With twelve employees, a functioning SaaS product, and a growing customer base, your startup is well on its way. People take security seriously, but no one holds “compliance manager” in their job title. One day, a prospective enterprise customer wants to see a SOC 2 report.
So, where should you begin?
For founders researching how to get SOC 2 certification, the answer isn’t to download dozens of policies immediately. What matters is to make a few choices that decide what your company needs to document, implement, and prove.
Define the Scope of Your First SOC 2 Audit
Controls are assessed against the AICPA Trust Services Criteria in a SOC 2 examination. The criteria include Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy. Only Security is required. Whether the other categories are included depends on whether they’re relevant to the organization’s services and commitments. For a startup running a straightforward business application, beginning with Security alone can work, provided that scope meets customer expectations.
The applications, infrastructure, employees, and service providers involved should be identified before anyone starts collecting evidence. Keeping the scope overly broad creates extra work, and it doesn’t necessarily increase the report’s usefulness.
Type 1 vs. Type 2? Let the Deadline Choose
People searching for how to get SOC 2 certified often discover two reporting options. Type 1 examines the design of controls as of a specified date. Over a defined period, Type 2 evaluates both the controls’ design and operating effectiveness. Where an enterprise customer needs evidence fast, Type 1 may be a practical place to start, if the customer accepts it.
Anyone exploring how to get SOC 2 type 2 certification should expect an observation period, typically three to twelve months, followed by an independent examination. Type 1 isn’t a mandatory prerequisite for Type 2. Before paying for either examination, confirm your customer’s requirements.
Start With Everyday Security Gaps
Tying security controls to everyday business activities makes SOC 2 preparation more manageable. A sensible place to start is enforcing multi-factor authentication for important accounts, creating a documented employee offboarding process, and reviewing access permissions on a regular basis.
Retain evidence of production changes and approvals within the development team. Leadership should document risk assessments and relevant supplier reviews. Policies must describe what employees actually do. A well-written procedure provides limited value if nobody follows it.
Organize Evidence Before It Becomes a Problem
At its core, 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.
Reconstructing these records months later is harder than gathering them as activities occur. CertAssist supports small teams organize this work through built-in controls, editable policy templates, evidence checklists, and document storage.
There’s no need for direct integrations with company systems. Evidence gets uploaded by the team, and auditors can be given read-only access.
Understand the Independent Audit Requirement
Strictly speaking, SOC 2 is an attestation rather than a certification. A licensed CPA firm conducts the examination and issues the SOC 2 report. Compliance software helps prepare and organize evidence, but it cannot replace the independent auditor.
A US$225 monthly promotional subscription covering SOC 2, ISO 27001, and its other supported frameworks is offered by CertAssist. Audit fees are separate. A quote from an auditor based on your business size, selected criteria, and intended reporting period should come first.
Make Compliance Sustainable After the First Report
Finishing a SOC 2 examination isn’t the end of your security efforts. Things keep changing: employees join and leave, applications change, and new suppliers arrive. Controls must stay 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, that discipline makes future examinations easier while supporting the security expectations of customers who depend on your software.