Any entrepreneur/business/legal entity who starts a business aims to expand his/her business, increase productivity and further mark on a global presence. Though such growth of a business may be organic or inorganic or both, every business needs to get adequate certifications to increase its credibility, build consumer trust and gain investors for its business. Thus, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is such an international certification that comes with multifarious benefits. Before further discussing the benefits of ISO Certification, let’s know a little about it-

ISO is the acronym for the International Organization for Standardization, is a multinational body created by multiple national standard units with the objective to develop and publish a large body of proprietary, industrial, and commercial standards for various products and services that are accepted globally. The acronym “ISO”comes from an ancient Greek word”ISOS” which means equal. To eliminate regional linguistic barriers and develop common understanding between nations, the founders preferred to call it by the acronym ISO.

The organizations abbreviated name—ISO—is not an acronym; it derives from the ancient Greek word” ísos”, meaning equal or equivalent. Because the organization would have different acronyms in different languages, the founders of the organization decided to call it by the short form ISO.

How to Get ISO Certificate Registration with Legalmart

The ISO Certification system is a comprehensive certification system that comes for a whole lot of benefits for the businesses like improved management systems, better efficiency, increased revenues, expansion opportunities and many more. For expert guidance and assistance through the process, refer to Legalmart.in and obtain the certification in a quick and hassle-free manner.

Benefits of ISO Certificate

ISO certification comes with a whole lot of benefits for a business. Achieving an ISO quality management certification can pay huge dividends for your business in improved efficiency, productivity and customer satisfaction. But the benefits of ISO go far beyond the operations to every aspect of the business, including sales and marketing, strategic planning and employee engagement including-

Here are some of the advantages associated with ISO Certification of a business-

Improved Business Goodwill & consumer trust: For a business, its trust among consumers and its goodwill are of utmost value. Therefore, an ISO certification can help to become more credible, earn goodwill and secure business relationships in public as well as in the private sector. ISO certification will act as a sign of product efficiency through an efficient management implying that the concerned business is financially strong & well managed in the long run. Further, most of the private entities prefer to deal with credible suppliers holding ISO certifications such as ISO 9001.
Better Quality Products & Services: As it’s a known fact that ISO certification becomes an indication of quality products & services and thus it builds trust among customers towards the authenticity of the same. Further, it also helps to keep track of customer satisfaction and prompt response for any issues raised by customers. Thus, the ISO certification detects & identifies areas which are material and in priority for the concerned customers.
Improved management & planning: It’s a known fact that a proper & effective management is a key to an effective management. ISO certifications such as ISO 9001 helps to establish and maintain an efficient management in place to allow a business to grow. Also, a well- managed company can also be an attractive opportunity for prospective purchasers even if the company has to be sold.
Improved uniformity in business practices: Having proper systems for every requirement will help a business to have proper mechanisms whenever any problem comes in between. Thus, ISO certifications provide consistency to benefit the business as well as the consumers. It warrants that all the processes within the company are well-known and well understood by the employees of the company for the timely completion of tasks.
Improved employee morale & job security: An ISO certification helps to proper planning where roles of employees are defined and well-understood. Thus, when there is system in place backed by communication and coordination among the management, it leads to elimination of wastes and production of high quality goods and/or services. It also allows to fill skill gaps in the business and thus boosts morale of the employees and gives them confidence of job-security.
Lower costs associated with business: The greatest advantage of holding an ISO certification lies in the fact that it reduces costs for a business including lesser documentation, audits and can help to lower the costs related to insurance premiums, as the insurers understand that the business has appropriate systems in place and has a system for risk identification.
Identification of Risks & Opportunities in Advance: We all want a reliable system in place to mitigate risks in advance and identify opportunities for us. Well, ISO certification can help you to detect potential risks your business can go through and helps you control such risks in a systematic manner. Also, ISO allows the businesses to look for probable opportunities and how can it turn advantageous for you in an organized fashion.

Types of ISO Certificate in India

ISO 9001 2008 – Quality Management

This is the first and most popular category for ISO certifications for businesses all over the world and most commonly known as ISO9001 or QMS. The ISO 9001 provides for requisites required for an efficient Quality Management System (QMS) for an organization to validate its ability to offer products/services which fulfil the applicable regulatory provisions. With ISO 9001 in place, you are assured of customer satisfaction from products & services, processes for incessant progresses with strict adherence to applicable regulatory requirements. It is applicable to every entity irrespective of their industry, products or services or size of the entity.

