How long does it take and how much will it cost?
The time taken and the cost to achieve accreditation will vary depending upon the following.
· The standard (s) you are hoping to achieve certification for as they all vary with the amount of work involved.

For example ISO 9001 is all about your working processes so pre-dominantly is looking at what you're doing to manage your customers; it has been thought that most organisations are already 50% on their way to accreditation before even starting to work for ISO 9001 and it is a case of getting that information into a formalised way.

Should you choose to do ISO 14001, it's will include undertaking an environmental review and determining what out of your processes you have the potential to reduce or to improve. Similarly if you choose BS OHSAS 18001, there are legislations that you must comply with to gain accreditation which include completing sufficient risk assessments. And similarly you can choose ISO TS 16949 certification service.


The complexity of your organisation e.g. what and how you provide your service and / or manufacture your product.

Geographical locations e.g. do you operate out of 1 site or 10? The system should be adopted at all of your sites

The certification body you choose. Their availability will matter significantly in the process of achieving accreditation. Some will be available in 2 months, others in 4 months. Similarly for most management standards, most certification bodies adopt a two stage certification approach; Stage 1 will include completing a gap analysis of the system to establish your readiness, Stage 2 or the final assessment will then encompass a full audit of the management system (the pass or fail scenario)

The amount of employees involved in the organisation. Why? Because generally more people mean more processes and these will all have to be considered in the accreditation scope. This will also affect your assessment duration; more people will result in more days required by the assessment body.

How much will my assessment cost?
This cost will vary depending upon the certification body you choose.

There is no right or wrong assessment body; however at GQS we only use and recommend NABCB / UKAS / ANAB / DAR accredited certification bodies.

Can you help us choose the right certification body?
Yes we can. We have built up close business relationships with many, all of which are internationally accredited and we will recommend depending upon their costs and their experience in your industry.

Can you offer assistance after we have gained certification?
Yes we can, it is what we class as a service contract, and it will encompass the complete annual ongoing management of the system as it develops.

We will plan and schedule the audits accordingly, and these will then be completed by one of our skilled and experienced auditors as per the Gant Chart. Any non conformity found will be raised and rectified as necessary, ready and in line for your annual surveillance with the assessment body, for which we will also attend.