ISO 9001 for service companies

A service cannot be held, tested or returned. Clients judge it by your promises, your references and the way you work. ISO 9001:2015, the world's leading standard for quality management systems, gives them a shared reference for that judgement.

Larger customers, procurement teams and partners often include a quality certificate in supplier questionnaires and tender documents. For a consulting firm, an agency, a facility service or an IT provider, the certificate answers an early question: is the work organised, and does the company learn from its mistakes?

The standard rests on seven principles: customer focus, leadership, engagement of people, process approach, improvement, evidence-based decision making and relationship management. All seven suit service work, where people and relationships are the product.

• ISO for small and medium businesses

Service companies share a few weak points. Results depend on individuals, knowledge stays in people's heads, and promises are made faster than they can be planned. ISO 9001 addresses these points with a simple logic: define, control, check, improve.

The six key requirements of ISO 9001 translate into everyday service work. The examples below show what this can look like in practice.

1. 01

   Understand the context

   A consulting firm lists the clients, partners, staff and external expectations that influence its work, and decides which matter most.

2. 02

   Define policy and objectives

   An IT service provider writes a quality policy in a few sentences and sets measurable objectives, such as an agreed response time for support requests.

3. 03

   Assess risks and opportunities

   A cleaning company notes staff absence in busy periods as a risk and prepares a list of substitutes.

4. 04

   Define and control processes

   A design agency describes the path from briefing to final approval on one page, with owners and checkpoints.

5. 05

   Ensure resources and competence

   An accounting firm keeps training records and checks that new colleagues know the procedures before they work alone with clients.

6. 06

   Monitor and improve

   A training provider reviews feedback after every course and records the changes it makes as a result.

• ISO 9001 standard page

The vocabulary of the standard can sound industrial. Here is what the main terms mean for a company that sells services.

Customer requirements

What the client expects, stated or implied. Example: a response time in a support contract or a deadline in an agency brief.

Service process

The steps that turn an order into a delivered service. Example: from the onboarding call to the monthly report for a managed IT client.

Nonconformity

A requirement that was not met. Example: a report delivered late or a visit that missed an agreed task.

Corrective action

Action that removes the cause of a nonconformity so it does not return. Example: a checklist added after attachments went missing in several client handovers.

Documented information

Procedures and records you keep. Example: a one-page process description, a training record or a complaint log.

Customer satisfaction monitoring

Finding out how clients see your service. Example: a short survey at project close or a review of repeat orders.

You start with an online self-assessment of 30 yes/no questions. You pass with 20 of 30. After passing and payment, your certificate arrives within 4 hours. You do not need an account to buy.

The certificate is issued by G6 Agency AG under licence from SICE, the Swiss Institute of Certification and Education. SICE reviews every assessment before the certificate is issued. There is no on-site audit. Every certificate can be verified publicly by number and QR code, and it is confirmed each year by a short online re-audit.

The price is 599 CHF (€599) in the first year, then 399 CHF (€399) per year including the yearly online re-audit. The certificate is valid for 3 years. Billing is an automatic yearly subscription. You can cancel at any time in your customer account, to the end of the current year, and the certificate then ends with the paid year. Prices include 8.1% Swiss VAT for customers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

If your company needs more than one standard, the multi-standard discount is 20% for 2 standards and 30% for 3 or more, also on the yearly fee.

• Start the free self-assessment
• See pricing
• How it works

Some customers and tenders describe how a certificate must be obtained. Before you decide, read the wording of the requirement. Ask your client or the contracting authority if it is unclear.

The classic route means an on-site audit by a certification body. The Zertify route is an online self-assessment, reviewed by SICE and confirmed every year online. Our guides compare both routes, their effort and their cost.

• Compare the certification routes
• Certification without an on-site audit
• Guide on certification cost