Doing Business with Apogee Communications

I’m creating this post largely as a reference to point contractors to when various business issues come up. For anyone else, this will largely be a rather dull post.

CONGRATULATIONS

First of all, congratulations for working with Apogee Communications! Apogee is a quality-first company working in the videogame industry. We offer a range of services for our clients, including translation/localization, graphic development, technical support and other services. We hire the best people we can find to provide, improve and proof all of our delivered services. If you are reading this, you’ve already been hired and we thank you very, very much for your help.

DOCUMENTATION (Purchase Orders and Invoices)

Your purchase order is the email with the instructions for your work. This email should include a complete description of the work required, the deadline and the amount of payment in US dollars. If these are not in our email, contact us immediately. After delivery of your work, your invoice is automatically generated by Apogee’s billing system as long as we have all of your information on file (name, physical address, email address, PayPal address, cell number, social security number for US residents). If you have any changes to these, it is up to you to inform us.

PAYMENT METHODS

All payments are in US dollars, as outlined in the email issuing your work order. This email is your Purchase Order.

• For those living in the United States:

We offer either PayPal or Company Check. If you do more than $600 of business with us during any calendar year, we will require your Social Security number and we’ll issue you a government 1099 form at the end of the year for your taxes. Note that as an independent contractor, you are expected to handle all of your own tax issues.

• For those living outside of the United States:

For most purposes, we always pay using PayPal. We can also issue a company check drawn in US dollars. WE CANNOT USE MONEYBOOKERS. In November 2008, Moneybookers ceased support for US-based entities. For those people living in countries where PayPal does not have full operations, we can offer Western Union services where those are available. Note that Western Union has special rules concerning transfers going out of California that we must adhere to. The Payee is responsible for all payment transaction costs, except wire transfer as outlined below.

WIRE TRANSFER

Apogee will issue wire transfers free of any outgoing bank charges for amounts over $1000. There may be fees from intermediary banks or the receiving bank, but the Payee will not have to pay for any of the initiating fees from our California-based bank. In very limited circumstances, if Western Union, PayPal or Company Check are not available options, Apogee may approve wire transfers for less than $1000, but the Payee will need to cover any and all bank fees. The bank fee for an outgoing wire transfer is typically $45.

PAYMENT TERMS

Apogee pays all contractors on a Net 60 basis. This means that you will be paid 60 days after your work has been approved. Note that the approval of your work may be several days after your submission, but almost never more than one week later.

Payments are processed on the First and Fifteenth day of every month or, if those days are weekends or holidays, on the following business day. If your payment is due on August 8, you should expect your payment on August 15.

Apogee maintains this payment term in order to keep in lock-step with its clients, who enforce similar payment terms. Shorter payment terms would put undue stress on Apogee, particularly during very busy months. By maintaining a longer payment term at all times, Apogee helps to ensure that all contractors get paid no matter how much business it transacts in any given period. In six years of operation (as of this writing), Apogee has never missed a pay date.

PROBLEMS

If there is a problem with your payment, contact us immediately. Reference your work with the original email word order (date, email address, amount). Apogee handles approximately 10,000 individual payment transactions per year. On any given year, about 5 to 15 problems occur. We’re very proud of the low number, but that number is not zero. Please keep an independent record of your work in case any errors should arise.

Thank you again for working with Apogee Communications! We strive for the highest possible quality in our deliveries. As long as quality is kept high, all other problems are manageable.