Summary

You don’t have to comply with all five Trust Services Criteria. The Security criterion (also called the Common Criteria) is mandatory. The others are optional and should be selected based on what your customers actually care about. A readiness assessment is essentially a practice run. You evaluate your current security posture against the SOC 2 requirements and identify gaps — the controls you’re missing or that aren’t properly documented.

SOC 2 Step by Step for App Developers: A Practical Guide to Getting Certified

If you’re an app developer trying to land enterprise clients, you’ve almost certainly heard the question: “Are you SOC 2 compliant?” Getting that certification can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re juggling product development, customer support, and a dozen other priorities. This guide breaks down the SOC 2 process into clear, manageable steps so you can move from “no idea where to start” to “audit-ready” with confidence.

What Is SOC 2 and Why Do App Developers Need It?

SOC 2 (System and Organization Controls 2) is a security framework developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). It evaluates how a software company manages customer data based on five Trust Services Criteria: Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy.

For app developers, SOC 2 isn’t just a checkbox — it’s a competitive advantage. Enterprise buyers, healthcare organizations, and financial institutions routinely require SOC 2 certification before signing contracts. Without it, you’re leaving revenue on the table.

There are two types of SOC 2 reports:

Type I: A point-in-time assessment that evaluates whether your controls are designed correctly
Type II: A period-based assessment (typically 3–12 months) that evaluates whether your controls actually work over time

Most enterprise customers will eventually require a Type II report, but starting with Type I is a practical first step.

Step 1: Understand Your Scope

Before doing anything else, define exactly what systems, services, and data are in scope for your audit. Scope creep is one of the most common reasons SOC 2 audits run over budget and over schedule.

Ask yourself:

Which application(s) process or store customer data?
What infrastructure do you rely on (AWS, GCP, Azure)?
Which third-party vendors have access to sensitive data?
What internal tools touch customer information?

Pro tip: Narrow your scope as much as possible. If your marketing website doesn’t touch customer data, keep it out of scope. A tightly defined scope means a faster, cheaper audit.

Step 2: Choose Your Trust Services Criteria

Availability: Relevant if your app has uptime SLAs
Processing Integrity: Important for apps that process financial transactions or data pipelines
Confidentiality: Critical if you handle proprietary business data
Privacy: Required if you collect and process personal information

Most early-stage startups start with Security only. As your customer base grows and demands evolve, you can add criteria in subsequent audits.

Step 3: Conduct a Readiness Assessment (Gap Analysis)

A readiness assessment is essentially a practice run. You evaluate your current security posture against the SOC 2 requirements and identify gaps — the controls you’re missing or that aren’t properly documented.

Common gaps developers discover include:

No formal access control policy
Missing incident response plan
Lack of vendor risk management process
Unencrypted data at rest or in transit
No formal employee security training program
Missing change management procedures

Document every gap you find. This becomes your remediation roadmap for Step 4.

Step 4: Implement and Document Your Controls

This is where the real work happens. Based on your gap analysis, you need to implement the missing controls and — critically — document everything.

Auditors don’t just want to see that you have controls in place. They want evidence that those controls are consistently followed. Documentation is how you prove it.

Key controls most app developers need to implement:

Access Management

Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all systems
Implement role-based access control (RBAC)
Document your user provisioning and deprovisioning process
Conduct quarterly access reviews

Data Security

Encrypt data at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.2+)
Implement a data classification policy
Define data retention and deletion procedures

Monitoring and Logging

Set up centralized logging (e.g., AWS CloudTrail, Datadog, Splunk)
Configure alerts for suspicious activity
Document your log review procedures

Incident Response

Write a formal incident response plan
Define severity levels and escalation paths
Conduct at least one tabletop exercise

Vendor Management

Inventory all third-party vendors with data access
Review vendor security documentation (SOC 2 reports, security questionnaires)
Document your vendor approval process

Change Management

Implement a code review process (pull requests with approvals)
Document your deployment pipeline and approval gates
Track changes to production systems

Step 5: Select a SOC 2 Auditor

Only a licensed CPA firm can issue an official SOC 2 report. Choosing the right auditor matters — prices, timelines, and experience levels vary significantly.

