Picture a startup with twelve employees, a functioning SaaS product, and an expanding customer base. Nobody in the company has “compliance manager” in their job title, even though security is important. Soon, a potential enterprise customer wants to see a SOC 2 report.
Where do you start?
Downloading dozens of policies immediately isn’t the first step for founders researching how to get SOC 2 certification. A handful of choices determines what your company needs to document, implement, and prove, and that is where to start.
Settle the Scope of Your First Audit
The AICPA Trust Services Criteria serve as the standard that SOC 2 evaluates controls against. The criteria are organized into five categories: Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy. Security is the one required category. The other categories are included when they are relevant to the organization’s services and commitments. A startup with a straightforward business application may begin with Security alone, as long as that scope meets customer expectations.
List the applications, infrastructure, employees, and service providers involved prior to collecting evidence. Making the scope overly broad creates extra work, but it doesn’t necessarily increase the report’s value.
Type 1 or Type 2? Let the Deadline Choose
Anyone wondering how to get SOC 2 certified soon runs into two reporting options. Type 1 looks at the design of controls at a specified date. Type 2 goes further, examining both design and operating effectiveness throughout a defined period. Type 1 may be a useful first step when an enterprise customer needs evidence fast, as long as 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 1 isn’t a mandatory prerequisite for Type 2. Before paying for either examination, confirm your customer’s requirements.
Fix Everyday Security Gaps First
Tying security controls to everyday business activities helps make SOC 2 preparation easier to manage. A sensible place to start is enforcing 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 kept by development teams. Record risk assessments and relevant supplier reviews at the management level. Policies must describe what employees actually do. There is limited value in a beautifully written procedure that nobody follows.
Organize Evidence Before It Becomes a Problem
SOC 2 for saas companies involves demonstrating that relevant controls exist and, for Type 2, operate consistently. Expect an auditor to ask when a former employee’s access was removed or whether a production deployment received appropriate approval.
It’s easier to gather these records as activities occur than to reconstruct them months afterward. CertAssist helps small teams manage this work using built-in controls, editable policy templates, evidence checklists, and document storage.
The platform does not require direct integrations with company systems. Auditors can be provided with read-only access, while teams upload evidence themselves.
Why SOC 2 Requires an Independent Auditor
Technically, SOC 2 is an attestation rather than a certification. The SOC 2 report is issued by a licensed CPA firm that performs the examination. Nothing replaces the independent auditor, not even compliance software, though it helps prepare and organize evidence.
CertAssist promotes a US$225 monthly promotional subscription covering SOC 2, ISO 27001, and its other supported frameworks. Independent audit fees are billed separately. An auditor’s quote reflecting your business size, selected criteria, and intended reporting period should come first.
Keep Compliance Sustainable After Your First Report
Security work shouldn’t stop once the SOC 2 examination is finished. Your operations keep changing: people join and leave, applications change, and new suppliers appear. It’s important that your controls remain 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.