ISO 14001 – Environmental Management

Environment protection and sustainable use of natural resources is the most relevant aspects of the modern world. As a result of which multiple statutory compliances & reports are needed to be filed by an organization. Therefore, if you are someone looking for a reliable tool to manage your environmental compliance, you need to hold an ISO 14001 certification. It assists in effectively setting up an environment management system, helps to provide an assurance of compliance by the organization to the external stakeholders and government offices of the effective following up on organizations actions that are not posing any threat to the environment and the impact of every action is being closely monitored.

ISO 27001 – Information security Management

Another category of ISO certification includes ISO27001 which is for the purpose of information security management. This certification helps to establish specifications for an Information management system for an organization. This system helps to employ best possible system for information security managing processes and technology by addressing people.

ISO 22008 – Food Safety Management

India is known for having stringent food security laws against adulteration and its safety. Therefore, non-compliance of the same could have disastrous consequences. However, getting an ISO certification is a strong evidence that your organization complies with all applicable rules & regulations.

Further ISO 22008 helps to identify and lay down food safety management standards along with the assurance that the food products being offered for sale to the consumers are prepared from quality raw materials, go through standardized processes for serving them within the global food supply chain, helping products to be supplied cross borders and bringing people food together.

Other ISO certifications

Other than those listed above, there are multiple ISO certification systems including ISO 31000 for Risk Management, ISO 37001 for anti-bribery control system, ISO 26000 for social responsibility and so on.

Eligibility criteria of ISO Certificate registration

Any organization or entity engaged in any business activities can apply for ISO certification which will further depend on the size of the business and the number of employees in the company. For which, an entity will be required to submit certain documents containing details about its processes & procedures. Further, it is also possible to apply and hold more than one ISO certification for one specific business activity/s, which will come with additional advantages such as market recognition & lesser costs and compliances.

Documents Required for ISO Certificate Registration

There is a comprehensive list of documents required for ISO certification requirements which includes the following-

Copy of PAN card of the entity/organization.
Copy of Aadhaar Card of the applicant.
Passport size photo of the applicant.
Electricity Bill Copy.
Copy of sale deed in case of owned property and rent agreement in case of rented property.
For organization certificate of incorporation & MOA /AOA is also required.

How to Register a ISO Certificate Online

Step 1- Select the requisite ISO Certification

If you are someone intending to obtain an ISO certification for the business, the first decision you need to make is the type of ISO certification required for the business. Some of the types of the same include- ISO 9001 2008 – Quality Management ISO 14001, Environmental Management- ISO 27001, Information security Management- ISO 22008, and Food Safety Management etc.

Step 2- Selecting an ISO Certification Body to process

Though the ISO is an independent body for accrediting certification, it does not conduct the verification process on its own, but it does not directly provide certification to the companies. But through a third-party agency i.e. ISO Registrar.

Step 3- Follow the below-mentioned steps-

Draft an ISO Contract/Agreement defining the rights and obligations, liabilities, confidentiality etc. between the concerned applicant and registrar.
The ISO auditor will observe all quality manuals & documents associated with the several policies & measures being practised in the applicant organization and review current work that will assist the ISO auditor to recognize the likely gaps against the requirements provided in the ISO standards.
After the thorough observance of the manuals, the ISO auditor will communicate the probable gaps in the concerned organization, the applicant needs to make an action plan to eliminate these gaps which may be important to bring the desired changes in your organization.
The ISO Auditor will observe the requisite changes undertaken by the organization out of the gaps picked by the same and will further split them into minor and major ones. Later, the ISO auditor will do the final auditing observing if the ruled out abnormalities have been rectified as per ISO quality standards and will prepare a final Audit report forward it to the registrar. The Registrar after observing the audit report and related documents will grant you the ISO certification.

Normally, the time required for the process of ISO Certification varies from business to business depending upon their size and product/services offered by the organization, which is normally around-

6-8 months for smaller organizations.
8-12 months for medium organizations.
12-15 months for large organizations.

Validity of ISO Certification

After the successful completion of the process of the ISO certification, the organization will receive an ISO certificate which shall be valid for 3 years and shall also be subject to renewal from time to time. Further, the certifying authority has the right to periodical monitoring to ensure that the concerned system is being followed appropriately and is deep rooted in the procedures of the concerned entity.

Why you Choose Legalmart

Thus, ISO certification in India comes with multifarious benefits for a business such as business goodwill, trust among consumers, risk& opportunities identification, reduced costs and many more. However, in absence of an expert guidance, the process of getting one could be hectic for a business entity. Nevertheless, Legalmart provides expert level guidance and assistance in the process by providing guidance, in preparation of documents and any other reasonable assistance required in the process to make the journey of getting ISO certificate simple & hassle-free. Good luck!