When evaluating auditors, consider:

Experience with SaaS companies: Not all CPA firms understand cloud infrastructure
Pricing: Type I audits typically range from $10,000–$30,000; Type II from $20,000–$60,000+
Timeline: Understand their availability and how long the audit will take
Communication style: You’ll be working closely with them, so choose someone responsive

Some popular firms that specialize in tech companies include Johanson Group, Prescient Assurance, and A-LIGN. There are also compliance automation platforms (like Vanta, Drata, or Secureframe) that can connect you with auditors and automate evidence collection.

Step 6: Gather Evidence and Prepare for the Audit

During the audit, your auditor will request evidence that your controls are working. Evidence can include:

Screenshots of security configurations
Access logs and audit trails
Policy documents with version history
Training completion records
Vendor contracts and security reviews
Penetration test reports
Meeting notes from security reviews

Start collecting evidence early and organize it in a shared folder or compliance platform. The more organized you are, the smoother the audit process will be.

Step 7: Complete the Audit and Receive Your Report

For a Type I audit, the auditor evaluates your controls at a specific point in time. This can typically be completed in 4–8 weeks once you’re ready.

For a Type II audit, the auditor evaluates your controls over an observation period (usually 3–12 months). Plan accordingly — you need to be consistently following your documented controls throughout this entire period.

After the audit, you’ll receive a report that includes:

A description of your system
The auditor’s opinion on your controls
Any exceptions or findings

If there are findings, work with your auditor to understand remediation steps. A clean report is the goal, but minor findings don’t necessarily disqualify you from sharing the report with customers.

How Long Does SOC 2 Take for App Developers?

Timeline varies based on your starting point:

Gap analysis and remediation: 1–3 months
Type I audit: 4–8 weeks after readiness
Type II observation period: 3–12 months
Total for Type II (from scratch): 6–18 months

Starting with Type I is a smart move. You get a report you can share with customers while you work toward Type II.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does SOC 2 cost for a small startup?

Budget $15,000–$40,000 for your first Type I audit when you factor in auditor fees, compliance tooling, and internal time. Type II audits cost more due to the longer engagement. Compliance automation platforms can reduce internal labor costs significantly.

Do I need a dedicated security team to get SOC 2?

No. Many early-stage startups achieve SOC 2 with a small engineering team and a part-time compliance lead. What matters is having documented processes and consistent execution — not headcount. That said, someone needs to own the process.

Can I use AWS or GCP’s SOC 2 report for my own certification?

Partially. Cloud providers like AWS and GCP have their own SOC 2 reports, and their controls can satisfy some of your requirements (this is called the “shared responsibility model”). However, you still need your own SOC 2 report covering the controls you’re responsible for — application security, access management, incident response, etc.

What’s the difference between SOC 2 and ISO 27001?

Both are security frameworks, but they serve different markets. SOC 2 is primarily recognized in North America and is most common in SaaS. ISO 27001 is an international standard more commonly required by European enterprise customers. Some companies pursue both, but SOC 2 is usually the right starting point for US-focused SaaS companies.

Do I need to share my SOC 2 report publicly?

No. SOC 2 reports are confidential documents shared under NDA with customers and prospects who request them. You can publicly state that you’re SOC 2 certified, but the full report is typically shared only with qualified parties.

Start Your SOC 2 Journey Faster with Ready-to-Use Templates

The most time-consuming part of SOC 2 isn’t the audit itself — it’s creating all the policies, procedures, and documentation from scratch. Writing an information security policy, incident response plan, vendor management policy, and access control procedure takes weeks of work.

Don’t start from a blank page.

Our professionally written, SOC 2-aligned compliance template bundles give you everything you need to hit the ground running. Each template is:

Written by compliance experts with real audit experience
Mapped to SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria
Fully editable to match your company’s specific environment
Ready to share with auditors immediately

Browse our SOC 2 template packages today and cut weeks off your compliance timeline. Your next enterprise contract is waiting.