What Is SOC 2 and How Do You Get It? The Complete Guide

One of the most common questions we get at Agency is deceptively simple: "What exactly is SOC 2, and how do we get it?" It usually comes from a founder or CTO who just received a security questionnaire from a prospect that could double their ARR. They know SOC 2 matters — they just need someone to explain the full picture without the jargon and without selling them something they do not need. That is what this guide is for.

SOC 2 is the security compliance standard that B2B technology companies use to demonstrate to their customers that they handle data responsibly. If you sell software or services to other businesses and those businesses trust you with their data, SOC 2 is very likely on your roadmap. This guide covers everything from foundational concepts through report delivery, written for people who are encountering SOC 2 for the first time and need a clear, honest roadmap.

What SOC 2 Actually Is

SOC 2 stands for System and Organization Controls 2. It is a reporting framework developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) that evaluates how well a service organization protects customer data. A SOC 2 report is not a certification in the traditional sense — it is an independent attestation issued by a licensed CPA firm that examines your security controls and provides an opinion on their design and effectiveness.

What we tell clients is that SOC 2 is essentially a trust mechanism. When a potential customer evaluates your product, they need confidence that their data will be secure in your environment. A SOC 2 report provides that confidence through independent, third-party validation. It is the security equivalent of an audited financial statement — not a self-assessment, but a professional examination.

The SOC 2 framework is principle-based rather than prescriptive. Unlike PCI DSS, which specifies exact technical requirements like encryption algorithms and key lengths, SOC 2 defines criteria that your controls must satisfy while giving you flexibility in how you implement them. This is both a strength (you can tailor controls to your environment) and a source of confusion (there is no single checklist to follow).

Who Needs SOC 2

In our experience, there are three primary triggers that bring companies to SOC 2:

Customer demand. An enterprise prospect requires a SOC 2 report as part of their vendor security review. This is by far the most common trigger and often comes with a deal-dependent timeline. What we tell clients is that once one customer asks, more will follow — proactive preparation is always less expensive than reactive scrambling.

Market expectation. In certain sectors — B2B SaaS, cloud infrastructure, data analytics, financial services, healthcare technology — SOC 2 has become a baseline market expectation. Not having a report puts you at a competitive disadvantage regardless of whether a specific customer has asked for it.

Proactive security maturity. Some companies pursue SOC 2 not because someone demanded it, but because they want to formalize their security practices and create accountability around data protection. In our experience, these companies tend to have the smoothest audits because the motivation is internal rather than deadline-driven.

SOC 2 is relevant to any organization that provides services to other businesses and processes, stores, or transmits their data. This includes SaaS companies, managed service providers, data hosting and cloud infrastructure providers, payment processors, healthcare technology companies, and professional services firms that handle client data.

The Five Trust Service Criteria

SOC 2 is organized around five Trust Service Criteria (TSC). Understanding these criteria is essential because they define the scope of your audit and the controls you must implement.

Security (Common Criteria) — Required

Security is the only mandatory criterion. It covers protection of information and systems against unauthorized access, unauthorized disclosure of information, and damage to systems that could compromise availability, integrity, confidentiality, or privacy. The Security criterion is also called the Common Criteria because its controls form the baseline that applies across all five criteria.

In practice, the Security criterion addresses access controls, network security, change management, risk assessment, incident response, monitoring and logging, and vendor management. What we tell clients is that if you implement only Security, you are covering roughly 80 percent of what most customers want to see.

Availability — Optional

The Availability criterion evaluates whether your systems are operational and accessible as committed or agreed upon. This is particularly relevant for SaaS products where uptime directly affects your customers' operations. Controls include capacity planning, disaster recovery, business continuity, and performance monitoring.

What we recommend is including Availability if your customers depend on your service for their own operations — which covers most B2B SaaS companies. If your service going down means your customers cannot serve their customers, Availability should be in scope.

Processing Integrity — Optional

Processing Integrity evaluates whether system processing is complete, valid, accurate, timely, and authorized. This criterion is most relevant for companies that perform data processing, calculations, or transformations on behalf of customers — think payment processing, financial data aggregation, or analytics platforms.

In our experience, Processing Integrity is the least commonly included criterion for typical SaaS companies. What we recommend is including it only if your product's core value proposition involves processing or transforming customer data where accuracy is critical.

