United States · Start-ups
SOC 2 for US Start-ups: Your First Report, Done for You
Your first SOC 2 report as a US start-up: why buyers and investors require it, a small-team scope, key controls and how Sterling does the work.
Did you know SOC 2 can cost less than US$10,000, all-inclusive? If you've been quoted more, talk to us before you sign.
100% success, on time: the Sterling Promise
We stay with you until your agreed outcome is achieved, through consulting, audit preparation and the resolution of audit findings. The engagement defines the standard, scope, outcome and responsibilities; your organization puts the agreed controls into use; a US-licensed CPA firm issues the SOC 2 report, and that decision stays independent.
Done for you, end to end
We write the policies, set up the controls and evidence, run the internal audit and coordinate the independent audit. You deal with one team from first call to final report.
Simple and quick
A free gap assessment, then one plan with dates from day one. Effivity, our GRC automation platform, is included to keep the evidence moving.
8,100+ client engagements
In 60+ countries over 20+ years, with experts who bring 30+ years of experience.
Under US$10,000, all-inclusive
For most start-ups and SMEs: SOC 2, ISO 27001, ISO 42001, HIPAA or ISO 9001, including the independent audit. A fixed quote follows a free gap assessment.
Included in every engagement
Every Sterling consulting engagement comes with the following, so you are not buying extras to get to the finish line:
- Effivity, Sterling's GRC automation platform, with a full-year subscription, to run your controls, evidence, tasks and audits in one place.
- Sterling Academy: preferential course access, with complimentary awareness training for your people.
- Internal auditor training for your audit team, as applicable to your standard.
- For information-security engagements, a vulnerability assessment.
These are part of the engagement, not a separate purchase. The details depend on the standard you are working toward, which we confirm during the free gap assessment.
Consulting and auditing are always separated: the people who consult never audit you. That keeps your internal audit objective and protects the independence of the CPA firm, Qualified Security Assessor or certification body that performs the final step.
Behind this are 8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries over 20+ years, led by experts with 30+ years of experience.
All-inclusive pricing for start-ups and SMEs
Did you know SOC 2 or ISO 27001 can cost less than US$10,000, all-inclusive? If you've been quoted more, talk to us before you sign.
Sterling's all-inclusive fee for SOC 2, ISO 27001, ISO 42001, HIPAA or ISO 9001 is under US$10,000 for most start-ups and SMEs. It covers our done-for-you consulting and the independent audit: the SOC 2 report from a US-licensed CPA firm, as AICPA standards require, or the certification audit by an accredited certification body. For HIPAA, it covers HIPAA compliance consulting and an independent HIPAA assessment. Effivity, training and a vulnerability assessment are included. That's less than a month's cost of an in-house security hire: the US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage for information security analysts at $129,180 (May 2025), about $10,765 a month in pay alone[1].
A fixed quote follows a free gap assessment.
What the fee covers, and what it doesn't:
- It is the fee for your first SOC 2 report or your first certification only.
- Annual work is always additional and billed the following year: later SOC 2 report periods, and ISO surveillance and recertification audits.
- It assumes a typical start-up or SME scope: one product or service and one main location.
- Larger or multi-site scopes get a fixed quote after the gap assessment.
- PCI DSS is quoted separately: a fixed quote follows a free gap assessment.
[1] Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: 15-1212 Information Security Analysts, national annual median wage. US Bureau of Labor Statistics. accessed October 23, 2026.
When a US start-up first meets the SOC 2 request
The outcome: your first SOC 2 report, scoped for a small team and prepared for you, so founders keep selling while the evidence builds. The SOC 2 report is issued by a US-licensed CPA firm, as AICPA standards require[1].
This page is for start-ups that fit no vertical template: developer tools, HR and logistics platforms, B2B marketplaces, edtech selling to school districts, climate-data products. The sector differs; the moment is the same. In Sterling's experience it comes from one of these US situations:
- Your first enterprise contract. Security terms sit inside the master agreement, and the buyer's questionnaire ends with "Do you have a SOC 2 report?"
- Seed or Series A diligence. A US investor's checklist includes a security section. Our guide to SOC 2 for Series A covers it.
- A marketplace or channel listing. Approval waits on evidence.
- A renewal. A customer's new vendor policy now requires a report.
