Your startup has twelve team members, a working SaaS product, and a growing customer base. Security matters to everyone, though no one has “compliance manager” as a job title. Soon, a potential enterprise customer requests a SOC 2 report.
What exactly should you do first?
For founders researching how to get SOC 2 certification, the answer isn’t to download 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.
Define the Scope of Your First Audit
SOC 2 assesses controls against the AICPA Trust Services Criteria. Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy are the categories they cover. Security is mandatory. Add 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 can work, provided that scope meets customer expectations.
Before you collect any evidence, map out the applications, infrastructure, employees, and service providers involved. More scope means extra work, though not always a more useful report.
Choose the Report That Matches Your Deadline
People searching for how to get SOC 2 certified often find two reporting options. Type 1 examines the design of controls as of a specified date. Type 2 goes further, evaluating design and operating effectiveness over a defined period. Type 1 may be a useful starting point when an enterprise customer needs evidence quickly, as 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 1 isn’t a mandatory prerequisite for Type 2. Find out what your customer requires before committing to either examination.
Start With Day-to-Day Security Gaps
If security controls are linked to ordinary business activities, SOC 2 preparation becomes more manageable. For example, enforce multi-factor authentication for important accounts, create a documented employee offboarding process, and review access permissions on a regular basis.
Keep evidence of production changes and approvals inside the engineering team. Document risk assessments and relevant supplier reviews at the management level. Policies must reflect what employees actually do. There is limited value in a beautifully written procedure that nobody follows.
Get Your Evidence Organized Before Problems Start
Demonstrating that relevant controls exist and, for Type 2, operate consistently is central to SOC 2 for saas companies. Expect an auditor to ask about when a former employee’s access was removed or whether a production deployment received appropriate approval.
Rebuilding these records months later is harder than collecting them as activities occur. Small teams that need help can manage this work with CertAssist’s built-in controls, editable policy templates, evidence checklists, and document storage.
There’s no need for direct integrations with company systems. Auditors can be provided with read-only access, while teams upload evidence themselves.
Understand Exactly What the Independent Audit Requires
SOC 2 is in fact an attestation, not a certification. The examination is performed by a licensed CPA firm, which issues the SOC 2 report. The independent auditor cannot be replaced by compliance software, which can help prepare and organize evidence.
CertAssist advertises a US$225 monthly promotional subscription covering SOC 2, ISO 27001, and its other supported frameworks. Independent audit fees are not included. An auditor’s quote based on your business size, selected criteria, and intended reporting period should come first.
What Comes After the First SOC 2 Report
A completed SOC 2 examination shouldn’t mark the end of your security work. Your operations keep changing: employees join and leave, applications change, and new suppliers arrive. Your controls need to 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.