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The Cost of ISO 9001 Certification?
Though there are costs incurred in attaining ISO 9001, the exercise should really be used as a means to apply more efficient business practices and lift performance across the organisation with the aim of increasing customer value, revenue and profit. With this approach it should be possible for ISO 9001 to virtually pay for itself. There are THREE basic cost elements to gaining ISO 9001; the external costs of using a consultant, the cost of the external assessment and registration, and the generally less defined costs related to the time and effort expended by the organisation's own people. There may also be some training requirements (e.g. Internal Auditing), but this can sometimes be included within the consultancy work. Below is a breakdown and some examples of these costs.
ISO 9001: 2000 Assessment and Certification Costs
There are many Certification Bodies (CBs), that will carry out assessments against ISO 9001:2000, and provide the necessary certification. Some will be accredited by UKAS, and some not, and their fees will vary to some degree. It is worth shopping around, not only on price, but also to ensure that the assessor you are dealing with understands your business and your approach.
Certification assessment fees may range from around £560 to £650 per day and the number of days spent on the initial assessment is usually a factor of the size of the organisation, its complexity. UKAS, the standards authority for Certification Bodies, is now mandating a TWO Stage assessment, in line with ISO 14001, and for a typical small business with 10 to 15 employees in a single location will be looking at TWO days overall, though for very small firms this may reduce to 1.5 days.
ISO 9001 Consultancy Costs
This will depend to some degree on what the organisation is able and willing to do itself, but a consultant brings the necessary detailed knowledge of ISO 9001:2000 and how its requirements should be applied to the organisation, along with guidance on any additional processes that ISO 9001 requires.
Typical Consultancy Charges: The following are typical charges made by Business Improvement Services to clients of between 10 and 20 staff at a single site.
Work area |
Cost range (£s) |
Initial help with drafting the Quality (Business) Manual |
570 - 1300 |
Providing a gap analysis against ISO 9001:2000 (optional) |
390 - 430 |
Audit to assess readiness for assessment (dummy audit) |
390 - 430 |
General ad-hoc advice and response to queries |
FREE |
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These charges are guidelines only, and will naturally be dependent on a number of factors, such as organisational complexity, but should provide a good feel for basic costs.
For an immediate estimate of consultancy and certification costs, and some advice on possible approaches, call or email without any obligation.
Internal Costs of ISO 9001
Most of the work carried out to reach readiness for ISO 9001 certification will usually be done by the organisation's own people, and although it is possible to bring in a consultant to do more of this, it then risks becoming more of a "bolt on" management system with a reduced sense of self ownership. An important consideration.
It is usually very difficult to estimate or measure the true internal cost of this work, as it is usually carried out over an extended period of time and whenever it can be fitted in, but it is certainly worth seeing it all in a positive light, and ensuring that all the effort put in by staff and management does in the end bring real business improvement benefits as well as the desired certification.
If you would like more specific information on likely costs for your own organisation, to ask a few more questions, or discuss further how ISO 9001 can benefit your business then do call or email.
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| Certification costs |
| Initial certification can range from about £560 to £650 per day. Smaller firms may require just one or maybe two days for an assessment depending on complexity and if multiple site locations. |
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| Consultancy costs |
| This will vary depending on what is needed, but very small firms may be looking at between £500 and £600 as a guideline. |
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| Recover the costs of gaining ISO 9001 |
| Aim to recoup the cost of ISO 9001 by using it to push through internal business efficiencies and to raise the bar on service or product quality. |
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