BRCGS Consultancy Cost in Morocco: Budget, Timeline and Funding

How much does BRCGS consultancy cost in Morocco?

There is no single price: the cost depends on the gap between your site and the standard. A credible quote comes after a gap analysis on site, never before.

The budget of a BRCGS project breaks down into four items, to be kept separate from the start:

1. Consultancy: gap analysis, action plan, document reviews, follow-up visits, mock audit.
2. Training: HACCP team, process owners, internal auditors, operator awareness.
3. Site works: building, equipment, separation of areas, pest control, laboratory testing.
4. The certification audit: invoiced by the certification body approved by BRCGS.

The standard itself is not a cost item: BRCGS states that the Food Safety standard can be accessed free of charge through its online store.

We do not publish price ranges: ACG prepares its quote after the diagnostic, based on the gap measured, the size of the site, the scope and the time your team can give the project. The certification audit is priced by the certification body, from the audit duration calculated under BRCGS rules.

Which factors make the cost vary?

Seven factors explain most of the budget differences between two sites. The table gives their relative, qualitative weight as we observe it on assignments.

The hardest item to forecast is almost never the consultancy. It is the site works. A floor to be redone in a wet production area, in a cannery for example, can weigh more than the whole support assignment. Hence the value of a gap analysis that costs these gaps in the very first month.

For a company outside Morocco, the same logic applies; only the funding schemes described below are specific to Morocco.

How long does it take to get BRCGS certified?

Duration depends on the site’s maturity and on the time your team can devote to it. The timeline is counted in months, with fixed deadlines once the audit has taken place.

One point often overlooked in Morocco: seasonality. A sardine cannery or a fruit and vegetable packing station must be audited while it is producing. The audit therefore has to be timed to the season, and implementation must have produced records over a real production period.

In the projects we support, the observed duration ranges from 3 to 12 months depending on the starting point: maturity of the system, condition of the buildings, existing HACCP basis and availability of the team. This is an observed range, not a guarantee.

Can GIAC or OFPPT special training contracts fund the project?

Partly, and only on the training and training engineering side. Certification consultancy is not, as such, a training action. No amount can be promised: it depends on your file and on the rules in force.

Special training contracts (contrats spéciaux de formation, CSF) are run by OFPPT, the Office de la formation professionnelle et de la promotion du travail, Morocco’s vocational training office. They reimburse part of the cost of training actions at rates set by the scheme: 70% for planned training delivered by an external provider, 40% for unplanned training and, for in-house training, the same rates applied to a retained cost of MAD 800 per day per participant. Ceilings depend on the vocational training tax (taxe de formation professionnelle, TFP) declared by the company. These rules come from the CSF procedures manual of May 2006 and its Amendment No. 2 of 2 June 2014; they give an indicative order of magnitude, before ceilings and with no commitment.

GIACs, the sector-based interprofessional groups that support companies with training engineering, fund part of that engineering: the training needs analysis and the training plan. The reference rule, taken from the GIAC procedures manual of March 2003 and its Amendment No. 1 of 2 June 2014, is 70% of the engineering cost, capped at MAD 100,000 excluding VAT. A training needs analysis linked to a BRCGS certification project is eligible; for the food industry, the contact is the food industry GIAC (GIAC Agro).

In a BRCGS project, the following may therefore fall under these schemes:

• HACCP, BRCGS, internal auditor, allergen and food safety culture training;
• the skills needs analysis and the related training plan.

The following do not: site works, the certification audit and, in principle, consultancy days. Consultancy can, however, fall under Maroc PME, Morocco’s national agency for the promotion of SMEs: its PACT’Qualité programme supports companies from compliance through to certification (diagnostic, support, documentation, training, mock audit). Its official page announces funding of 80% of the cost of consultancy and technical expertise, capped at MAD 400,000 per beneficiary, for companies with annual turnover excluding VAT of up to MAD 200 million. Eligibility and funding depend on Maroc PME’s review of the application.

The right method: build the file before launching the training, keep all the evidence (attendance sheets, assessments, certificates) and simulate the reimbursement with the official rules rather than guessing. Our page on OFPPT special training contracts (CSF) and GIAC funding explains the rules and offers a simulation, with no promised amount.

How do you keep the budget under control without compromising the audit?

Focus the consultant where experience changes the outcome, and give the rest to your team. It is also the best way to keep the system alive after the certificate.

• Insist on a written gap analysis before any overall commitment.
  
• Have site works costed in the first month and add them to the capital budget.
  
• Name an internal project lead and reserve their time, in writing.
  
• Have procedures written by process owners and reviewed by the consultant.
  
• Group training courses so that a single CSF file is prepared per financial year.
  
• Check GIAC eligibility before ordering the training needs analysis.
  
• Ask several certification bodies approved by BRCGS for audit quotes.
  
• Time the audit to a representative production period.
  
• Plan a maintenance budget: internal audits, monitoring, preparation of the next audit.
  

If you are also aiming for FSSC 22000, see our FSSC 22000 consulting page to share part of the effort. For the working method, see working with a BRCGS consultant, step by step, and for the overall picture, our complete guide to choosing a BRCGS consultant in Africa.