Getting SOC 2 compliant doesn't have to take a year. With focused effort and the right resources, you can prepare for your SOC 2 Type I audit in just 90 days.

Important: This guide focuses on SOC 2 Type I certification, which assesses whether your controls are properly designed at a point in time. If you need Type II certification (which requires 3-6 months of evidence showing controls are operating effectively), check out our SOC 2 Type II Timeline Guide.

Why start with Type I?

• Faster time to certification (90 days vs 9-12 months)
• Demonstrates commitment to customers immediately
• Validates your control design before the longer Type II period
• Can transition to Type II after collecting evidence

Many companies pursue Type I first to meet immediate customer requirements, then work toward Type II for the more comprehensive certification that most enterprise customers eventually require.

New to compliance? Read our guide on What is Compliance and Why It Matters to understand the broader landscape, or see our Compliance Certifications Comparison to determine if SOC 2 is right for your business.

Budget Overview: What This Will Cost

Before diving into the timeline, let's talk money. A realistic 90-day SOC 2 Type I budget includes:

Direct Costs:

• Type I Audit Fee: $10,000-$20,000 (varies by company size and scope)
• Security Tools: $2,000-$5,000 (MFA, monitoring, vulnerability scanning)
• Background Checks: $500-$1,500 (depends on team size)
• Legal Review: $1,000-$3,000 (optional but recommended)

Indirect Costs:

• Internal Time: 200-400 hours (compliance lead + cross-functional team)
• Policy Documentation: $5,000-$15,000 (if hiring consultants) OR $550 (using our Complete Bundle)
• Training Development: $1,000-$2,000 (can be done internally)

Total Budget Range: $20,000-$45,000+ depending on your approach.

Cost-saving tip: Most companies waste $10,000-$15,000 reinventing policy documentation. Our professionally crafted Policy Templates can reduce this to under $600 while maintaining audit-ready quality.

Week 1-4: Foundation Phase

The first month is all about establishing your compliance foundation and getting organizational buy-in. This phase sets the tone for your entire compliance program.

Week 1: Scoping and Planning

Day 1-2: Define Your Scope

Start by clearly defining which systems and data flows are in scope for your SOC 2 audit. Most companies starting out choose the Security trust service criteria as their baseline, sometimes adding Availability if system uptime is critical to customer commitments.

Scoping decisions:

• Which applications/systems store, process, or transmit customer data?
• What about development environments? (Usually out of scope for Type I)
• Cloud infrastructure in scope? (AWS/Azure/GCP - yes, typically)
• Third-party SaaS tools? (Depends on data sensitivity)

Deliverable: System inventory spreadsheet with in-scope/out-of-scope designations

Day 3-5: Stakeholder Alignment

SOC 2 affects every department. Get leadership buy-in early.

Schedule kickoff meetings with:

• Executive team (budget approval, priority setting)
• Engineering (technical controls implementation)
• HR (background checks, training programs)
• Operations (monitoring, incident response)
• Sales (customer communication strategy)

Deliverable: Project charter with executive sponsor, timeline, and resource commitments

Week 2: Policy Framework Development

This is where most companies either waste weeks or save massive time.

The DIY Approach (4-6 weeks):

• Research each required policy area
• Write policies from scratch
• Legal review and revisions
• Stakeholder review cycles
• Final approvals

The Template Approach (3-5 days):

• Start with proven, audit-tested templates
• Customize for your specific environment
• Internal review and approval
• Ready for implementation

Our Policy Bundle includes all 15 required policies in four versions: Enterprise, SMB, Implementation Workbook, and Quick Reference Guide. Customers report saving 4-6 weeks using these templates versus starting from scratch.

Required policy areas:

1. Information Security Policy
2. Access Control Policy
3. Change Management Policy
4. Risk Management Policy
5. Incident Response Plan
6. Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery
7. Data Management Policy
8. Human Resources Security Policy
9. Physical Security Policy
10. Network Security Policy
11. Operations Security Policy
12. Vendor Management Policy
13. Acceptable Use Policy
14. Data Classification Policy
15. Asset Management Policy

Week 2 deliverable: Complete policy framework approved by leadership

Week 3: Assign Roles and Responsibilities

SOC 2 compliance requires clear ownership. Ambiguity kills compliance programs.

