Your startup counts twelve team members, a live SaaS product, and a steadily growing customer base. Security matters, but nobody has “compliance manager” in their job title. Then a would-be enterprise customer wants to see a SOC 2 report.
So, where do you start?
For founders researching how to get SOC 2 certification, the answer isn’t to download dozens of policies immediately. A handful of decisions decides what your company needs to document, implement, and prove, and that is where to start.
Begin by Defining What Your First Audit Will Cover
The AICPA Trust Services Criteria serve as the standard that SOC 2 assesses controls against. The criteria are organized into five areas: Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy. Every SOC 2 report must include Security. Whether the other categories are included depends on whether they’re relevant to the organization’s services and commitments. A startup with a straightforward business application may start with Security alone, provided that scope meets customer expectations.
Identify the applications, infrastructure, employees, and service providers involved before collecting evidence. A broader scope brings extra work, though not necessarily a more useful report.
Choose the Report Type Your Deadline Allows
Anybody wondering how to get SOC 2 certified quickly finds two reporting options. The design of controls as of a specified date is what Type 1 evaluates. Over a defined period, Type 2 examines both the controls’ design and operating effectiveness. If an enterprise customer needs evidence in a hurry, Type 1 may be a useful first step, as long as the customer accepts it.
For businesses investigating how to get SOC 2 type 2 certification, the process includes an observation period, usually three to twelve months, followed by an independent examination. Type 1 is not a mandatory prerequisite for Type 2. Make sure you know what your customer requires before paying for either examination.
Fix Everyday Security Gaps First
Linking security controls to ordinary business activities helps make SOC 2 preparation easier to manage. A sensible place to start is enforcing multi-factor authentication for important accounts, setting up a documented employee offboarding process, and reviewing access permissions regularly.
Retain evidence of production changes and approvals within the engineering team. Risk assessments and relevant supplier reviews should be documented by management. Draft policies that reflect what employees actually do. A beautifully written procedure offers limited value if nobody follows it.
Organize Evidence Before It Becomes a Problem
SOC 2 for saas companies means demonstrating that relevant controls exist and, for Type 2, operate consistently. An auditor could ask for records showing when a former employee’s access was removed or whether a production deployment received appropriate approval.
Reconstructing these records months later is harder than gathering them as activities occur. Small teams can manage this work with CertAssist’s built-in controls, editable policy templates, evidence checklists, and document storage.
No direct integrations with company systems are required. Evidence is uploaded by the team, and auditors can be given read-only access.
Why SOC 2 Requires an Independent Auditor
What SOC 2 produces is formally an attestation, not a certification. The examination is conducted by a licensed CPA firm, which then issues the SOC 2 report. Compliance software can help prepare and organize evidence, but it cannot replace the independent auditor.
CertAssist promotes a US$225 monthly promotional subscription that covers SOC 2, ISO 27001, and its other supported frameworks. Independent audits are a separate cost. A quote from an auditor based on your business size, selected criteria, and intended reporting period is worth requesting before you budget.
Make Compliance Manageable After the First Report
A completed SOC 2 examination shouldn’t mark the end of your security efforts. Over time, employees join and leave, applications change, and new suppliers join your operations. Controls must remain relevant.
Three habits help: setting clear responsibilities, retaining evidence throughout the year, and periodically reviewing whether your documented procedures match reality. For a growing startup, that discipline makes future examinations easier while supporting the security expectations of customers who depend on your software.