Imagine a startup with twelve people, a working SaaS product, and an expanding customer base. Security matters, but not one person has “compliance manager” in their job title. Soon, a prospective enterprise customer wants to see a SOC 2 report.
Where do you start?
If you’re a founder researching how to get SOC 2 certification, don’t grab dozens of policies right away. Instead, start by making a few choices that determine what your company needs to document, put in place, and prove.
Decide What Your First Audit Should Cover
SOC 2 evaluates controls against the AICPA Trust Services Criteria. These address Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy. Every report includes Security. Include the remaining areas only when they’re relevant to the organization’s services and commitments. For a startup offering a straightforward business application, starting with Security alone may be enough, provided that scope meets customer expectations.
Before collecting evidence, map out the applications, infrastructure, employees, and service providers involved. Making the scope unnecessarily broad creates extra work, and it doesn’t necessarily increase the report’s value.
Choose the Report That Matches Your Deadline
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. Type 2 goes further, examining both design and operating effectiveness over a defined period. Where an enterprise customer needs evidence quickly, Type 1 can be a practical starting point, if the customer accepts it.
Businesses exploring how to get SOC 2 type 2 certification should expect an observation period, commonly three to twelve months, and then an independent examination. You do not have to get Type 1 ahead of Type 2. Before paying for either examination, check your customer’s requirements.
Close the Everyday Security Gaps Before Anything Else
Linking security controls to ordinary business activities makes SOC 2 preparation easier to manage. Good first steps include enforcing multi-factor authentication for important accounts, setting up a documented employee offboarding process, and reviewing access permissions on a regular basis.
Evidence of production changes and approvals should be retained by developers. Risk assessments and relevant supplier reviews should be documented by management. Policies must match what employees actually do. If nobody follows it, even a well-written procedure has limited value.
Collect Evidence as You Go
SOC 2 for saas companies means demonstrating that relevant controls exist and, for Type 2, operate consistently. You could be asked for records showing when a former employee’s access was removed or whether a production deployment received appropriate approval.
It’s easier to gather these records as activities occur than to rebuild them months later. CertAssist supports small teams organize this work with built-in controls, editable policy templates, evidence checklists, and document storage.
There is no need for direct integrations with company systems. Evidence is uploaded by the team, and auditors can be provided with read-only access.
Why You Still Need an Independent Auditor
What SOC 2 produces is technically an attestation, not a certification. A licensed CPA firm performs the examination and issues the SOC 2 report. Compliance software can help prepare and organize evidence, but it cannot replace the independent auditor.
On the software side, CertAssist offers a US$225 monthly promotional subscription that covers SOC 2, ISO 27001, and its other supported frameworks. Audit fees are charged separately. An auditor’s quote reflecting your business size, selected criteria, and intended reporting period should come first.
What Comes After Your First SOC 2 Report
Finishing a SOC 2 examination shouldn’t be the end of your security activities. Employees join and leave, applications change, and new suppliers become part of your operations. Controls have to stay relevant.
Make sure responsibilities are clearly assigned, evidence is retained throughout the year, and documented procedures are reviewed periodically against reality. As your startup grows, that discipline will make future examinations easier and supports the security expectations of customers who depend on your software.