Critical roles to assign:

Compliance Lead (20-30 hours/week for 90 days)

• Overall program ownership
• Auditor communication
• Timeline management
• Executive reporting

Security Lead (15-20 hours/week)

• Technical controls implementation
• Security tool configuration
• Vulnerability management
• Security monitoring setup

HR Lead (5-10 hours/week)

• Background check coordination
• Training program rollout
• Policy acknowledgment tracking
• Termination procedures

Operations Lead (10-15 hours/week)

• Monitoring and alerting
• Incident response procedures
• Backup and recovery testing
• On-call rotation management

IT Lead (15-20 hours/week)

• Access provisioning/deprovisioning
• MFA deployment
• System hardening
• Change management implementation

Tip: For smaller teams, individuals wear multiple hats, but avoid single points of failure. Every critical function needs a backup.

Week 4: Auditor Selection

Don't wait until week 12 to think about auditors. Start conversations now.

Auditor selection criteria:

• SOC 2 specialization (not all auditors do SOC 2)
• Industry experience (SaaS, FinTech, HealthTech expertise varies)
• Timeline availability (can they accommodate your schedule?)
• Pricing transparency (fixed fee vs hourly?)
• Reference checks (talk to 2-3 recent clients)

Get quotes from 2-3 firms. Prices vary significantly based on:

• Your company size (employees, revenue)
• System complexity
• Number of locations/data centers
• Trust Service Criteria in scope

Week 4 deliverable: Auditor selected, audit scheduled for Week 13-14

Week 5-8: Implementation Phase

Now it's time to actually implement the controls defined in your policies. This is where the rubber meets the road.

Week 5-6: Technical Controls Implementation

Multi-factor Authentication (MFA)

MFA is non-negotiable for SOC 2. Every administrative system needs it.

Implementation checklist:

• [ ] Deploy MFA for all production system access
• [ ] Configure MFA for cloud infrastructure (AWS/Azure/GCP)
• [ ] Enforce MFA for code repositories (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket)
• [ ] Implement MFA for SaaS admin panels (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.)
• [ ] Configure MFA enforcement policies (no bypass options)
• [ ] Document MFA requirements in Access Control Policy

Common pitfall: Allowing MFA bypass for "emergency access." Don't do this. Use break-glass procedures with documented access instead.

Network Security

Implementation checklist:

• [ ] Segment production from non-production networks
• [ ] Configure firewall rules (principle of least privilege)
• [ ] Implement VPN for remote access to production
• [ ] Set up network monitoring and alerting
• [ ] Document network architecture (create network diagram)
• [ ] Review and harden cloud security groups

Tool recommendations:

• Network segmentation: AWS VPC, Azure VNet, GCP VPC
• Monitoring: Datadog, New Relic, CloudWatch
• VPN: Tailscale, Pritunl, or cloud-native VPN solutions

Data Encryption

Implementation checklist:

• [ ] Enable encryption at rest for all databases (RDS, MongoDB, etc.)
• [ ] Enforce TLS 1.2+ for all data in transit
• [ ] Configure HTTPS for all web applications
• [ ] Enable encrypted backups
• [ ] Document encryption standards in policies

Cost: Most cloud providers include encryption at rest at no extra charge. Budget $0-500/month for enhanced encryption key management.

Week 7: Administrative Controls

Background Checks

Implementation steps:

1. Select background check vendor (Checkr, Sterling, Certn)
2. Define background check requirements by role
3. Run checks for all current employees
4. Document results (pass/fail, not details)
5. Update hiring process to include pre-hire checks

Cost: $30-75 per check. Budget $1,500-3,000 for a 30-person company.

Legal note: Comply with FCRA requirements, get written authorization, provide adverse action notices if needed.

