When you Google “factory audit,” most of what you’ll see is about the audits big Fortune 500 companies do — social responsibility, human rights, working conditions, and so on.
But for most people buying from China, that’s not the kind of audit they actually need. What they really want is to verify whether a factory is real and reliable, and whether it can deliver the quality they want.
So in today’s post, I’ll walk you through the China factory audit most buyers truly need — what it checks, the typical costs, and whether there are more cost-effective options.
When does it make sense to do a factory audit in China？
If you’re working with a factory for the first time and your test order is only a few hundred or a couple thousand dollars, to be honest, the on-site factory audit is on the expensive side for you.
In this situation, I’d suggest having a video call with the factory.
If everything looks reasonable, you can usually go ahead — place the order and do a pre-shipment inspection once the goods are ready, making sure the quality meets your standards.
Once your order hits $10k or more, an on-site factory audit is well worth it.
Once your order reaches $10k+, an on-site factory audit is essential to verify whether the factory is real, capable of producing your products, and whether they can deliver consistent quality and stable supply.
What standard factory audit checks & costs look like?
Standard factory audit workflow & checklist
In China, factory audits are usually done by inspection companies or freelancers. Before the audit, you tell them what you want the auditor to pay special attention to. These points will be added to their checklist so the auditor can verify them on-site.
Typically, the factory audit checklist includes:
Factory profile: verify key documents such as the business license, check the real address, number of staff, etc.
Facilities & production: review each workshop, production equipment, production lines, and overall production capacity.
Quality assurance system: look at IQC/IPQC/OQC processes, sampling records, and how defects are handled.
R&D capability: check the product development ability, sample room, and prototyping capability.
The auditor follows the checklist you confirmed and the industry auditing standards they’re trained in. They’ll inspect each part of the factory, record findings and photos on-site, and then prepare a detailed audit report — including an overall rating — for your reference.
Inspection companies typically charge around $400 per auditor per day.
Third-party inspection companies like V-Trust charge about $400 per auditor per day, and this generally includes basic travel costs.
Extra travel fees are only charged when the audit location is far from the closest city where their auditors are based — most inspection companies have local auditors in major industrial cities like Yiwu and Guangzhou.
Why JingSourcing delivers real insights into China factories?
We understand your products — and audit factories in depth.
Our audits go beyond documents and formal checklists. We verify what truly matters in real production — something standard inspection companies often overlook.
Sample room, warehouses, and production line
Verify the factory’s main products, whether they match what you need.
Raw materials & outsourced components
Verifywhether they meet your target quality.
Equipment and production capacity
Check whether it runs properly and if the factory’s capacity can support your order.
Worker skill & process flow
Spot-check each stage from incoming materials to final packing — how many QC steps they have and how they deal with defects.
We also talk with the factory manager to see if they’ve actually handled your type of product (or anything similar) before — and to get real answers about their MOQ, pricing, quality level, and how they deal with after-sales issues.
Below are real examples of how we conduct on-site audits of various types of factories.
Aside from daily consumer goods, we’re also familiar with industrial products and equipment. For example, we once accompanied a UK client to visit and audit multiple scrap copper factories in China.
Flexible audits — committed to helping you find the right factory.
During the audit, we stay in real-time contact with you. If you want to hop on a video call to see the factory yourself, that’s available too.
After the audit, we put together all the key factory info — size, production lines, processes, capability, and more — and write a clear audit report with our suggestion on whether the factory is reliable and worth working with.
If you think the factory is a good fit, we’ll follow up on any issues that need to be fixed and help you negotiate for a better price before you place the order.
In case the factory isn’t right, you can let us find another suitable one, arrange the audit, and follow up on production and QC — keeping your whole sourcing process smooth and under control. Yes, we’re your upgraded supply-chain solution, not just an audit service.
JingSourcing factory audit charges $200 per auditor/day.
We charge $200 per auditor per day, with no extra fees.
If the audited factory is in Yiwu — the “world’s supermarket” for daily-use products — the cost is even lower, around $150.
A quick comparison with standard inspection companies
- Factory audit is checklist-driven.
- Cost: $200 per auditor/day
- During the audit, there is no communication.
- After the audit, they’ll follow up on the factory’s corrective actions.
- In-depth, product-tailored factory audit.
- Cost: $400 per auditor/day
- Real-time contact during the audit.
- After the audit, JingSourcing follows real order issues, helps you find better factories, and oversees production + QC.
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