What your US customers must show about their own vendors
The outcome: you see the request from the buyer's side, and your report answers the obligation they carry.
- Public-company customers. SEC Regulation S-K Item 106 requires registrants to describe how they assess and manage material cybersecurity risks, and whether they have processes to oversee and identify such risks tied to third-party service providers[4]. A start-up vendor falls inside that review.
- Healthcare customers. Under the HIPAA Security Rule, a business associate contract must require the business associate to comply with the applicable security requirements and to report security incidents to the covered entity[5]. If your product handles patient data, expect that contract and the questions behind it.
- Non-bank financial customers. The FTC Safeguards Rule requires them to oversee service providers by contract and to assess them periodically[3].
No US rule names SOC 2. It is the independent evidence most US vendor reviewers already accept.
A first SOC 2 scope sized for a US start-up
The outcome: the smallest scope your buyers will accept, which keeps the work and the evidence load in proportion.
- One product. Described in words a customer would recognize.
- One production environment. A single cloud provider, plus your build pipeline and source control.
- One company boundary. Employees and contractors on managed laptops.
- Vendors with access. Hosting, identity, ticketing, monitoring, payroll, chat.
- One category. A SOC 2 examination can cover security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality or privacy[2]. Sterling's recommendation for a first report is security alone, adding another when a signed contract requires it.
Starting small closes no doors: a second product or region can join a later report period. Leaving out a component customers rely on only moves their questions to a follow-up call.
| Stage of a US start-up | Evidence buyers usually accept (Sterling's experience) |
|---|---|
| First pilots | Completed questionnaire and written policies |
| First enterprise contracts | Questionnaire plus a dated plan for the examination |
| Series A and growth | A SOC 2 report, Type 1 or Type 2 |
| Selling outside the US | SOC 2 alongside ISO/IEC 27001 |
The few controls a small US team must run every week
The outcome: a handful of controls that run reliably, because examiners sample records and gaps show.
- Identity. Single sign-on where supported, multi-factor authentication for everyone, a ticket for each access change, quarterly reviews and same-day removal of leavers.
- Laptops. Enrolled in device management, with encryption, screen lock and patching enforced.
- Code changes. Reviewed pull requests, automated tests and branch protection you can export as evidence.
- Incidents. Alerts on the signals that matter, a short written plan and one rehearsal on record.
- Vendors. A brief register: what each sees, the terms you accepted, the next review date.
- Governance. A yearly risk assessment, a named security owner and minutes showing leadership reviewed it.
- People and backups. Training records for every hire, and a restore you have actually tested.
Mistakes that cost US founders a quarter
The outcome: we steer you around these from day one.
- Buying software and expecting a report. A tool gathers evidence; it does not write policies that fit you, run an internal audit or sit with the examiner.
- Template policies. Claiming weekly log reviews you never perform is a finding.
- A founder holding every control. One vacation leaves a hole in the evidence.
- Shadow vendors. Sales and support tools that see customer data, missing from the register.
- Ignoring the calendar. A Type 2 period cannot be shortened by effort. Work back from your close date.
- Loose status claims. Say exactly what you hold: a Type 1 report, a Type 2 report, or an examination in progress.
How Sterling delivers a start-up's first SOC 2 report
The outcome: you keep shipping; we do the compliance work. Sterling's record is 100% success and on-time completion over 20+ years and 8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries, with experts bringing 30+ years of experience. Consulting and auditing are always separated.
1. Free gap assessment. We review your product, tools and habits and return a scope and an order of work. 2. Policies and controls. Written to match what your team really does; we help close tooling gaps. 3. Evidence. Effivity records tasks, approvals and artifacts as they happen. 4. Readiness review. We test you as an outside reviewer would, then you fix what we find. 5. The examination. We coordinate scheduling, requests and follow-ups with the CPA firm until your report arrives.
Your first enterprise deal shouldn't wait. Get started today and a Sterling expert will reply.
How Sterling delivers SOC 2
A SOC 2 engagement has one deliverable that no consultant can hand you: the report. The SOC 2 report is issued by a US-licensed CPA firm, as AICPA standards require[1]. What Sterling does is make sure you get there ready, and that nothing between today and the report lands on your desk.
