For language service providers and localization teams

Virtual assistants for translation agencies

Keep project inputs and handoffs organized across languages. An assistant can prepare intake records, coordinate availability and follow up on missing files. Knows The Drill recruits and prepares them for your agency and the responsibilities agreed before handoff.

Find your assistant

A language list is only useful when it matches the source package.

A client sends a revised document after work has begun. One language team has the update, another has the earlier file and the delivery date has not changed. The project manager needs a clear record before deciding how to proceed.

Your assistant can keep versions, requests and acknowledgments together so that a linguistic or commercial decision reaches the right person with its context.

The work to hand off

Support the coordination around language work.

Project intake records

Capture the requested languages, locale variants, file references and delivery instructions. Flag missing reference material or an unclear source version before the project manager assigns work.

What you get back: An intake packet with the source package and open client questions

Linguist availability coordination

Contact the vendors selected by your project manager, collect availability and record replies. Keep availability separate from approval to assign a linguist or accept their commercial terms.

What you get back: An availability list ready for the project manager to use

Version and query tracking

Record source changes and link each query to its file and language. Follow up with the assigned contact and make unanswered questions visible at the next handoff.

What you get back: A change-and-query register with affected language teams

Delivery and billing inputs

Assemble the files and administrative details requested for delivery after the designated reviews. Gather purchase-order references and delivery acknowledgments for the accounts team.

What you get back: A delivery checklist with file references, review status and billing inputs

Illustrative workflow

Route a source change without silently replacing the brief.

This workflow shows how an assistant can prepare a change decision while the project manager controls scope.

A revised source arrives

Assistant preparesRecord the new file and the message that explains the requested change.

Your team decidesWhether the new file replaces or supplements the current source.

Affected work is identified

Assistant preparesList assigned language teams and their latest acknowledgment.

Your team decidesWhich teams need revised instructions or a pause.

The manager decides the plan

Assistant preparesPrepare the change notice from the manager's instruction.

Your team decidesSchedule, price and responsibility for work already completed.

Teams acknowledge the update

Assistant preparesLog who received the new instruction and who has not replied.

Your team decidesHow to resolve missing acknowledgment or a vendor conflict.

Delivery is assembled

Assistant preparesGather the reviewed versions and compare the package with the agreed delivery list.

Your team decidesLinguistic quality acceptance and permission to release.

Illustrative example — not a client record

A source-revision handoff

Use the record to expose one unacknowledged source update before a project manager commits to delivery.

Project package: Example entryIllustrative project L-07; product guide, English source.; What to provide or checkIdentify the job and source package used by all teams.
Change received: Example entrySource revision 4 adds a safety note; revision 3 was previously issued.; What to provide or checkLink the new source and the client's change instruction.
Affected deliveries: Example entryFrench-Canada and Spanish-US files are in progress.; What to provide or checkUse the requested locale variants, not only language names.
Acknowledgment gap: Example entryFrench-Canada team acknowledged revision 4; Spanish-US reply pending.; What to provide or checkShow which team still needs a confirmed instruction.
Manager decision: Example entryProject manager to confirm scope and delivery timing after the pending reply.; What to provide or checkDo not silently carry forward a date from the superseded brief.

Ready to hand over when: The project manager can trace the revision, see each acknowledgment and decide the next instruction without reconstructing the email chain.

Download the blank template (CSV)

No email required. The file includes field names and guidance, with blank spaces for your own inputs. Use it to describe the work during matching; keep private client information out of an initial inquiry.

Shape the role around the workload

Do your project managers need a coordination layer?

A useful fit when

Recurring jobs require source-file checks, availability requests and follow-up across several contributors.
You have named linguistic and project reviewers who can decide the questions an assistant gathers.

Discuss the setup first

If you need a translator or multilingual reviewer, specify the languages and qualifications; those do not follow from an administrative role.
A short, one-language assignment may be better scoped as a project than a dedicated full-time managed workload.

Managed support provides a dedicated, full-time assistant. Direct-hire responsibilities, hours and employment terms are agreed during matching.

Coordination does not replace linguistic review.

Define which records the assistant maintains and which questions require your project manager, linguist or client.

Translation, interpretation, linguistic quality decisions and certification require the relevant qualified person.
Your project manager approves vendor assignments, rates, scope and changes to delivery commitments.
Confidential client files and translation memories require the access and handling arrangements agreed for the role.

Bring one representative multilingual project.

01Your intake fields, source-file conventions and locale naming rules.
02The vendor contacts your project managers authorize the assistant to coordinate.
03An example change notice, query log and delivery checklist.
04Your project tools, client confidentiality requirements and escalation contacts.

Recruit. Prepare. Hand over.

Recruited for you. Trained for your industry.

First, we discuss your niche and the work you want your assistant to own. Then we recruit and prepare them in depth for the industry and responsibilities agreed with you before handoff. The matching conversation defines the skills, tools and preparation time your role needs.

We assess English fluency, practical problem-solving and independent judgment, so your assistant can work through the next step and recognize when to bring you in.

Choose the support behind your hire.

Managed assistant

A dedicated, full-time assistant through our service, with ongoing support from our team. One monthly fee.

Explore managed support

Direct hire

We recruit and train an assistant for you to hire directly into your team. You manage the day-to-day. One placement fee.

Explore direct hiring

The examples on these pages are a starting point. Bring the broader range of work you want covered to the matching call. We agree responsibilities, preparation time, working hours, fees and terms before you start.

Before you bring someone on

Will my assistant translate documents?: The workflow here covers project administration. Translation, localization engineering and linguistic review are separate skill requirements. Bring them to matching if needed, including the languages and standards involved.
Can they coordinate with freelance linguists?: Yes, the agreed role can include availability requests, reminders and document handoffs with your selected vendors. Your project manager retains assignment, commercial and quality decisions.
Can an assistant use our translation management system?: Specify the system and actions, such as maintaining project fields or recording delivery status. We discuss experience, preparation and access during matching. Tool access does not itself authorize linguistic or technical changes.
How should we handle a changed source file?: Give the assistant a version rule and a named change approver. They can record the new package, identify affected teams and gather acknowledgments while the project manager decides scope and timing.
How is the role prepared and hired?: We recruit and prepare the assistant for the responsibilities agreed with your agency before handoff. Managed support is dedicated and full-time with a monthly fee; direct hire uses a placement fee for recruitment and training. Hours, fees and terms are scoped with you.

Make the next multilingual handoff easier to inspect.

Show us where source versions, vendor replies or delivery records fall out of sync. We will help define a clear coordination role.

Find your assistant

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