SOC 2 compliance for startups, run for you

Most startups meet SOC 2 the same way: a larger customer sends a security questionnaire, asks for your report, and the deal waits until you have one. Here is what SOC 2 is, what it takes, and which parts software can and cannot do.

What is SOC 2?

SOC 2 is a reporting framework from the AICPA, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. An independent CPA firm examines your controls and issues a report containing its opinion. No governing body issues a SOC 2 certificate. When a company says it is SOC 2 certified, it means it has a clean attestation report from an auditor.

What are the five Trust Services Criteria?

• Security: required in every report. Covers access control, change management, risk assessment, monitoring and incident response.

• Availability: optional. Covers uptime, capacity, backups and disaster recovery.

• Processing integrity: optional. Covers whether processing is complete, accurate and authorized.

• Confidentiality: optional. Covers protection of information designated as confidential.

• Privacy: optional. Covers how personal information is collected, used, retained and disposed of.

What is the difference between SOC 2 Type I and Type II?

Who needs SOC 2?

• SaaS and cloud companies that store, process or transmit customer data.

• B2B startups selling to US mid-market or enterprise buyers whose procurement asks for a SOC 2 report.

• Infrastructure, API and developer-tool companies that sit in a customer’s data path.

• AI companies that handle customer prompts, documents or files.

• Service providers such as payroll, HR tech, data processing and managed services, whose customers must assess vendor risk.

SOC 2 is not a law and nobody is fined for not having it. You need it because buyers require it, so the right time to start is before the deal that needs it, not during it.

What does SOC 2 take?

A SOC 2 program has three layers, and the auditor looks at all of them.

• Controls: MFA and access reviews, encryption, change management with code review, vulnerability management, logging and monitoring, backups, incident response, vendor management, security training, and onboarding and offboarding.

• Documents: an information security policy with supporting policies (access control, acceptable use, incident response, business continuity, vendor management, data retention), a risk assessment, and a system description that defines the scope of your report.

• Evidence: proof the controls actually ran, such as configuration exports, pull request approvals, access review records, training completion, vulnerability scans, pentest results and incident tickets.

How long does SOC 2 take for a startup?

The audit is the predictable part. A Type I tests a single date. A Type II needs an observation window, and while the AICPA sets no minimum, 3 to 12 months is common. The unpredictable part is readiness: how long it takes to put controls in place and start producing evidence. That depends on where you start, not on the framework.

What NexusVoid automates vs what you still do

How NexusVoid gets you ready and keeps you ready

NexusVoid runs your security program like an autonomous CISO, and SOC 2 is the by-product. If you have no CISO, it acts as one. If you have a CISO or vCISO, it automates most of their work. The loop is Detect, Prove, Resolve, Test, Verify.

• Argus finds and fixes: it starts outside-in like an attacker, with no credentials or installs to begin, then works inward through code, dependencies, cloud and secrets. Findings are mapped to MITRE ATT&CK, priced in dollars with FAIR, and fixed as pull requests. Every finding has an owner, and merged fixes are retested and filed as evidence against controls.

• Aegis proves: tailored policies, automatic evidence from cloud, GitHub, identity and devices, a risk register, vendor management, employee security training, a device agent, a trust center and auditor-ready exports.

• Striker tests: vulnerability assessment and pentest across web, API, cloud and mobile, pay per scan, using 20+ tools, with a report in under 60 minutes.

For Type II, staying ready matters more than getting ready. Your auditor tests whether controls worked throughout the window, so evidence collection and retesting have to run continuously, not in a scramble before fieldwork.

Common SOC 2 mistakes

• Treating SOC 2 as paperwork: policies that describe controls you do not run will show up as exceptions in a Type II.

• Over-scoping: adding availability, confidentiality or privacy when no customer asked for them adds controls and testing.

• Starting the observation window before controls are stable.

• Collecting evidence by hand in the final weeks, which misses most of the period the auditor tests.

• Ignoring real vulnerabilities: a clean report on a product with exposed secrets protects nobody.

• Forgetting offboarding and periodic access reviews, which are easy to skip when the team is busy.

Frequently asked questions

Is SOC 2 a certification?

No. SOC 2 is an attestation. A licensed CPA firm examines your controls against the AICPA Trust Services Criteria and issues a report with its opinion. There is no SOC 2 certificate and no body that certifies you. Software like NexusVoid prepares you and collects evidence, but only an independent auditor can issue the report.

Should a startup get SOC 2 Type I or Type II first?

Many startups start with Type I because it tests control design at a single date and can unblock a deal sooner. Most enterprise buyers ultimately expect Type II, which tests whether controls worked over an observation window. If your controls are already running and evidence is being collected, going straight to Type II can save you one audit cycle.

How long does a SOC 2 Type II observation period last?

The AICPA does not set a minimum. Windows of 3 to 12 months are common, and many first reports use a shorter window while later reports cover a full year. Ask your buyers what they accept, and agree the window with your auditor before it starts so your evidence covers the whole period.

Which Trust Services Criteria do we need?

Security is required in every SOC 2 report. Availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy are optional. Add them only when your service or your customers call for them, for example availability if you sell uptime commitments. Each extra criterion adds controls to run and evidence to collect, so start narrow and expand when a buyer asks.

Can NexusVoid guarantee we pass our SOC 2 audit?

No, and no honest vendor can. The outcome depends on your auditor’s testing and on whether your controls actually operated. NexusVoid finds and fixes security gaps, collects evidence continuously and prepares auditor-ready exports, so you go into fieldwork knowing where you stand instead of guessing.

If a customer is asking for SOC 2 and you want to see what your program would look like, book a call at /contact. We will walk through your setup and what it would take.