s TMS Cloud – A Boutique Translation Project Management System (2023)

Abstract: Demonstration of a Cloud-based Translation Project Management System, called sTMS, de- veloped with the financial support of Opera- tional Programme “Innovation and Competi- tiveness” 2014 2020 (OPIC) focusing to en- hance the operational activities of LSPs and MLPs. The idea behind was to concentrate mainly on the management processes, and not to integrate CAT or MT tools, because we be- lieve that the more functional such systems be- come, the harder to technically support and easy to operate they become. The key features sTMS provides are developed as a result of the broad experience of Project Managers, the increased requirements of our customers, the digital capabilities of our vendors and as last to meet the constantly changing environment of the translation industry.

## credits after years of experience and tests of various project management systems, we found out that we need a system with multilingual interface, which in our case is en and bg, and one that to be easy enough to navigate without the need to learn too long "how to operate with it". at the same time we needed it to be cloud based, to have its own mobile version, client and vendor portal, option to upload and download files, a flexible model of project management having the option to add a multiple number of services to a single project, and respectively tasks to them, detailed dashboard which to be able to provide the user with all due information about the workflow with logging in the system, generation of quick reports and direct invoicing. well, we put a lot of efforts and invested quite a lot of funds, and we managed to create a tool unique for the bulgarian market, that gives you everything you need to quickly and efficiently manage a variety of translation projects without taking a lot of time for setup and training. the product exceeded our expectations and after 2 years of real tests, we can safely admit that without it we could be lost in workflow management. for those 2 years we managed to fix minor bugs and to add several new functionalities as vendors working schedule, cat analysis estimations and other ones, so we now feel ready to introduce our boutique product to lsps. i am confident that most of you probably have their own tool or use some of the most popular ones, but i truly believe that once you scroll through the demo on our site, you will like it. now i would like to demonstrate it in the next few slides, so you get a better idea and a look deeper what our small and enthusiastic team of pms and developers created. we all know how demanding our customers are, how fast they need language services to be delivered and what their requirements are. respectively, we have no less requirements to us and our team. for this reason, it is often possible to feel your office or your thoughts scattered. if you need to organize them and always have access to a tidy office, then you need a suitable tms. so, you won't miss deadlines, you'll always keep the budget for the project, and what is the most important, you'll be able to arrange and manage the complex puzzle of all the resources involved in the translation project. only a few clicks on stms and you will be able to arrange all resources, deadlines, budgets and more in minutes. you can send pos to everyone involved in the team straight away, and the vendors list will match the pre-selected criteria for the project. you can quickly send a quote to the client and provide them with an access to the project, so they can check the status of their projects at any time. finally, you complete the puzzle with instant billing and a quick reference. why stms? there are many reasons to choose it, but i will try to point your attention to the most valuable ones. another advantage is that stms does not need another tool integration to manage all processes, which eases the organization operation significantly. it is completely independent and you can benefit from it from day one. we tried to eliminate as much as possible the need for training how to work with our tool, and our observations were that if the pms fully understands the interface language, then they can start using stms in no more than 2 days. in addition, we placed the operation manual in a very easy to access place on the platform, so that anyone who needs to consult it can do so in no time. i suggest you to take a look at the demo on our website. you will see how easy to operate is and at the same time comprehensive and fun the stms interface is. on the dashboard you can monitor all projects and tasks due for delivery, so you can avoid any delays or missed deliveries. in addition, the projects list may be filtered "due today" which automatically shows you a list with projects due today. this way you are secured twice. finally, you should not disregard the flexible pricing of the product, depending on the needs of the client. here are some more benefits stms has to offer. the notifications section is quite a valuable feature that's keeping you informed of certain actions in real-time. whether it's receiving alerts about a vendor accepting a job or uploading a file to a project, a customer creating a project from their personalized profile or sending a file for translation, notifications feature ensures you stay on top of every significant event. we also incorporated a highly flexible qa checklist. you have the freedom to tailor it according to your own preferences and qa procedures. we have introduced a hierarchical approach to streamline business operations as a whole. project managers, account managers, and administrators have distinct roles and varying levels of access. the ams enjoy additional functions and the right to approve vendor and client rates. meanwhile, the administrators have full control, including settings and configurations. our