With twelve team members, a functioning SaaS product, and a growing customer base, your startup is moving in the right direction. People take security seriously, yet no one holds “compliance manager” in their job title. One day, a prospective enterprise customer wants to see a SOC 2 report.
What should you do first?
For founders researching how to get SOC 2 certification, the answer isn’t to collect dozens of policies right away. A handful of decisions defines what your company needs to document, implement, and prove, and that is where to start.
Decide What Your First SOC 2 Audit Should Cover
Controls are evaluated using the AICPA Trust Services Criteria in a SOC 2 examination. Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy are the areas they cover. Every report includes Security. Include the other areas only when they are relevant to the organization’s services and commitments. For a startup running a straightforward business application, beginning with Security alone may work, provided that scope meets customer expectations.
Identify the applications, infrastructure, employees, and service providers involved prior to collecting evidence. An unnecessarily broad scope adds additional work without necessarily improving the report’s usefulness.
Choose the Report That Matches Your Deadline
There are two reporting options for anyone searching for how to get SOC 2 certified. The design of controls at a specified date is what Type 1 examines. Type 2 examines their design and operating effectiveness over a defined period. When an enterprise customer needs evidence quickly, Type 1 may be a practical place to start, so long as the customer accepts it.
Anyone exploring how to get SOC 2 type 2 certification should expect an observation period, typically three to twelve months, and then an independent examination. Type 1 is not a mandatory prerequisite for Type 2. Before paying for either examination, check your customer’s requirements.
Begin With Day-to-Day Security Basics
SOC 2 preparation gets more manageable when security controls are connected to existing business activities. Think of requiring multi-factor authentication for important accounts, establishing a documented employee offboarding process, and reviewing access permissions regularly.
Keep evidence of production changes and approvals within the engineering team. Risk assessments and relevant supplier reviews should be recorded by management. Draft policies that describe what employees actually do. If nobody follows it, even a polished procedure provides limited value.
Get Your Evidence Organized Before Problems Start
SOC 2 for saas companies involves demonstrating that relevant controls exist and, for Type 2, operate consistently. An auditor may well ask about when a former employee’s access was removed or whether a production deployment received appropriate approval.
Reconstructing these records months later is much harder than collecting them as activities occur. Through built-in controls, editable policy templates, evidence checklists, and document storage, CertAssist helps small teams organize this work.
The platform doesn’t require direct integrations with company systems. Teams add evidence themselves and can give auditors read-only access.
Understand Exactly What the Independent Audit Requires
The outcome of SOC 2 is formally an attestation, not a certification. The SOC 2 report is issued by a licensed CPA firm that performs the examination. Compliance software can help prepare and organize evidence, but it cannot replace the independent auditor.
For the software, CertAssist advertises a US$225 monthly promotional subscription that covers SOC 2, ISO 27001, and its other supported frameworks. Audit fees are separate. A quote from an auditor based on your business size, selected criteria, and intended reporting period is worth getting before budgeting.
What Comes After the First SOC 2 Report
Completing a SOC 2 examination shouldn’t be the end of your security activities. Over time, employees join and leave, applications change, and new suppliers join your operations. Your controls need to remain relevant.
Three habits help: assigning clear responsibilities, retaining evidence throughout the year, and periodically reviewing whether your documented procedures match reality. That discipline makes future examinations easier for a growing startup, while also supporting the security expectations of customers who depend on your software.