SOC1 Compliance Services for SaaS & Fintech Startups

Your Enterprise Customers Need SOC1 — Not Just SOC2

Most startups know SOC2. Fewer know when they need SOC1 instead — or in addition to it.

If your software processes financial transactions, affects customer financial reporting, or handles payroll, billing, or accounting data, enterprise buyers (and their auditors) will ask for a SOC1 report. No SOC1 means no deal with banks, insurers, payroll companies, and public corporations with tight internal audit requirements.

We build your SOC1 control framework from scratch, automate evidence collection, and coordinate your CPA audit — so you get your report without building a compliance team.

What Is SOC1?

SOC1 (Service Organization Control 1) is an attestation report under SSAE 18 (Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements No. 18), issued by the AICPA.

It reports on controls at a service organization that are relevant to user entities' internal control over financial reporting (ICFR).

In plain English: your enterprise customers' auditors need to know that your software doesn't introduce risk to their financial statements. SOC1 is how you prove it.

SOC1 Type I vs Type II

SOC1 Type I — Point-in-time attestation. Confirms your controls are suitably designed as of a specific date. Faster to obtain (6–10 weeks total). Good for first-time compliance or new product lines.

SOC1 Type II — Period-based attestation. Confirms your controls operated effectively over a minimum 6-month period. Required by most enterprise buyers. Needed for annual renewal.

See our full comparison: SOC1 vs SOC2 vs SOC3 — Which Do You Need?

Who Needs SOC1?

You need SOC1 if you provide services that directly affect a customer's financial reporting:

| Industry | Example | |---|---| | Payment processing | Processing customer transactions that hit their P&L | | Payroll SaaS | Managing salary disbursements and payroll journal entries | | Accounting software | GL entries, reconciliation, financial close automation | | Banking/lending infrastructure | Loan origination, ledger management | | Insurance platforms | Premium processing, claims management | | ERP integrations | Pushing data into SAP, Oracle, NetSuite | | Healthcare billing | Medical billing touching revenue recognition | | Spend management | Expense reimbursement, AP automation |

If your customers are public companies, they are required under SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley) to obtain SOC1 reports from their service providers. That makes your SOC1 non-negotiable.

Common SOC1 Control Categories

We help you build and document controls across these areas:

Availability Controls

System uptime and SLA monitoring
Disaster recovery and failover procedures
Change management and release controls
Capacity planning

Processing Integrity Controls

Transaction completeness and accuracy
Error handling and exception reporting
Reconciliation procedures
Batch processing controls

Confidentiality Controls

Data encryption at rest and in transit
Access controls and least privilege
Data retention and disposal
Third-party data sharing agreements

Security Controls

Logical access management
Multi-factor authentication enforcement
Intrusion detection and monitoring
Vulnerability management program

Change Management Controls

SDLC and code review procedures
Segregation of duties in production deployments
Rollback procedures
Change approval workflows

Our SOC1 Readiness Process

Phase 1: Readiness Assessment (Week 1–2)

Map your services to financial reporting impact
Identify in-scope systems and processes
Gap analysis against SSAE 18 requirements
Define Trust Services Criteria applicable to your scope
Deliver gap report with prioritized remediation plan

Phase 2: Control Framework Build (Week 2–4)

Draft control descriptions for every in-scope control
Write policies and procedures documentation
Implement or remediate technical controls (access reviews, logging, encryption)
Set up evidence collection workflows

Phase 3: Evidence Automation

We integrate with your existing tools to automate evidence gathering:

AWS/GCP/Azure — CloudTrail, IAM access reports, config snapshots
GitHub/GitLab — PR reviews, deployment logs, branch protection rules
Okta/Google Workspace — User provisioning/deprovisioning logs, MFA enforcement
Jira/Linear — Change tickets and approvals
DataDog/PagerDuty — Uptime monitoring and incident response logs

Phase 4: Auditor Coordination

Auditor selection and engagement (we work with Big 4 and regional CPA firms)
Prepare management assertions
Coordinate evidence requests and walkthroughs
Respond to auditor queries

Phase 5: Report Delivery

SOC1 Type I: 3–6 weeks total
SOC1 Type II: 6-month observation + 4–6 weeks for audit fieldwork

What You Receive

Completed SOC1 Type I or Type II report from a licensed CPA firm
Control documentation library — policies, procedures, control matrices
Evidence repository — organized, auditor-ready evidence packages
Ongoing monitoring dashboard — track control effectiveness month-over-month
Management assertion letter — signed by your leadership
Customer-facing summary — shareable SOC1 summary for procurement teams

Timeline

| Milestone | Type I | Type II | |---|---|---| | Readiness assessment | Week 1–2 | Week 1–2 | | Control framework complete | Week 3–4 | Week 3–4 | | Audit observation period | N/A | Months 2–7 | | Audit fieldwork | Week 5–6 | Months 8–9 | | Report delivery | Week 6–8 | Month 10 |

SOC1 + SOC2: Better Together

Many companies need both. SOC2 covers your security and availability trust services for general enterprise buyers. SOC1 covers financial reporting controls for regulated industries.

We offer combined SOC1 + SOC2 sprints that share control documentation, evidence collection infrastructure, and auditor coordination — reducing total cost and time by 30–40% versus doing them separately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need SOC1 or SOC2? If your software affects customers' financial statements, you need SOC1. If enterprise buyers ask about security and data privacy more broadly, you need SOC2. Many fintech companies need both. See our SOC1 vs SOC2 comparison.

How long does SOC1 Type I take? From kickoff to report: 6–8 weeks if your controls are reasonably mature. Add 2–4 weeks if you're starting from scratch.

Can I use the same auditor for SOC1 and SOC2? Yes. We recommend it — same firm, shared evidence, lower fees.

What's the cost of a SOC1 audit? CPA audit fees range from $15,000–$40,000 depending on scope. Our readiness and coordination services are separate. Contact us for a scoped quote.

Ready to Start Your SOC1?

Don't let SOC1 requirements kill enterprise deals. We'll get you audit-ready — fast.