Security Awareness Training

SOC 2 requires documented security awareness training for all employees.

Training topics to cover:

• Password security and MFA usage
• Phishing awareness and reporting
• Data classification and handling
• Incident reporting procedures
• Physical security responsibilities
• Clean desk/clear screen policies

Training options:

• Off-the-shelf: KnowBe4, SANS, Cybrary ($10-50/user/year)
• DIY: Create your own slides and quiz (free, more time-intensive)
• Hybrid: Use our templates + vendor content

Implementation:

• [ ] Select training platform or create content
• [ ] Schedule initial training sessions
• [ ] Track completion rates (need 100% for audit)
• [ ] Set up annual refresher training
• [ ] Document training records

Week 8: Access Management

User Access Management

Implement formal processes for access provisioning, modifications, and terminations.

Processes to document:

• New hire access request workflow
• Role change access review process
• Termination access revocation checklist
• Quarterly access review procedures

Tools that help:

• Ticketing systems: Jira, Linear, GitHub Issues
• Identity providers: Okta, Azure AD, Google Workspace
• Access review: Vanta, Drata, Secureframe (optional)

Our Access Request Ticket Form and Access Review Template provide audit-ready documentation structures.

Critical: Document EVERY access change in tickets. Auditors will sample 25+ access changes and expect documented approval for each.

Week 9-12: Documentation and Readiness

The final phase is about ensuring everything is documented and audit-ready.

Week 9: Risk Assessment

SOC 2 requires a formal risk assessment process.

Risk assessment steps:

1. Identify potential risks to system security and availability
2. Assess likelihood and impact of each risk
3. Document existing controls mitigating each risk
4. Identify control gaps requiring additional mitigation
5. Create risk treatment plan for any unacceptable risks

Time investment: 20-30 hours for first-time risk assessment

Tool: Use our Risk Assessment Template which includes risk scenario library and assessment framework.

Week 10: System Description

The System Description document describes your organization, services, and control environment for auditors.

Required sections:

• Company overview and services
• System infrastructure (architecture diagram)
• Software and tools used
• Data flows (how customer data moves through systems)
• Control environment (policies, procedures, organizational structure)
• Trust Service Criteria and related controls

Length: Typically 20-40 pages

Time investment: 30-40 hours

Tip: Create this collaboratively. Engineering writes infrastructure sections, HR writes personnel sections, Security writes control sections.

Week 11: Evidence Organization

Get all your documentation organized BEFORE the auditor shows up.

Create an evidence folder structure:

Pro tip: Create this structure in Google Drive or SharePoint and give your auditor view-only access. Much faster than emailing individual files.

Week 12: Internal Readiness Assessment

Do a dry run before the real audit.

Self-assessment checklist:

• [ ] All 15 policies documented and approved
• [ ] System description complete
• [ ] Risk assessment documented
• [ ] All employees have completed security training
• [ ] MFA implemented across all admin systems
• [ ] Access management procedures documented
• [ ] Network security controls implemented
• [ ] Encryption enabled (at rest and in transit)
• [ ] Vendor management process documented
• [ ] Incident response plan tested (tabletop exercise)
• [ ] Evidence folder organized and complete

Gap remediation: If you find control gaps, you have 1-2 weeks to address them before the audit begins.

Week 13-14: The Audit

What to expect during the audit:

Fieldwork (Week 13):

• Kickoff call with auditor
• Evidence requests (be prepared with organized folders)
• Control walkthroughs (auditor interviews key personnel)
• System demonstrations (show them MFA, monitoring, etc.)
• Questions and clarifications

Review (Week 14):

• Auditor reviews all submitted evidence
• Follow-up questions and additional evidence requests
• Management responses to any findings
• Draft report review

Results:

• Clean report (no findings) - Best case! ✅
• Observations (minor improvements suggested) - Common
• Exceptions (control deficiencies) - Need management response

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

❌ Starting Too Late Beginning at Day 1 instead of Week 1 matters. Every day counts in a 90-day timeline.