Confidentiality — Optional

Confidentiality addresses the protection of information designated as confidential. This goes beyond the security baseline to cover how you identify, classify, and protect confidential information throughout its lifecycle, including data retention and disposal.

What we recommend is including Confidentiality if you handle proprietary business information, intellectual property, or other data that customers have specifically designated as confidential and that requires protection beyond standard security controls.

Privacy — Optional

Privacy addresses the collection, use, retention, disclosure, and disposal of personal information. This criterion aligns closely with privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA and is relevant when you process consumer personal information on behalf of your customers.

In our experience, most B2B SaaS companies do not need the Privacy criterion unless they directly handle consumer PII. If your customers use your product to process their end users' personal information, Privacy may be relevant — but discuss this with your auditor before committing.

Type I vs Type II: Which One and Why

SOC 2 reports come in two types, and understanding the difference is critical for planning:

Type I evaluates whether your controls are suitably designed at a specific point in time. The auditor examines your control environment on a single date and provides an opinion on design effectiveness. A Type I report can be completed relatively quickly — in our experience, 60 to 90 days from readiness to report delivery.

Type II evaluates whether your controls are both suitably designed and operating effectively over a period of time, called the observation period. This period is typically six to twelve months. The auditor tests that your controls worked consistently throughout the observation window, not just on the day they looked.

What we tell clients is that Type II is the report most customers actually want. A Type I report demonstrates that you have the right controls in place; a Type II report proves they work over time. That said, there are valid reasons to start with Type I:

• You have an urgent deal requiring a report within 90 days
• You want to validate your control design before committing to an observation period
• You need something to show customers while your Type II observation window is in progress

In our experience, the optimal path for most companies is to go directly to Type II unless there is a specific time-sensitive business requirement for a Type I. Starting with Type I and then transitioning to Type II adds cost and extends your total timeline.

The SOC 2 Audit Process Step by Step

Step 1: Scoping (1-2 weeks)

Define what is in scope for your audit. This includes which Trust Service Criteria you will include, which systems and services are covered, and where your system boundaries are. What we recommend is drawing boundaries tightly around the systems that directly process customer data. Including staging environments, internal tools, or legacy systems that do not touch customer data adds scope without adding value.

Step 2: Gap Assessment (2-4 weeks)

Evaluate your current security posture against the criteria you have selected. A thorough gap assessment produces a prioritized list of gaps, a remediation plan with owners and deadlines, and a realistic timeline to audit readiness.

In our experience, a typical early-stage SaaS company has 15 to 30 gaps, with roughly 20 percent being critical (missing controls), 50 percent moderate (informal or undocumented controls), and 30 percent minor (documentation gaps).

Step 3: Remediation (4-12 weeks)

Close the gaps identified in your assessment. This typically involves writing and adopting security policies, implementing technical controls (MFA, logging, encryption, endpoint protection), establishing operational processes (access reviews, vendor assessments, incident response), and deploying a GRC platform for automated evidence collection.

What we tell clients is that remediation is where the real investment happens. You are building the security infrastructure that your organization will maintain for years, not just checking boxes for an audit.

Step 4: GRC Platform Setup (2-4 weeks, often parallel with remediation)

A GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) platform automates evidence collection, policy management, and compliance monitoring. The major platforms — Vanta, Drata, Secureframe, and Sprinto — integrate with your tech stack (cloud providers, identity providers, code repositories, HR systems) to continuously collect evidence that your controls are operating.

In our experience, companies that invest in proper GRC platform configuration during remediation save hundreds of hours during the audit itself. What we recommend is connecting all available integrations and verifying that automated evidence collection is working correctly before the observation period begins.

Step 5: Auditor Selection and Engagement (2-4 weeks)

Select a licensed CPA firm experienced with SOC 2 audits. Key factors in choosing an auditor include experience with your industry and company size, communication style and responsiveness, audit timeline and availability, pricing structure, and familiarity with your GRC platform.

What we tell clients is to lock in your auditor early — availability is the most common timeline risk in the entire SOC 2 process. Popular audit firms book three to six months in advance for Type II fieldwork dates.

Step 6: Observation Period (3-12 months)

For Type II, your controls must operate effectively throughout the observation period. During this window, your GRC platform collects evidence continuously, you execute recurring processes (access reviews, vulnerability scans, vendor assessments), and your auditor may request evidence samples at defined intervals.

