With twelve team members, a functioning SaaS product, and an expanding customer base, your startup is off to a good start. People take security seriously, yet nobody holds “compliance manager” as a job title. Soon, a prospective enterprise customer wants to see a SOC 2 report.
So where should you begin?
If you’re a founder researching how to get SOC 2 certification, resist the urge to grab dozens of policies right away. A handful of choices defines what your company needs to document, implement, and prove, and that is where to start.
Begin by Defining What Your First Audit Will Cover
SOC 2 assesses controls against the AICPA Trust Services Criteria. Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy are the categories they cover. Every report includes Security. The remaining categories are added when they are relevant to the organization’s services and commitments. A startup running a straightforward business application may begin with Security alone, as long as that scope meets customer expectations.
Before you collect any evidence, list the applications, infrastructure, employees, and service providers involved. Keeping the scope unnecessarily broad creates additional work, and it doesn’t necessarily improve the report’s value.
Choose the Report That Matches Your Deadline
Anyone wondering how to get SOC 2 certified soon runs into two reporting options. At a specified date, Type 1 evaluates the design of controls. Type 2 goes further, examining both design and operating effectiveness over a defined period. When an enterprise customer needs evidence fast, Type 1 can be a useful starting point, if 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. Type 1 isn’t a mandatory prerequisite for Type 2. Verify your customer’s requirements before paying for either examination.
Begin With Day-to-Day Security Basics
When security controls are linked to everyday business activities, SOC 2 preparation gets more manageable. Good first steps include enforcing multi-factor authentication for important accounts, establishing a documented employee offboarding process, and reviewing access permissions regularly.
Developers should retain evidence of production changes and approvals. Management should document risk assessments and relevant supplier reviews. What employees actually do needs to be described in the policies. A polished procedure provides limited value if nobody follows it.
Keep Your Evidence Organized Before Problems Start
In practice, SOC 2 for saas companies involves demonstrating that relevant controls exist and, for Type 2, operate consistently. Expect an auditor to ask when a former employee’s access was removed or whether a production deployment received appropriate approval.
Rebuilding these records months later is much harder than gathering them as activities occur. With built-in controls, editable policy templates, evidence checklists, and document storage, CertAssist supports small teams organize this work.
No direct integrations with company systems are required. Teams upload evidence themselves and can provide auditors with read-only access.
Understand the Independent Audit Requirement
Technically, SOC 2 is an attestation rather than a certification. The examination is conducted by a licensed CPA firm, which issues the SOC 2 report. Compliance software helps prepare and organize evidence, but it cannot replace the independent auditor.
For the software, CertAssist offers a US$225 monthly promotional subscription that covers SOC 2, ISO 27001, and its other supported frameworks. The independent audit is a separate cost. Request an auditor’s quote that reflects your business size, selected criteria, and intended reporting period before budgeting.
Keep Compliance Manageable After Your First Report
Completing a SOC 2 examination isn’t the end of your security efforts. As time passes, employees join and leave, applications change, and new suppliers join your operations. Controls have to remain relevant.
Make sure each responsibility has a clear owner, evidence is retained throughout the year, and documented procedures are reviewed regularly against reality. For a growing startup, that discipline makes future examinations easier while supporting the security expectations of customers who depend on your software.