With Sterling, you deal with one team from start to finish. We coordinate:
- a readiness review and a gap assessment against the Trust Services Criteria;
- the policies, procedures and controls you need, written for how your company actually works;
- evidence collection, so the examination does not become a scramble;
- an internal audit before the examiner arrives, carried out by people who did not advise you on the controls;
- the Type 1 or Type 2 path that fits your deal timeline, and the examination itself, including scheduling, requests and follow-ups.
Our experts bring 30+ years of experience, and the firm has completed 8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries over 20+ years. You get a single plan, a single point of contact and a clear view of what happens next.
[1] SOC (System and Organization Controls) Suite of Services. AICPA & CIMA. accessed October 23, 2026.
Sources
1. System and Organization Controls: SOC Suite of Services. AICPA & CIMA. accessed October 26, 2026.
2. SOC 2 Reporting on an Examination of Controls at a Service Organization Relevant to Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, or Privacy. AICPA & CIMA. accessed October 23, 2026.
3. 16 CFR 314.4 Elements, paragraph (f) Oversee service providers (FTC Safeguards Rule). Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. accessed October 26, 2026.
4. 17 CFR 229.106 (Item 106 of Regulation S-K) Cybersecurity, paragraph (b)(1). Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (SEC). accessed October 26, 2026.
5. 45 CFR 164.314 Organizational requirements, paragraph (a)(2)(i) Business associate contracts. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (HHS HIPAA Security Rule). accessed October 26, 2026.
Information only
The information on this page is provided for general informational purposes only. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for advice from a qualified attorney about your own situation.
Requirements depend on your scope, your customers' contracts, your industry and the regulations that apply to you. Two companies asking for the same standard can have very different obligations. We confirm yours during a gap assessment, and we update our content as standards change, but you should check the current text of any standard or rule that matters to you.
Sterling consults and prepares. It does not decide whether you meet a standard. That decision belongs to the independent party that performs the final step: the US-licensed CPA firm for a SOC 2 report, the Qualified Security Assessor or acquirer for PCI DSS, and the accredited certification body for ISO certificates. Timelines and outcomes depend on your readiness and on those parties.
Standards and marks named on this site belong to their respective owners.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
When does a US start-up actually need a SOC 2 report?
When a customer, investor or marketplace requires one and a questionnaire will no longer do. No law requires it. Look at the contracts in your pipeline: if several mid-market or enterprise deals name it, the work pays for itself. If none do yet, a gap assessment and a dated plan usually keep deals moving until they do.
What does the CPA firm examine?
The firm examines the description of your system and the controls relevant to the categories you chose, which can include security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality or privacy[2]. It tests whether those controls are suitably designed and, in a Type 2, whether they operated across the period. The SOC 2 report is issued by a US-licensed CPA firm, as AICPA standards require[1].
Is a Type 1 report enough for a start-up?
Often enough to unblock a first deal. As commonly described, a Type 1 addresses control design at a single date, while a Type 2 covers operation over a period, which many US enterprise buyers eventually require. Sterling's recommendation is to plan for Type 2 from the outset and use a Type 1 only when a named deal needs evidence sooner. Our Type 1 versus Type 2 guide explains the sequence.
Can a compliance tool replace consulting?
A tool stores and collects evidence. It does not decide your scope, write policies that fit a small team, run an internal audit or manage the examination with the CPA firm. Many start-ups own software and still need those parts done. Our engagement includes Effivity for evidence, while Sterling handles everything else, so nothing falls back on your founders.
How do we answer questionnaires before the report exists?
Be precise about your status. Share policies under NDA, a dated plan for the examination and a summary of your readiness review, and never promise a report date you do not control. Our guide on answering security questionnaires shows how to build a reusable answer library so each new request takes less of your team's time.
Are Sterling's consultants independent of the examination?
Yes. You work with Sterling's consulting team from start to finish, and consulting and auditing are always separated: the people who consult never audit you. The independent opinion belongs to the US-licensed CPA firm. That separation is what keeps the finished report credible to the buyers and investors who read it.
What comes with the engagement?
Every engagement includes a full-year subscription to Effivity, Sterling's GRC automation platform; Sterling Academy preferential course access, with complimentary awareness training for your people; and internal auditor training for your audit team, as applicable to your standard. SOC 2 is an information-security engagement, so a vulnerability assessment is included as well.
Keep exploring
More in Compliance for Start-ups in the US
Compliance for Start-ups in the US
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