With twelve employees, a functioning SaaS product, and a growing customer base, your startup is off to a good start. Nobody on the team has “compliance manager” in their job title, but security is important. A potential enterprise customer next requests a SOC 2 report.
So where do you start?
If you’re a founder researching how to get SOC 2 certification, resist the urge to grab dozens of policies right away. Start by making a few choices that decide what your company needs to document, implement, and prove.
Decide What Your First Audit Should Cover
The AICPA Trust Services Criteria serve as the standard that SOC 2 evaluates controls against. Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy are the areas they address. Every report includes Security. Whether the other categories are included depends on whether they’re relevant to the organization’s services and commitments. A startup offering a straightforward business application may start with Security alone, so long as that scope meets customer expectations.
Identify the applications, infrastructure, employees, and service providers involved before collecting evidence. A broader scope brings additional work, though not always a more useful report.
Type 1 vs. Type 2? Let the Deadline Decide
People searching for how to get SOC 2 certified often discover two reporting options. Type 1 looks at the design of controls as of a specified date. Over a defined period, Type 2 evaluates both their design and operating effectiveness. If an enterprise customer needs evidence fast, Type 1 may be a useful first step, provided the customer accepts it.
The process for how to get SOC 2 type 2 certification begins with an observation period, commonly three to twelve months, and ends with an independent examination. Type 2 doesn’t require completing Type 1 first. Before paying for either examination, verify your customer’s requirements.
Close the Day-to-Day Security Gaps Before Anything Else
Linking security controls to everyday business activities helps make SOC 2 preparation more manageable. Think of enforcing multi-factor authentication for important accounts, establishing a documented employee offboarding process, and reviewing access permissions on a regular basis.
Evidence of production changes and approvals should be kept by engineering teams. Document risk assessments and relevant supplier reviews at the management level. Actual employee practice must be described in the policies. There is limited value in a well-written procedure that nobody follows.
Collect Evidence While Things Are Happening
SOC 2 for saas companies involves demonstrating that relevant controls exist and, for Type 2, operate consistently. You might be asked 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 far 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.
There’s no need for direct integrations with company systems. Auditors can be given read-only access, while teams upload evidence themselves.
Understand the Independent Audit Requirement
Technically, SOC 2 is an attestation rather than a certification. The examination is performed by a licensed CPA firm, which issues the SOC 2 report. Compliance software can help prepare and organize evidence, but it can’t replace the independent auditor.
CertAssist promotes a US$225 monthly promotional subscription that covers SOC 2, ISO 27001, and its other supported frameworks. Independent audit fees are billed separately. Before budgeting, ask for an auditor’s quote based on your business size, selected criteria, and intended reporting period.
What Comes After Your First SOC 2 Report
Finishing a SOC 2 examination isn’t the end of your security efforts. As time passes, people join and leave, applications change, and new suppliers become part of your operations. Controls must remain relevant.
Make sure each responsibility has a clear owner, evidence is retained throughout the year, and documented procedures are reviewed periodically against reality. That discipline helps make future examinations easier as a startup grows, and it supports the security expectations of customers who depend on your software.