For any small company, the question "How long does it take to get SOC 2 compliant?" is one of the first and most critical hurdles. The answer isn't a simple number; it varies with the size of the organization (it is harder to change the way people work) and the complexity of your technical stack. Understanding the requirements is essential for planning resources, managing prospect and customer expectations, and unlocking the enterprise deals that depend on it. This guide breaks down the traditional SOC 2 timeline into phases so you know exactly what to expect.
Key Takeaways
- Type I vs. Type II: A SOC 2 Type I report is a point-in-time snapshot, while a SOC 2 Type II is an attestation over a period, requiring a 3 to 12-month observation period to prove your controls are effective over time.
- Things can be done in less than a day: For most small companies, with simple tech stacks, this effort can take less than 10 hours of focused work on technical configuration. The rest is documenting everything you do properly and maintaining it. It can be managed by Probo.
Traditional SOC 2 timeline
The journey to SOC 2 compliance is typically broken down into four distinct phases.
Phase 1: Readiness and remediation (the heavy lifting) Timeline: ~1 to 4 months
This is the foundational stage and the longest part of the process. It's where you do the actual work of becoming compliant before an auditor ever gets involved. This includes scoping, gap analysis, implementing controls, and creating documentation and policies. Even with automation tools, expect readiness to take at least a month of effort - you have to figure out what is relevant for you, implement it and document everything.
Phase 2: The audit window (the observation period) Timeline: 3 to 12 months (Type II only)
This phase is only required for a SOC 2 Type II report. It is a monitoring period where you must collect evidence to prove your controls are operating effectively over time. Most startups choose a 3-month period to start.
Phase 3: The audit Timeline: 1 to 6 weeks
Once you are ready and your observation window is complete, the independent auditor steps in to review evidence, conduct interviews, and write your official SOC 2 report.
Phase 4: Maintain Timeline: ongoing (monthly effort)
Getting the report is not the finish line. You need to maintain your controls and processes to avoid starting over next year. With proper organization, the monthly effort can be quite small.
How Probo accelerates the timeline
That traditional 1 to 6 months timeline is a significant commitment that drains a small company most valuable resources: time and engineering focus. Probo was built to fix this. We transform the long, manual process into a fast, expert-led service.
Instead of you spending time going through the SOC 2 framework, understanding what is relevant and how to properly implement it, we create on the spot a custom compliance program to reduce to a minimum the time you have to spend on the topic - so you actually focus on your business.
Here’s how we do it:
- We talk to you, not just scan your systems: We start with a conversation to understand exactly how you work. We then build a tailored compliance program that fits your specific business and tech stack, not a generic, templated one.
- We do the heavy lifting for you: Our expert team acts as your dedicated compliance partner. We create the necessary documents (policies, risk analyses, etc.) to match your ways of working and handle the entire audit process on your behalf (you still need to meet the auditor, it is part of his/her job).
- We free up your engineers: We give your team a practical, prioritized checklist of only the necessary security controls. This means they can stay focused on building your product, not on becoming compliance experts.
Once you are SOC 2, we continue to work with you to run your processes and to help you improve your overall security posture over time - continuous improvement is key!
Conclusion
While the traditional path to SOC 2 compliance can be a long and demanding journey, it doesn't have to be that way for your company. Probo’s expert-led, "done-for-you" service was designed to handle the entire process on your behalf. We replace the 3 to 6 months of manual readiness work with a fast, tailored program, ensuring you get SOC 2 will not be a burden. Probo helps you build the foundation of trust and security you need to close bigger deals and grow with confidence.