What drives the cost of an ISO project
The things that move the price of management system work, so you can read any quote line by line.
The cost of management system consultancy is driven by the number of standards, sites and people in scope, how much of the system already exists, the deadline, and how much of the work your team does. The certification body's fees are separate and are paid to them directly.
Six things move the price
Standards, sites, the processes in scope, what already exists, the deadline and your team's share of the work. You control most of them, which means you can change a quote by changing the scope, the date or who does what.
Each driver changes the number of days of work, and days are what a consultancy quote is made of. The table says why each one moves the cost and who controls it.
| Driver | Why it moves the cost, and who controls it |
|---|---|
| Number of standards | Each standard adds requirements, though an integrated system shares documents, audits and reviews across them. You decide the set. |
| Sites | Each site is walked, documented and audited. You decide which sites are in scope. |
| People and processes in scope | More processes mean more documents to write and more to audit. You control it partly, since the work is what it is. |
| What already exists | A working system nobody wrote down costs far less than starting from nothing. This one is set by your history. |
| Deadline | A compressed timeline needs more of our time per week, and more of your team's. You set the date, or your buyer does. |
| Your team's involvement | The more your people write and run, the less we do. You decide the split. |
What a quote should contain
The scope, the steps, the documents you will receive, the days on site, what your team is expected to do, and a clear statement that certification fees are separate. If a quote does not state all six, ask.
A quote that gives a single figure for getting you certified tells you nothing about what you are buying. The six items let you compare two quotes on the same basis, and they tell you what you can hold the consultancy to.
- The scope: standards, sites and activities
- The steps, in order
- The named documents and records you will receive
- The days on site
- What your team is expected to write, run and attend
- A statement that certification body fees are separate
Certification fees sit outside this
The certification body's audit fees are a separate cost, paid by you directly to the body you choose. They are not part of a consultancy quote, and a quote that folds them in should make you ask why.
Accredited certification bodies set audit time using rules published by the International Accreditation Forum, driven mainly by headcount and the complexity of what you do. Ask the certification body for its own quote early, because it runs on its own calendar.
Two companies, the same size, two different quotes
Two companies of the same size both want ISO 9001. One has a working system that nobody wrote down; the other runs on memory. The quotes differ because the work differs, and the gap analysis is what shows it.
The first company's gap analysis finds real practice everywhere and paper nowhere. Its work is documentation of what already happens, followed by an internal audit. Its people already produce most of the records an auditor samples; they have just never been filed as records.
The second company's gap analysis finds that each process runs differently depending on who is on shift. Before anything is written, the process has to be agreed and run the same way long enough to produce evidence. That is implementation, and it is most of the cost.
Neither quote is wrong. They are priced on different work, and the gap report is the document that shows the difference line by line.
Questions about the price
Why is there no price on the site?
Because the drivers above vary too much between companies for a published figure to mean anything. A quote follows a gap call or a gap analysis, and should state the six items listed above.
Are certification fees included?
No. The certification body's fees are separate and are paid directly to the body you choose. A consultancy quote should say that in writing.
Does an integrated system cost less than separate ones?
Usually, compared with building the same standards as separate sets. The shared parts, such as document control, internal audit and management review, are built once instead of three times.
How can we bring the cost down?
Do more of the work yourselves, give the project a realistic date, and keep the scope to what the buyer or regulator actually asked for. The drivers table shows which lever you hold.
Is the gap analysis priced separately?
It can be bought on its own, and the report is yours whatever you do next. It is also the document the rest of the quote is built on.
Before you ask for a quote
How long it takes
Estimates by type of project, and why records set the pace.
Read moreServiceGap analysis
The report every serious quote is built on.
Read moreGuideWhen a consultant is worth paying for
Including the cases where you should do it yourself.
Read moreServiceIntegrated system
Several standards run from one shared document set.
Read morePart of one system
Every division keeps records to the same standard, so the second one you need works the way the first one did.
Get a quote built on your gaps
A gap call scopes the work; a gap analysis sizes it. The quote that follows states the scope, the steps, the documents, the days and your team's part.