ISO Certification: 9001, 14001, 22000, 27001, 45001.

For a single-site SMB with processes already running, 15 to 30 working days for a non-IAF certificate and 20 to 45 working days for an IAF-accredited certificate. The non-IAF path is faster because the certification body audit is less formal. The IAF path runs gap analysis (week 1), documentation (week 2 to 3), internal audit (week 4), Stage 1 and Stage 2 external audits (week 5 to 6) and certification decision (week 7). ISO 27001 takes 60 to 90 days because of the Statement of Applicability depth. We give you a written timeline before you pay.

Non-IAF ISO 9001 is the cheapest, and you will see it advertised on Google from INR 2,999 to INR 9,999. It is a real certificate from a real certification body, but the body is not in the IAF chain. That means it is fine for internal quality use, internal supplier audits, and many domestic SMB needs, but it will fail when the buyer specifies an IAF-recognised certificate (most government tenders and most export buyers do). Talk to us before paying for the cheap version, sometimes it is the right call, sometimes it is money wasted.

Usually no. Flipkart, Meesho, Snapdeal and most regional retail chains do not require an ISO certificate to onboard a seller. You will need GST, FSSAI (if food), trademark (if branded) and a barcode, but ISO is a separate buyer requirement that kicks in when you are quoting for government tenders, listing as an enterprise supplier, exporting, or pitching to large corporate buyers. If you are unsure whether your buyer needs it, send us the tender document or the buyer email on WhatsApp and we will read it and tell you.

IAF (International Accreditation Forum) accreditation means the certification body is audited and recognised by an IAF-member accreditation board. NABCB in India, UKAS in the UK, ANAB in the US. IAF-accredited certificates carry the IAF Mutual Recognition Arrangement, which is what makes the certificate recognised across 100+ countries and accepted by government tenders, exports and large private buyers. Non-IAF certificates are issued by certification bodies that are not in the IAF chain. They cost a fraction and are valid for internal use and many domestic buyers, but they are not interchangeable with IAF certificates. We disclose the accreditation status of every certificate before you commit and recommend the path that matches your buyer.

If your certificate is issued by an IAF-accredited certification body, it carries the IAF MLA mark and is recognised by IAF members across 100+ countries. If your certificate is non-IAF, it will not carry the MLA mark and international acceptance is at the discretion of the receiving party. For exporters and businesses targeting GCC, Europe or North America, we always recommend the IAF-accredited path. For domestic-only SMBs serving regional retailers, non-IAF is often sufficient. We confirm in writing which path you are on before the audit.

Every 3 years. ISO certificates have a 3-year cycle. In Year 1 you receive the certificate after the initial audit. In Year 2 and Year 3 you go through a shorter annual surveillance audit to confirm the management system is still running. At the end of Year 3, you go through a full recertification audit and the cycle restarts. Surveillance audits typically cost 30 to 50 per cent of the original audit fee. We quote Year 1 + Year 2 + Year 3 as a bundle so you can budget for the full cycle upfront.

We handle the documentation work. That is the whole point of hiring a consultant. We deliver the Quality Manual, Standard Operating Procedures, work instructions, records templates and internal audit checklists tailored to your business; you do not write them. Your team contributes the inputs (what you actually do today, who does what, what records you already keep) and we turn that into a documented management system that an external auditor will accept. For SMBs with no existing SOPs, we build from scratch. For businesses already running clean processes, we document what you already do.

Multi-site scopes are quoted separately because the certification body audit fee scales with site count. 2 common approaches: certify a single primary site and reference branches in scope, or run a multi-site sampling audit where the certification body audits a subset of sites under a unified management system. We help you choose the right approach based on size, geographic spread and how your management system actually runs. WhatsApp us the list of sites and we will scope it in writing.