Solution: Start NOW. Don't wait for perfect conditions.

❌ Underestimating Time Commitments "This will only take a few hours per week" is a dangerous assumption.

Solution: Allocate 20-30 hours/week for your compliance lead. Build in buffer time.

❌ Skipping the Risk Assessment Some companies treat this as a checkbox exercise.

Solution: Take it seriously. A good risk assessment informs your entire control framework.

❌ Poor Documentation "We do this, but it's not documented" doesn't count in an audit.

Solution: If it's not documented, it didn't happen. Document everything.

❌ Last-Minute Evidence Scrambling Trying to create 3 months of access review evidence the week before your audit.

Solution: Implement processes early and follow them consistently.

❌ Weak Vendor Management Not assessing your critical vendors' security.

Solution: Get SOC 2 reports from all vendors handling your customer data.

❌ Incomplete Training Having 87% training completion when you need 100%.

Solution: Start training in Week 7, track completion weekly, follow up on stragglers.

Tools and Vendors

Essential Tools (Budget: $2,000-5,000 setup + $500-1,500/month)

Identity and Access Management:

• Okta, Azure AD, Google Workspace (MFA and SSO)
• Budget: $3-10/user/month

Security Monitoring:

• Datadog, New Relic, Splunk (SIEM and monitoring)
• Budget: $500-2,000/month depending on scale

Vulnerability Scanning:

• Qualys, Tenable, Rapid7 (vulnerability management)
• Budget: $2,000-5,000/year

Security Training:

• KnowBe4, SANS, Cybrary (security awareness)
• Budget: $10-50/user/year

Background Checks:

• Checkr, Sterling, Certn
• Budget: $30-75 per check

Optional: Compliance Automation (Type II Focus)

• Vanta, Drata, Secureframe ($12,000-36,000/year)
• Not necessary for Type I, helpful for Type II evidence collection for larger organizations

Transitioning from Type I to Type II

Once you have your Type I, you can begin the Type II journey.

What changes:

• Evidence period: Now you need 3-6 months of operational evidence
• Access reviews: Quarterly reviews required (documented)
• Monitoring: Log reviews and security monitoring evidence
• Vulnerability management: Quarterly scans + remediation tracking
• Training: Evidence of annual training completion
• Incident response: Documentation of any incidents and response

Timeline: Start evidence collection immediately after Type I. Schedule Type II audit for 6-9 months out.

Read our Type II Timeline Guide for the complete roadmap.

ROI: Is This Worth It?

Revenue impact:

• Average deal size increase: 23% (enterprise customers pay more)
• Sales cycle reduction: 30-45 days (eliminate security questionnaire delays)
• Win rate improvement: 15-20% (competitive differentiator)

Cost avoidance:

• Custom questionnaires: Save 10-20 hours per enterprise deal
• Legal review of contracts: Reduced security addendums
• Security incidents: Better controls = lower risk

For a SaaS company closing $500k-1M in annual contracts:

• Investment: $25,000-40,000 for Type I
• Return: $200,000+ in accelerated revenue and closed deals
• Payback period: 3-6 months typically

Read our ROI analysis for detailed calculations.

Final Checklist

Before starting your audit, confirm:

• [ ] All policies documented and approved
• [ ] System description complete
• [ ] Risk assessment documented
• [ ] All controls implemented
• [ ] All employees trained (100% completion)
• [ ] Evidence organized and accessible
• [ ] Auditor selected and scheduled
• [ ] Team briefed on audit process
• [ ] Management review completed

Get Started Today

90 days goes fast. The companies that succeed are the ones that start immediately, stay organized, and leverage proven templates instead of reinventing the wheel.

Ready to begin?

• Complete Bundle - Everything you need for $549.95 (save $600)
• Policy Bundle - All 15 policies for $129.95
• Implementation Guides - Free step-by-step guides

Questions? Email us at support@security-docs.com. We're here to help.

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Last updated: November 2025. Based on real-world SOC 2 implementations and current audit requirements.