Imagine a startup that has twelve employees, a working SaaS product, and an expanding customer base. Security matters, but not one person carries “compliance manager” in their job title. Then, a prospective enterprise customer asks for a SOC 2 report.
So where do you begin?
Downloading dozens of policies immediately isn’t the first step for founders researching how to get SOC 2 certification. The real first step is to make a few choices that decide what your company needs to document, put in place, and prove.
Begin by Defining What Your First Audit Will Cover
SOC 2 measures controls against the AICPA Trust Services Criteria. Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy are the categories they cover. Security is required. The remaining categories are added when they are relevant to the organization’s services and commitments. A startup offering a straightforward business application may start with Security alone, as long as that scope meets customer expectations.
Identify the applications, infrastructure, employees, and service providers involved before collecting evidence. Making the scope unnecessarily broad adds additional work, but it doesn’t necessarily improve the report’s value.
Choose the Report That Matches Your Deadline
Anyone asking how to get SOC 2 certified quickly finds two reporting options. The design of controls at a specified date is what Type 1 examines. Type 2 goes further, examining both design and operating effectiveness throughout a defined period. If an enterprise customer needs evidence in a hurry, Type 1 may be a useful starting point, 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. You do not have to get Type 1 before Type 2. Make sure you know what your customer requires before paying for either examination.
Start With Everyday Security Gaps
Connecting security controls to ordinary business activities helps make SOC 2 preparation easier to manage. A sensible place to start is enforcing multi-factor authentication for important accounts, establishing a documented employee offboarding process, and reviewing access permissions on a regular basis.
Engineering teams should hold on to evidence of production changes and approvals. Document risk assessments and relevant supplier reviews at the management level. Write policies that describe what employees actually do. If nobody follows it, even a polished procedure has limited value.
Organize Evidence Before It Becomes a Problem
At its core, SOC 2 for saas companies means 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 assists small teams organize this work using built-in controls, editable policy templates, evidence checklists, and document storage.
There is no need for direct integrations with company systems. Teams upload evidence themselves and can give auditors read-only access.
Why SOC 2 Requires an Independent Auditor
SOC 2 is in fact an attestation, not a certification. The SOC 2 report is issued by a licensed CPA firm that performs the examination. Compliance software helps prepare and organize evidence, but it cannot replace the independent auditor.
For the software, CertAssist offers a US$225 monthly promotional subscription covering SOC 2, ISO 27001, and its other supported frameworks. Independent audit fees are separate. An auditor’s quote reflecting your business size, selected criteria, and intended reporting period should come first.
What Comes After the First SOC 2 Report
Your security work shouldn’t end when the SOC 2 examination is finished. Over time, people join and leave, applications change, and new suppliers join your operations. It’s important that your controls remain relevant.
Make sure each responsibility has a clear owner, evidence is retained throughout the year, and documented procedures are reviewed regularly against reality. That discipline makes future examinations easier as a startup grows, and it supports the security expectations of customers who depend on your software.