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Free · ten minutes

How ready are you for certification?

Choose your standard and answer the questions in four short steps. Your readiness report, with your score for each area and your priority actions, is sent to your e-mail.

Start the readiness checkBook a free discovery call

Free · ten minutes each

Choose your standard — 48 free readiness checks

Each check is scored against the current edition of its standard, with its own questions, area scores and report. Open the one your customers, tenders or regulators name. Checks for further standards are being added; if yours is not listed yet, book a discovery call and a consultant will take you through the equivalent questions.

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What a readiness check tells you

  • Where you stand

    A score for the standard as a whole and for each of its four areas, from your answers to the requirements certification bodies and assessors test first. Those items count twice, so the score reflects what an auditor weighs, not a flat checklist.

  • What to fix first

    Your priorities in order: the double-weighted requirements you answered No or Not sure, then the remaining gaps, each with why it matters and the action that closes it.

  • A report you can keep

    Your result in plain words, your score by area, the priority list with a suggested order of work and the full answer table with the requirement references, sent by e-mail so you can share it internally.

How it works

  1. Choose your standard

    Each check has its own page, its own questions and its own report. Open the one your customers, tenders or regulators name.

  2. Answer in four short steps

    Yes, Partly, No or Not sure, for each requirement. Nothing to upload, no documents to prepare; it takes about ten minutes.

  3. Your answers are analysed

    As soon as you finish, your answers are scored by area, the double weight is applied and your gaps are ranked; the band that describes where you stand follows.

  4. Receive the report, talk it through

    Tell us where to send it and the report comes by e-mail. If you ask for a discovery call, a Sterling consultant replies within one working day.

Readiness check, gap analysis or pre-assessment?

  • Readiness check

    Free, ten minutes, your own answers. It shows where your management system stands against the main requirements and what to fix first. It reviews no evidence and is not a certification decision.

  • Gap analysis

    A Sterling consultant examines your documents, processes and records against every requirement of the standard and delivers a requirement-by-requirement report with the implementation plan. It is the first stage of an engagement and the point at which scope, timeline and effort become firm.

  • Pre-assessment and Stage 1

    The certification body's own review before the certification audit. Sterling prepares you for it and supports you through it; the body performs it and decides. Sterling does not certify.

Questions about the readiness checks

Is the readiness check really free?

Yes. There is no charge and no commitment. The report is yours whether or not you work with Sterling.

Which edition of the standard do the questions follow?

The edition named in the check's title and in your report. When a standard is revised, the question set is updated and the edition shown on the page changes with it.

Can I run the check for more than one standard?

Yes. Each standard has its own page and its own report. Organisations planning an integrated management system usually run two or three and bring the results to the discovery call.

Does a high score mean we would pass the audit?

No. The check scores your own answers; an audit tests evidence. A high score means the structure is in place and the conversation can move to evidence, scope and timeline. A low score shows where implementation work starts. Sterling does not certify; an accredited certification body audits and decides.

Who sees my answers?

Sterling uses them to prepare your report and, if you ask for one, the discovery call. They are not shared with certification bodies and never sold. To prepare your report, your answers, without your name or contact details, are processed by service providers working for Sterling. The privacy notice explains how Sterling handles personal data.

My standard is not listed. What now?

Checks for further standards are being added. In the meantime, book a discovery call: a Sterling consultant takes you through the equivalent questions for your standard.

Readiness checks by standard

Each check is scored against the current edition of its standard, with its own questions, area scores and reading. Open the one your customers, tenders or regulators name.