How It WorksPricingBlogStart Free Trial
All answers

How do I prepare for a SOC 2 audit in 30 days?

March 6, 20262 min readFirst-Time SOC 2

Is 30 Days Realistic?

For a SOC 2 Type I audit (point-in-time), yes — if your startup already has basic security practices like code reviews, cloud hosting, and MFA available. You're formalizing what you already do, not building from scratch.

For Type II, 30 days isn't enough. Type II requires an observation period (3-12 months) of controls operating consistently.

The 30-Day Plan

Days 1-5: Technical Controls

TaskTime
Enforce MFA on Google Workspace, GitHub, AWS2 hours
Enable GitHub branch protection on main30 minutes
Enable CloudTrail or equivalent logging1 hour
Deploy MDM on company devices3 hours
Review and restrict admin access across systems2 hours

Days 6-15: Documentation

Write the seven core policy documents:

  • Day 6-7: Information Security Policy
  • Day 8-9: Access Control Policy + Change Management Policy
  • Day 10-11: Incident Response Plan
  • Day 12-13: Risk Assessment + Vendor Management Policy
  • Day 14-15: System Description

Each document should take 2-4 hours if you're describing your actual systems (not writing from scratch with no reference point).

Days 16-25: Evidence Collection

Capture evidence for each control area:

  • Access controls: MFA settings, user lists, role assignments
  • Change management: branch protection, sample PRs
  • Monitoring: alerting configuration, log settings
  • Data protection: encryption settings, backup configs
  • Vendor management: list of critical vendors with their SOC 2 reports

Days 26-30: Self-Assessment and Gaps

Review everything against TSC criteria. Fix any gaps found. Organize evidence by control for easy auditor access.

What to Skip

  • Penetration testing (not required for SOC 2, though useful)
  • Building a security dashboard
  • Perfect documentation — good enough is good enough for Type I

Accelerating with AI

Screenata can compress days 6-25 into a few days by reading your codebase, generating policies, and collecting evidence automatically. The 30-day plan becomes a 10-day plan.

Related Questions

First-Time SOC 2

Can I use my SOC 2 report to skip security questionnaires?

A SOC 2 report reduces security questionnaire burden by 60-80% but doesn't eliminate questionnaires entirely. Most enterprise buyers accept a SOC 2 report in place of detailed control questions, but still ask about data handling specifics, incident history, and business continuity that SOC 2 doesn't fully cover.

First-Time SOC 2

How do I collect SOC 2 evidence across multiple engineering teams?

Collecting SOC 2 evidence across multiple teams requires standardized branch protection rules, consistent access control policies, a shared evidence library, and a designated compliance coordinator. Use the same GitHub settings, CI pipelines, and access review processes across all teams to simplify evidence collection.

First-Time SOC 2

How do I handle emergency changes and hotfixes during a SOC 2 observation period?

Emergency changes during a SOC 2 observation period are acceptable if you document them properly. Create a post-deployment PR within 24 hours, record the justification for bypassing normal review, and get retroactive approval. Having 2-3 documented emergency changes during an observation period won't cause audit findings.

Ready to Automate Your Compliance?

Join 50+ companies automating their compliance evidence with Screenata.

Start Free Trial →

© 2025 Screenata. All rights reserved.