With twelve employees, a working SaaS product, and an expanding customer base, your startup is moving in the right direction. Security matters, but no one holds “compliance manager” in their job title. Soon, a potential enterprise customer requests a SOC 2 report.
Where do you start?
For founders researching how to get SOC 2 certification, the answer is not to collect dozens of policies straight away. What matters is to make a few choices that determine what your company needs to document, put in place, and prove.
Define the Scope of Your First Audit
SOC 2 assesses controls against the AICPA Trust Services Criteria. The criteria are organized into five areas: Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy. Of these, only Security is mandatory. Include the other categories only when they’re relevant to the organization’s services and commitments. As long as that scope meets customer expectations, a startup running a straightforward business application may start with Security alone.
Before collecting evidence, map out the applications, infrastructure, employees, and service providers involved. Keeping the scope overly broad adds additional work, and it doesn’t necessarily increase the report’s usefulness.
Type 1 or Type 2? Let the Deadline Choose
People searching for how to get SOC 2 certified frequently find two reporting options. Type 1 examines the design of controls as of a specified date. Type 2 goes further, examining both design and operating effectiveness over a defined period. When an enterprise customer needs evidence quickly, Type 1 may 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, commonly three to twelve months, followed by an independent examination. Type 2 does not require a Type 1 report first. Find out what your customer requires before committing to either examination.
Start With Everyday Security Gaps
SOC 2 preparation becomes more manageable when security controls are connected to everyday business activities. A sensible place to start is requiring multi-factor authentication for important accounts, creating a documented employee offboarding process, and reviewing access permissions on a regular basis.
Retain evidence of production changes and approvals inside the development team. Risk assessments and relevant supplier reviews should be documented by management. Draft policies so they describe what employees actually do. A polished procedure offers limited value if nobody follows it.
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.
It’s easier to collect these records as activities occur than to rebuild them months later. CertAssist helps small teams organize this work with 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.
Why SOC 2 Requires an Independent Auditor
The outcome of SOC 2 is formally an attestation, not a certification. A licensed CPA firm performs the examination and issues the SOC 2 report. Nothing replaces the independent auditor, not even compliance software, though it can help prepare and organize evidence.
CertAssist promotes a US$225 monthly promotional subscription that covers SOC 2, ISO 27001, and its other supported frameworks. The independent audit is a separate cost. An auditor’s quote based on your business size, selected criteria, and intended reporting period should come first.
Keep the Process Manageable After Your First Report
Finishing a SOC 2 examination isn’t the end of your security activities. Over time, people join and leave, applications change, and new suppliers join your operations. Your controls need to stay relevant.
Define 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.