In our experience, a six-month observation period balances thoroughness with time-to-report for first-time engagements. Some companies start with three months to accelerate delivery, though shorter periods receive more scrutiny from sophisticated buyers.

Step 7: Audit Fieldwork (2-4 weeks)

The auditor conducts their examination, testing your controls against the Trust Service Criteria. They review evidence, interview key personnel, and evaluate your system description. What we tell clients is that fieldwork goes smoothly when evidence collection has been automated and consistent throughout the observation period. The auditor is looking for consistent execution, not perfection.

Step 8: Report Delivery (2-4 weeks after fieldwork)

The auditor compiles their findings into the SOC 2 report, including their opinion on your controls. A clean report (unqualified opinion with no exceptions) is the goal, but minor exceptions with documented remediation plans are common and generally acceptable to customers.

What SOC 2 Costs

SOC 2 costs vary based on scope, company size, and existing security maturity. What we tell clients is to budget across four categories:

Cost Category	First Year Range	Ongoing Annual Range
GRC platform	$10,000 - $30,000	$10,000 - $30,000
Readiness consulting	$15,000 - $50,000	$5,000 - $15,000
Audit fees	$20,000 - $60,000	$20,000 - $50,000
Internal time and remediation	$15,000 - $50,000	$5,000 - $20,000
Total	$60,000 - $190,000	$40,000 - $115,000

In our experience, a typical Series A SaaS company with 20 to 50 employees pursuing Security and Availability can expect to invest $80,000 to $120,000 in the first year. Subsequent years are typically 40 to 60 percent less because the foundational work — policies, controls, processes — is already in place.

Choosing the Right GRC Platform

The GRC platform is one of the most consequential decisions in your SOC 2 process. In our experience, the right platform reduces evidence collection effort by 70 to 80 percent compared to manual approaches. Here is how the major platforms compare:

Vanta is the most widely adopted platform among startups and growth-stage companies. It has the broadest integration library and is well-suited for companies pursuing SOC 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA. What we see most often is companies choosing Vanta for its integration breadth and marketplace familiarity.

Drata offers strong automation capabilities and a clean user interface. It is particularly well-suited for companies that value visual dashboards and want a platform that non-technical stakeholders can navigate easily.

Secureframe provides solid coverage across frameworks and offers competitive pricing. In our experience, it is a strong choice for companies that want straightforward implementation without extensive customization.

Sprinto has gained traction for its guided workflows and structured approach to compliance. It is well-suited for companies that want a more prescriptive onboarding experience.

What we tell clients is that the platform matters less than the implementation. Any of these tools will support a successful SOC 2 engagement if properly configured and maintained. Choose based on your specific tech stack coverage, framework needs, and budget.

How Agency Helps

What we tell clients from the beginning is that SOC 2 does not have to be a fire drill. With the right guidance, most companies can go from zero to audit-ready in 8 to 12 weeks, with the full Type II report delivered within 9 to 15 months of project kickoff.

Agency works as your compliance partner throughout the process. We help you scope your audit to match your actual business needs, conduct the gap assessment and build a prioritized remediation plan, select and configure your GRC platform and auditor, prepare your team for auditor interviews and evidence requests, and maintain your compliance program after the report is delivered.

In our experience, the companies that achieve the best outcomes are those that treat SOC 2 as the foundation for their long-term security program rather than a one-time project to close a deal. The controls, processes, and documentation you build during SOC 2 preparation are the same ones that protect your customers, reduce your risk exposure, and enable you to add frameworks like ISO 27001 or HIPAA down the road.

Key Takeaways

• SOC 2 is an independent attestation issued by a CPA firm that evaluates how well your organization protects customer data — it is the standard trust mechanism for B2B technology companies.
• What we recommend for most companies is pursuing Security and Availability as your initial Trust Service Criteria, then adding additional criteria as customer requirements dictate.
• In our experience, going directly to Type II is the right move for most companies unless there is an urgent deal that requires a report within 90 days.
• Budget $60,000 to $190,000 for your first year, with ongoing costs of $40,000 to $115,000 annually — the investment pays for itself when it unlocks enterprise deals and shortens sales cycles.
• What we tell clients is that the GRC platform and auditor are your two most important vendor decisions — lock in both early to avoid timeline risk.
• Plan for 9 to 15 months from project kickoff to Type II report delivery for a first-time engagement, with the observation period being the largest time block.