Your startup has twelve team members, a live SaaS product, and a steadily growing customer base. Security matters, but nobody carries “compliance manager” in their job title. A prospective enterprise customer then asks for a SOC 2 report.
What exactly do you do first?
For founders researching how to get SOC 2 certification, the first step is not to grab dozens of policies immediately. A handful of decisions decides what your company needs to document, put in place, and prove, and that is where to start.
Decide What Your First SOC 2 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 categories they cover. Every report includes Security. Include the remaining areas only when they are 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.
Identify the applications, infrastructure, employees, and service providers involved before collecting evidence. Making the scope overly broad creates additional work, but it doesn’t necessarily increase the report’s value.
Type 1 vs. Type 2? Let the Deadline Choose
People searching for how to get SOC 2 certified frequently discover two reporting options. The design of controls as of a specified date is what Type 1 covers. Throughout a defined period, Type 2 evaluates both the controls’ design and operating effectiveness. If an enterprise customer needs evidence in a hurry, Type 1 may be a useful starting point, provided the customer accepts it.
For businesses investigating how to get SOC 2 type 2 certification, the process includes an observation period, commonly three to twelve months, followed by an independent examination. Type 2 does not require completing Type 1 first. Before paying for either examination, confirm your customer’s requirements.
Tackle the Everyday Security Gaps Before Anything Else
SOC 2 preparation is more manageable when security controls are tied to ordinary business activities. Consider requiring multi-factor authentication for important accounts, setting up a documented employee offboarding process, and reviewing access permissions on a regular basis.
Retain evidence of production changes and approvals within the engineering team. Management should record risk assessments and relevant supplier reviews. Policies must describe what employees actually do. There is limited value in a well-written procedure that nobody follows.
Gather Evidence as You Go
At its core, SOC 2 for saas companies involves demonstrating that relevant controls exist and, for Type 2, operate consistently. An auditor may well ask 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. Small teams can organize this work with CertAssist’s built-in controls, editable policy templates, evidence checklists, and document storage.
The platform doesn’t require direct integrations with company systems. Evidence gets uploaded by the team, and auditors can be provided with read-only access.
Understand the Independent Audit Requirement
What SOC 2 produces is technically an attestation, not a certification. The SOC 2 report is issued by a licensed CPA firm that performs the examination. Software can help prepare and organize evidence, but it can’t replace the independent auditor.
On the software side, CertAssist advertises a US$225 monthly promotional subscription that covers SOC 2, ISO 27001, and its other supported frameworks. The independent audit is a separate expense. Before budgeting, request an auditor’s quote based on your business size, selected criteria, and intended reporting period.
What Comes After the First SOC 2 Report
Security work shouldn’t stop when the SOC 2 examination is completed. As time passes, people join and leave, applications change, and new suppliers join your operations. Your controls need to remain relevant.
Three habits keep things on track: setting clear responsibilities, retaining evidence throughout the year, and periodically reviewing whether your documented procedures match reality. This discipline helps make future examinations easier for a growing startup, and it supports the security expectations of customers who depend on your software.
