and one check there catches it for every future job.
From export to findings in ten working days.
At the end, you know how many errors your memory contains, which languages they are in and which ones to fix first.
You export the TM and, if you have one, the termbase from your CAT tool and send both to us encrypted.
A structural check of every language and segment.
One language direction of your choice, checked for reversed meanings, modal verbs and numbers, with a sample reviewed by native-speaker specialist translators.
A report with figures, prioritised lists of findings in Excel and a call about the next steps.
Before any data is exchanged, we sign the non-disclosure agreement you provide. Processing follows ISO/IEC 27001 and runs on EU servers by default. Once the project is complete, we delete your export on request. More on security and data protection.
What an audit found in a memory built up over the years.
A mechanical engineering company had its translation memory checked: German into 27 languages, 1,150,000 segments built up over 18 years, never consolidated.
| Check | Result | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Reversed directions and switch positions, some in safety notices | 97 | high |
| Weakened modal verbs (“muss”, meaning must, translated as “can”) | 238 | high |
| Source sentences with conflicting translations | 6,480 | high |
| Agreement between TM and termbase | 71% | high |
| Untranslated or in the wrong language | 742 | medium |
| Number mismatches between source and translation | 3,860 | medium |
Among the 742 untranslated or wrong-language segments were 512 English sentences in the German source field. From there, they had been carried over into all 27 target languages. All figures have been changed for anonymity. Request the full sample report
What a cleaned-up memory saves you.
Translation memory matches apply per language pair. So every additional percentage point of 100% matches saves money in every target language, and the more languages you maintain, the more a clean memory is worth. Worked example, not a quote.
| Source words per year | Target languages | Annual saving per percentage point of 100% matches |
|---|---|---|
| 100,000 words | 5 | approx. €550 |
| 100,000 words | 20 | approx. €2,200 |
| 500,000 words | 5 | approx. €2,750 |
| 500,000 words | 20 | approx. €11,000 |
How we calculated it: source words × target languages × 1% × €0.11. With a tolingo specialist translation, a new word costs from €0.12, while a 100% match costs no more than €0.01, based on our guide figures for translation memory. Every word that comes back as a 100% match in a target language saves the difference, provided it would otherwise have been billed at the full rate. The audit counts how many segments contain clutter, duplicates or wrong language codes.
A reversed meaning in a safety notice makes the instructions for use defective, and with them the product. Under EU product liability rules, which Germany implements through its Product Liability Act, a manufacturer is liable for personal injury and certain property damage caused by defective instructions, even without fault. In contracts, a “muss” that becomes “can” turns an obligation into an option. The audit finds passages like these before they go into the next version.
The sample audit, worked example and process on a single A4 sheet, ready to forward to everyone in your company who has a say in the decision.
Have your translation memory checked.
Tell us roughly how large your memory is, which languages it covers and which CAT tool you use. We will then get in touch to arrange the initial call.
- Free initial call with a language engineer
- No export needed for the initial call
Peer Bosse is your personal contact for TM audits.
service@tolingo.com · 0800 55 133 00
Request an initial call
Confidential · First reply in ~10 minutes (within business hours) · no obligation
Data, price and what happens next.
What data do you need for the TM audit?
A TMX export of your translation memory and, if you have one, your termbase as TBX, CSV or Excel. We process exports from any CAT tool, including memories of several gigabytes in many languages. If your memory is in another format, we will find a way in the initial call.
What does the price depend on?
On the size of the TM, the number of languages and whether we check a termbase as well. We quote a fixed price once we have seen your export. We do not bill by word or segment.
Do we have to switch supplier or CAT tool?
No. The TM audit is a stand-alone service. You keep your translation supplier and your CAT tool.
What happens after the audit?
The audit itself makes no changes to your TM. With the report and lists, your team or your supplier can go straight to the errors and fix them. On request, we take on the clean-up and credit the cost of the audit against it.
How many errors are hiding in your TM?
First reply in ~10 minutes (within business hours)