Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the answers to the questions that we most often receive from prospective clients. If you have other questions, please contact us, or chat with us online.

Is Retail Systems Associates, Inc. an agency?

No. RSA is not an agency in the traditional sense. RSA represents a network of documentation professionals across the U.S.A., so we try to get your project in the hands of the most capable person. Usually you will have a direct billing and working relationship with that person, so there is no "middle-man" and no additional charges.

Does RSA outsource its work?

Rarely. When someone hires us to do a job, that's exactly what we do. This is the only way we can be sure that it gets done right. RSA consists of a network of documentation and IT professionals who collaborate as needed; however, if we cannot do your job, we will try to refer you to another service that may be better able to fulfill your needs. Sometimes your job may require a collaboration of our services and someone else's, but we'll always let you know.

Do you work onsite or offsite?

Almost exclusively offsite. In fact, we never get to meet 98% of our clients. Everything is done by Internet, email, phone, and fax. We never even get to talk to many clients because they just email us a document with instructions and we "do our thing", bill them online, and send it back to them. For large projects we sometimes have to be onsite to meet people and attend meetings—but because we charge hourly, these onsite visits can get expensive for our clients. We have become very adept at working from 'home' and sparing our clients this extra expense. Our ability to learn new products quickly and independently usually allows us to spare our clients this added expense.

Why should I hire RSA instead of some other company?

The people at RSA have been in this business since before the Internet went mainstream, and we believe in the concept of the 'virtual documentation department'. That by itself doesn't make us better, but it certainly makes us more experienced than our competition. Our longevity in this industry probably means that we are (hopefully) doing something right.

What makes RSA different is our simplified approach to doing business. We are not into marketing hype and the "hard sell". Our volume of work speaks for itself. We believe that business should be conducted under the basic virtues of trust, respect, and honesty. We do not undertake projects that we cannot do well. We operate under a fairly simple work-for-hire agreement with an open architecture that allows for flexibility, so clients have the freedom to change their mind. We value relationships over revenue because we know our success depends on turning new customers into repeat customers. In the end, that is what shines through, and that is what sets us apart.

I have never outsourced work before. What do I do? What can I expect?

The first time is always the hardest, mostly because you don't know who to trust or how it works. We've consulted with new clients hundreds of times, so we know your concerns and will be happy to take the time to talk with you and answer all of your questions. Be prepared to tell us what your needs are and what your deadlines are; we'll provide you with suggestions and let you know your options. There is absolutely no obligation or paperwork until you decide for sure that you want to hire us. If your project is of a secure nature, we'll gladly sign a limited non-disclosure agreement to protect your interests.

Do you offer flat-rate pricing?

Yes, but it depends on the job, and is ultimately at the discretion of the person performing the services. Those jobs that have definite boundaries, such as file conversions and OCR, are usually quoted at a fixed rate or a "per page" cost. For technical writing jobs, as well as IT services, we prefer to bill hourly for our services. Flat-rate pricing rarely works well for writing projects because of the vast number of changes and edits that are often required. Flat-rate pricing does not allow the client to make significant changes on-the-fly because the amount of labor is already fixed. As a compromise, we always provide our clients with a total cost estimate for every project so they know what to expect. If need be, we can always offer a flat-rate quote, but it will always be higher than an hourly estimate because we have to account for the probable changes.

Is it expensive to outsource documentation work?

When compared to the cost of paying an experienced full-time technical writer or IT programmer/analyst (anywhere from $50k - $80k per year), hiring RSA is an extremely cost-effective alternative. Companies that use RSA to maintain their documentation and software spend less than $20,000 per year/per product... a huge savings!

Although our hourly costs are higher, we only charge you for the time that we are actually working on your project. That means no staff meetings, no coffee breaks, no pottie breaks, no lunch breaks, and no email abuse or web surfing on your dime. Best of all, when the project ends (or gets delayed), we simply stop working; you have no further financial obligation. You pay us only for the work we did.

I only have a small project; is there a minimum charge?

There is a minimum charge of $20.00 for any project. If you have several small projects (e.g. converting a single page or two), you should bundle them together as one job to avoid this cost. This charge covers the fact that, even though your project may be small, the billing and processing takes the same time and effort as a larger project.

What will it cost? Do I pay up front? How do I pay?

Because every project is different and each client is unique, we assess each job individually. We provide free "ballpark" estimates on any project for which you are considering hiring RSA. Upon request, we can perform a more detailed analysis and develop a formal outline of your project for a nominal fee. If you hire RSA, this fee will be credited back to you on the first invoice. For technical writing, our labor rates vary from $40-$55 per hour depending on the complexity of the project. For IT software writing, our labor rates vary from $60-$75 per hour depending on the complexity of the project. For non-writing services, our rates vary from $40-$50 per hour.

For small projects (usually file conversions, OCR, and such), payment must be made prior to receiving the deliverables. For writing projects (which can span weeks or months), an initial deposit is due and a payment schedule is set forth in the contract. Clients who use our services regularly over a period of months/years may be moved to a monthly billing schedule.

Instant payments can be made through PayPal using eCheck, VISA, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover.

You can also pay by check, but we cannot deliver your product until the funds are received.

For a complete explanation of our billing and payment policies, please refer to the Payments Button.

What software do you use?

We use a LOT of different software. Here are the more common ones:

Do you sell your PDF conversion software?

No. We do not sell software, only services. Nor do we reveal the methods that we use. Please search the Internet for "PDF Software" if you want to find software vendors.

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