With twelve employees, a working SaaS product, and a growing customer base, your startup is off to a good start. People take security seriously, yet no one holds “compliance manager” as a job title. Then a would-be enterprise customer requests a SOC 2 report.
So where do you start?
Downloading dozens of policies right away isn’t the first step for founders researching how to get SOC 2 certification. A handful of decisions decides what your company needs to document, put in place, and prove, and that is where to start.
Begin by Deciding What Your First Audit Will Cover
The AICPA Trust Services Criteria are what SOC 2 evaluates controls against. There are five areas: Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy. Every report includes Security. Whether the other categories are included depends on whether they’re relevant to the organization’s services and commitments. Provided that scope meets customer expectations, a startup offering a straightforward business application may start with Security alone.
Map out the applications, infrastructure, employees, and service providers involved prior to collecting evidence. More scope means extra work, though not always a more valuable report.
Choose the SOC 2 Report That Fits Your Timeline
There are two reporting options for people searching for how to get SOC 2 certified. The design of controls as of a specified date is what Type 1 examines. Over a defined period, Type 2 evaluates both their design and operating effectiveness. Where an enterprise customer needs evidence fast, Type 1 can be a useful place to start, so long as the customer accepts it.
The process for how to get SOC 2 type 2 certification begins with an observation period, typically three to twelve months, and ends with an independent examination. Type 2 does not depend on completing Type 1 first. Before paying for either examination, verify your customer’s requirements.
Fix the Everyday Security Gaps Before Anything Else
Linking security controls to ordinary business activities helps make SOC 2 preparation more manageable. A sensible place to start is requiring multi-factor authentication for important accounts, creating a documented employee offboarding process, and reviewing access permissions regularly.
Evidence of production changes and approvals should be retained by development teams. Management should document risk assessments and relevant supplier reviews. What employees actually do must be reflected in your policies. There is limited value in a polished procedure that no one follows.
Collect Evidence as You Go
SOC 2 for saas companies involves demonstrating that relevant controls exist and, for Type 2, operate consistently. Expect an auditor to ask about when a former employee’s access was removed or whether a production deployment received appropriate approval.
Reconstructing these records months later is harder than collecting them as activities occur. With built-in controls, editable policy templates, evidence checklists, and document storage, CertAssist supports small teams organize this work.
The platform doesn’t require direct integrations with company systems. Evidence gets uploaded by the team, and auditors can be given read-only access.
Understand What the Independent Audit Involves
Strictly speaking, SOC 2 is an attestation rather than a certification. The SOC 2 report is issued by a licensed CPA firm that performs the examination. The independent auditor cannot be replaced by compliance software, which helps prepare and organize evidence.
On the software side, CertAssist offers a US$225 monthly promotional subscription that covers SOC 2, ISO 27001, and its other supported frameworks. Independent audits are a separate expense. Before budgeting, get an auditor’s quote based on your business size, selected criteria, and intended reporting period.
What Comes After the First SOC 2 Report
Completing a SOC 2 examination isn’t the end of your security activities. Your operations keep changing: employees join and leave, applications change, and new suppliers appear. Your controls need to stay relevant.
Three habits keep things on track: setting clear responsibilities, retaining evidence throughout the year, and periodically reviewing whether your documented procedures match reality. That discipline makes future examinations easier as a startup grows, and it supports the security expectations of customers who depend on your software.