With twelve people, a working SaaS product, and a growing customer base, your startup is moving in the right direction. People take security seriously, though no one holds “compliance manager” as a job title. A potential enterprise customer next requests a SOC 2 report.
So, where should you start?
Grabbing dozens of policies right away isn’t the first step for founders researching how to get SOC 2 certification. A handful of choices defines what your company needs to document, put in place, and prove, and that is where to start.
Begin by Deciding Your Audit Scope
The AICPA Trust Services Criteria are what SOC 2 assesses controls against. Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy are the categories they address. Security is required. Include the other areas only when they are relevant to the organization’s services and commitments. Provided that scope meets customer expectations, a startup with a straightforward business application may start with Security alone.
Before collecting evidence, map out the applications, infrastructure, employees, and service providers involved. An overly broad scope creates additional work without necessarily improving the report’s value.
Choose the Report That Matches Your Deadline
There are two reporting options for anyone searching for how to get SOC 2 certified. Type 1 evaluates the design of controls as of a specified date. Type 2 goes further, examining design and operating effectiveness over a defined period. If an enterprise customer needs evidence in a hurry, Type 1 may be a useful starting point, assuming the customer accepts it.
For businesses investigating how to get SOC 2 type 2 certification, the process includes an observation period, commonly three to twelve months, followed by an independent examination. You do not have to get Type 1 before Type 2. Before paying for either examination, verify your customer’s requirements.
Begin With Day-to-Day Security Gaps
Connecting security controls to ordinary business activities helps make SOC 2 preparation more manageable. Think of requiring multi-factor authentication for important accounts, setting up a documented employee offboarding process, and reviewing access permissions regularly.
Keep evidence of production changes and approvals inside the development team. Risk assessments and relevant supplier reviews should be documented by management. What employees actually do needs to be reflected in the policies. When nobody follows it, even a polished procedure has limited value.
Keep Your Evidence Organized Before the Auditor Asks
At its core, SOC 2 for saas companies involves demonstrating that relevant controls exist and, for Type 2, operate consistently. An auditor might request records showing when a former employee’s access was removed or whether a production deployment received appropriate approval.
It’s much easier to gather these records as activities occur than to reconstruct them months afterward. Small teams that need help can organize this work with CertAssist’s built-in controls, editable policy templates, evidence checklists, and document storage.
Direct integrations with company systems aren’t required. Evidence gets uploaded by the team, and auditors can be given read-only access.
Why You Still Need an Independent Auditor
The outcome of SOC 2 is technically an attestation, not a certification. A licensed CPA firm performs the examination and issues the SOC 2 report. Compliance software helps prepare and organize evidence, but it cannot replace the independent auditor.
For the software, CertAssist advertises a US$225 monthly promotional subscription covering SOC 2, ISO 27001, and its other supported frameworks. Fees for the independent audit are charged separately. Before budgeting, request an auditor’s quote based on your business size, selected criteria, and intended reporting period.
Make the Process Manageable After the First Report
Finishing a SOC 2 examination shouldn’t be the end of your security work. As time passes, people join and leave, applications change, and new suppliers become part of your operations. Your controls need to remain relevant.
Make sure responsibilities are clearly assigned, evidence is retained throughout the year, and documented procedures are reviewed periodically against reality. For a growing startup, keeping this up will make future examinations easier and supports the security expectations of customers who depend on your software.