Commissioning transcription is easiest when the operational questions are settled before the first recording arrives. April’s project notes turn common enquiries into a short checklist.
Define the output
State whether you need intelligent verbatim, strict verbatim, live text, subtitles or an NVivo-ready document. Include speaker labels, timestamps, anonymisation conventions and a terminology list. If several researchers are involved, use one naming convention and one approved instruction sheet.
Document the data flow
Record who is controller and processor, how files will be uploaded, who may access them, where they are hosted and when working copies will be deleted. Irish and EU customers should make sure international transfers and subprocessors are reflected in their privacy and ethics documentation.
Check evidence, not just claims
Where a procurement process requires security or quality accreditation, ask for the current certificate and scope. A supplier should also be able to explain incident reporting, confidentiality, retention and what it does—or does not do—with AI.
Early agreement saves rework and produces a consistent dataset ready for analysis.