With twelve people, a functioning SaaS product, and a growing customer base, your startup is off to a good start. Security matters, but no one carries “compliance manager” in their job title. Then a prospective enterprise customer wants to see a SOC 2 report.
What exactly do you do first?
Grabbing dozens of policies immediately isn’t the first step for founders researching how to get SOC 2 certification. A handful of decisions defines what your company needs to document, implement, and prove, and that is where to start.
Start by Defining Your Audit Scope
Controls are assessed against the AICPA Trust Services Criteria in a SOC 2 examination. Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy are the areas they address. Every report must include Security. Whether the other categories are included depends on whether they’re relevant to the organization’s services and commitments. For a startup offering a straightforward business application, starting with Security alone may be enough, provided that scope meets customer expectations.
The applications, infrastructure, employees, and service providers involved should be listed before anyone starts collecting evidence. An overly broad scope creates extra work without necessarily improving the report’s usefulness.
Type 1 or Type 2? Let the Deadline Choose
There are two reporting options for people searching for how to get SOC 2 certified. Type 1 examines the design of controls at a specified date. Type 2 covers those controls’ design and operating effectiveness across a defined period. If an enterprise customer needs evidence fast, Type 1 may be a useful first step, assuming the customer accepts it.
The process for how to get SOC 2 type 2 certification starts with an observation period, commonly three to twelve months, and ends with an independent examination. You don’t have to complete Type 1 before Type 2. Before paying for either examination, verify your customer’s requirements.
Start With Day-to-Day Security Gaps
SOC 2 preparation is more manageable when security controls are connected to existing 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. Document risk assessments and relevant supplier reviews at the management level. Policies must reflect what employees actually do. There is limited value in a well-written procedure that nobody follows.
Get Your Evidence Organized Before Problems Start
SOC 2 for saas companies involves demonstrating that relevant controls exist and, for Type 2, operate consistently. You might be asked for records showing when a former employee’s access was removed or whether a production deployment received appropriate approval.
It’s much easier to gather these records as activities occur than to reconstruct them months afterward. With built-in controls, editable policy templates, evidence checklists, and document storage, CertAssist helps small teams manage this work.
The platform does not require direct integrations with company systems. Evidence is uploaded by the team, and auditors can be provided with read-only access.
Why SOC 2 Requires an Independent Auditor
The outcome of SOC 2 is technically an attestation, not a certification. A licensed CPA firm conducts the examination and issues the SOC 2 report. Software can help prepare and organize evidence, but it cannot replace the independent auditor.
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. An auditor’s quote reflecting your business size, selected criteria, and intended reporting period should come first.
Keep the Process Manageable After Your First Report
Security work shouldn’t stop once the SOC 2 examination is done. Team members join and leave, applications change, and new suppliers become part of your operations. Your controls need to stay relevant.
Assign clear responsibilities, retain evidence throughout the year, and regularly review whether your documented procedures match reality. For a growing startup, that discipline makes future examinations easier while supporting the security expectations of customers who depend on your software.