how much ISO certification cost to become ISO certified?

We’ll get to the answer straight away: it is impossible to give an accurate ISO Certification cost without getting to know your business and its current state. As we discussed in our article on how long it takes to achieve ISO certification, there are just too many variables. However, the guidance below will give a good indication of the budget required. As you will see however, that largely depends on you.

Training and Consultancy - do you need it?

This is an important question, as ISO consultancy especially can cost more that the certification itself. A smaller business’s ISO certification audit will normally consist of two visits. This will be an initial day to see where you are, and what needs to be in place, followed by the formal audit when you’re ready. Although your Certification Body (that’s us!) can offer generic templates and give non-specific examples, they cannot tell you how to do things as this would be deemed as consultancy, therefore destroying the objectivity of the audit. If you are seeking more hands-on assistant, then the only option is to also source an ISO consultant.

 

ISO certification costs

Certification bodies use specified guidelines on how long they should look to take on-site auditing; things that affect this include the size of the organization, their level of risk and how many sites they have. A typical office-based SME will experience the service as described previously; there will be two visits spanning a day each.

When investigating costs for your organization, it is important to know exactly what you’ll be paying for. With some certification bodies using sub-contracted auditors, there can be additional travel fees and associated costs to be mindful of. There is also the often used ‘Annual Management Fee’, something not mentioned until you read it in black and white. It’s especially important to factor in these ISO certification costs is dependent on ongoing surveillance visits to ensure you are still meeting the requirements of the standard.

Ongoing cost considerations

As mentioned, retaining certification is dependent on you continuing to meet the requirements of your chosen ISO standard. Continual improvement is a key requirement, and is a major reason why the standards are chosen by buying authorities: it gives confidence that their suppliers are monitored.

 

Ongoing certification is based around a 3 year certification cycle one you have been initially assessed. The first two surveillance audits are a pared down version of initial certification, with the third being a full assessment once again. Whilst you must be visited at least annually, some Certification Bodies will insist on more regular audits. Ultimately it is up to you to decide whether that frequency is a help or hindrance to your organization. For reference, typically the cost of a surveillance audit is less than 50% of the initial ISO Certification cost.

The less obvious costs are worth consideration too. Implementing an ISO management standard takes an investment from management level down to those on the warehouse floor to be successful. Not only does someone has to take overall responsibility, reinforcing the merits of doing something different will take a time and effort. On the whole, people don’t like change and it will require ongoing training and reminders to gain workforce buy-in. Of course, the gains from implementing a standard should outweigh the input, but it is a ‘cost’ nevertheless.