Costs of Implementing ISO 9001

How much does it cost?

One of the world's leading experts on quality, Philip Crosby, states emphatically that quality is free. Research has shown that sound business processes, effective management and the drive for continuous improvement makes businesses more competitive. Research has also shown that there have been far fewer business failures in companies that have implemented formal ISO 9001 management systems.

We could argue for days as to whether business and profit improvements can be directly linked to implementation of formal management systems like ISO 9001: 2000, but one thing is certain: ISO 9001: 2000 represents a model of good practice for business management.

It is difficult to identify all the costs associated with system implementation as developing sound business systems and making improvements is a responsibility of management anyway.

The direct costs associated with implementing ISO 9001 into a small to medium sized enterprise up to 50 employees using consultants breakdown roughly as follows:

Consultancy fees: £4,500 to £6,000
Assessment Fees: £2,500

On top of this you will need to make a small team of 3 to 5 people available for one days audit training, and you need to spend time with the consultant.

Consultants and assessment bodies base their fees on man-days. The number of days assistance you will need depends on the complexity of your business, the degree of regulation and the number of different products and/or services you supply, as these will generally lead to more processes.

For a micro-business of less than 5 employees and one product this can mean as little as 6 days consultancy at a fee of approx £3,000 and a day and a half assessment at approx £1,200.