There is increasing pressure on all industries to introduce Quality Management Systems, a development which has now also found entry into the translation industry. Industrial standards like the ISO family provide the basis of many such systems; however, for several reasons, such process-based standards are regarded by many as inappropriate for translation businesses. One common factor considered in this article is their failure to emphasise the role of people both in the definition of the processes and in their implementation. The present article proposes a new model for translation businesses, accepting the importance of people in the translation industry and recognising that process-driven quality systems may be inadequate in maintaining consistent levels of quality. The model is based on identifying the capabilities that incorporate the processes of an organisation and the behaviours embodied in the people involved in these processes. In this article, the model is referred to as Acquired Capabilities for Translation Systems (ACTS).