project budget section -as soon as you enter the services and tasks, this feature swiftly calculates your revenue and expenses, ensuring you never make a costly error and exceed your budget. the client and vendor portals are new for our industry. we'll explore their features in the next slides. tables with projects and services to be delivered are complemented by a table with tasks to be received from your pool of vendors. there is also a table that highlights pending offers from customers. you can see in real-time updates on newly created projects, as well as outstanding invoices and a list of vendors that are not available. and just like that, within a couple of minutes, every pm has an idea of how their day will unfold. the lsp portal has many cool features, and we've tried to outline some of the key ones for you here. create and manage user accounts -first up, you can create and manage user accounts with different roles. we'll talk more about the roles of customers and vendors a bit later, but for now, let me just say that the main difference between pms, ams, and admins is their access to certain features. the option to generate reports and creating user accounts is only available for ams. as for company user settings, languages, currencies, and other fine adjustments, only admins are allowed to make changes. if you're an am, you can create and manage customer or vendor profiles. but keep in mind, this particular feature is only available to users with an am role. we understand how important it is to have accountability in hr, service management and pricing. that's why we've limited this feature to maintain a high level of control and responsibility. you can even generate and send these projects to clients right from the system or via email. now, let me tell you about our handy file man-agement feature. it allows all project participants to attach and download files. the pm can control who has access to which files, and the system sends notifications, both in-app and via email, whenever a file is attached. with just one click, you can issue and send the purchase order (po) to the vendor. it automatically generates all the task information needed. in the end, pms will appreciate the project quality checklist, as it can be customized to fit your quality procedures and standards. we all know how important invoicing is, right? stms helps you easily handle your invoicing through the system. and let me tell you, this module has been developed in a really smart way, so that the system only lets you choose from approved services. let's say you have a project with 5 services. you can invoice 3 of them now all in one invoice -and save the remaining 2 for later (when they are ready). the system displays the invoice on the project page for your convenience and you always have a reference of which services are yet to be invoiced. the vendor self-invoicing option is also extremely handy. vendors can log in with their own accounts and invoice the approved tasks themselves. alternatively, you can also self-invoice them. either way, you get an up-to-date cost report instantly, eliminating the need for additional accounting tasks. now, let's talk about reporting feature. stms offers detailed reports based on projects, customers, and vendors. and you can use multiple filters to specify exactly what kind of reports you need. for your convenience, you can export the data from these reports, as well as lists of customers, vendors, invoices, and more, in csv format. we've already mentioned the in-app notifications. they make managing translation projects so much easier and hassle-free. now, take a look at this project sample page, involving two services. we are proud to say that our tool looks simple, but it goes above and beyond to provide you with all necessary features for efficient and effortless project management. check out this sample page of a task assigned to a vendor, as seen from the pm's perspective. you will notice all the project details, attachments, status updates, and something really important the history feature. this nifty functionality allows you to track all the actions taken on a task or project. you can see who did what and when, whether it's changing deadlines, adjusting prices, or other important updates. well, let's take a quick look at the vendor portal, where vendors have all the options they need to easily accept or decline tasks, keep track of the ones they've accepted, attach and download files, and create invoices for completed tasks. but that's not all. vendors can also manage their contact details, billing information, services offered, and pricing right from their portal. another handy feature is the ability to add their days off. this immediately updates the system, so both the lsp and pms can see who is available and when. say goodbye to the unnecessary email notifications and the hassle of distributing this information within the lsp when someone is absent. also, the vendor profile dashboard is a quick and convenient way for vendors to get an overview of their job count, value and delivery terms. and here is an overview of the client portal, where clients can create and manage projects with no extra efforts, handle project files, receive and accept or reject offers, receive and review invoices, and also monitor the project quality management steps. equally important, clients can manage their own contact and billing details as well as the services they require. and a couple of words about the client profile dashboard. it's a handy tool that provides a quick reference to the number of projects and services, as well as the current month services amount. in this presentation, we've covered the essential features that you would find interesting. if you have questions and want to know what else stms offers, you can drop by for a chat on our stand or email us at support@stms.cloud