Let’s explore the ISO audit process and the costs involved in ISO certification:
Initial Audit
When you first start your certification journey, you will go through the longest audit, called the "initial audit." This audit has two stages:
Stage 1: The auditor will review your management system and give you recommendations to fix any gaps or issues.
Stage 2: After addressing the gaps from Stage 1, the auditor will come back to review your management system again, focusing on the areas that needed improvement.
There should be at least 4 weeks between these two stages, but no longer than 8 weeks. This time allows you to implement the auditor's recommendations from Stage 1.
The system is designed to guide your company through the certification process, especially when your management system is still developing.
Cost of the initial audit
Since the initial audit is the longest, you might assume it would be the most expensive. However, the answer isn't that simple. Certification bodies have their own ways of calculating prices, and many factors influence the cost. Sometimes those factors not even mentioned in the contract. You might be surprised to learn that the price is not always based on what you expect.
To better understand the costs of ISO certification and what to anticipate, follow me and subscribe to my newsletter.
