ISO certification cost + All ISO cost involve

If you go on the internet and type in, “ISO certification cost,” you will get a lot of blogs that will not answer this question directly. This is because there is no simple way to answer this question. You need to understand how the certification process works in order to get the answer. In this blog, we will talk about the ISO certification process, the role of an ISO consultant, how an ISO consultant will help you save money and the costs involved.

What is an ISO certification?

Simply put, ISO certification is a verification from an impartial third-party certification body that your processes, people, products or services are functioning at the same level as internationally- appreciated standards. It is a guarantee that your products and services are of superior quality, your management system is efficient and you are committed to continual growth.

Why is ISO certification so important?

Irrespective of the industry that you are in, there will be many companies delivering the same products or services. In order to stand-out in the sea of competitors, you need to set yourself apart. ISO certification is a form of advertising your operational efficiency and commitment to meeting customer requirements. This is because, in order to achieve ISO certification, organisations need to undergo a strict, detailed and comprehensive external audit.

ISO certification is only granted to those organisations that adhere to the recommendations of the chosen ISO standard, have an auditable management system and have demonstrated compliance for more than 3 to 6 months in addition to performing well in the audit

. As the ISO certification is difficult to attain, customers understand that organisations have put in the effort to stand out from their competitors. This is what make ISO certificates so important, as they increase both stakeholder and customer confidence in your products or services.

What are the benefits of ISO certification?

If you have successfully implemented a management system based on the recommendations of the ISO standard, undergone an external audit and acquired the certificate, you can enjoy many benefits such as enhanced brand credibility, better operational efficiency and reduced costs. In order to acquire your certification, you have to conduct detailed assessment of your processes, which allows you to identify areas in your organisation that are financially draining.

When you streamline your processes, you become more efficient, reduce wastage and improve cost savings. Moreover, as the ISO certification is internationally recognised, you will be able to easily access international markets.

Furthermore, as ISO requires you to put customer expectations in the front-line of your operations, you create products or services that meet the customer expectations, thereby increasing customer loyalty and improving customer acquisition. The benefits of ISO do not only include these items. You can learn more about this by reading the ISO certificate Benefits article.

What is the process of ISO certification?

Simply put, you have to create a management system in accordance to the recommendations of your chosen standard, test it for a few months and evaluate its functionality. If the management system is functioning as intended, you can get it audited by an external body. We have already discussed fully about how to get ISO certification.

After reading the above paragraph, you may be thinking that if the process is so simple, why is the certification process “costly?” This is because in theory, the implementation of a management system may seem easy, but in reality, you will encounter many hurdles. For example, you may not appropriately understand the requirements of your chosen standard, leading you to overlook important aspects in your management system.

Similarly, even if you understand the requirements, you simply do not have the experience to implement industry specific best practises or corrective actions to improve the efficiency of your newly developed management system.

This is why, many organisations choose to work with an ISO consultancy.

Role of an ISO consultant to reduce ISO certification cost

An ISO consultant saves you money by helping you avoid mistakes that could delay your certification process. Essentially, the ISO consultant sits with you to understand how you operate your business, observes how your processes function and collect inputs from people who interact regularly with your management system.

Additionally, the ISO consultant goes through your documentation to ensure that it complies with the recommendations of the chosen ISO standard. Based on your documentation, inputs, functionality of operations and current state of your management system, the ISO consultant will suggest corrective actions that will help you meet compliance and clear your certification audit.

How much does it cost to be ISO certified?

As the consultancy and certification process is customised and dependent upon the individual situation of your organisation, there is no generic cost of ISO certification. Larger organisations would need the ISO consultant to spend more time and effort reviewing the documents, interviewing the people and observing the processes.

Hence, ISO certification cost would be more for larger organisations and less for small-scale industries. Having said that, a generalised fee is approximately $15,000 per year for small to medium sized organisations that are located in a single site and have less than thousand employees.

If you are a small business owner, you can get more information about the cost of ISO certification for small business by using the ISO consulting service.

How The ISO Council can help

Our mission is to support you at every stage of your certification process, so that you remember this journey as a joyous one, instead of a stressful one. Our services are unique as we incorporate our three pillars:

• Pillar one- A personalised service for companies without time or ISO certification expertise.
• Pillar two- An ultra fast three week turnaround adds certainty when accepting new contracts.
• Pillar three- A complete hands off solution with 100% money back guarantee for zero risk.

The certification cost depends upon the size, complexity, number of employees, and number of sites in your organisation.