The short answer: a small business choosing how to get SOC 2 picks between compliance-automation software it runs itself, a managed readiness service that does the work for it, or a readiness consultant, and it always needs a licensed CPA firm on top to issue the report. Software fits teams with an in-house security owner; a managed service fits teams without one; a consultant fits teams that can implement but need a plan. Choose on who will do the work every month, not on feature lists.
This guide compares the four categories, gives you a criteria table to score any provider, matches options to company situations, and lists the questions to ask and the red flags to avoid. It does not rank vendors.
The four options an SMB actually chooses between
SOC 2 is an attestation report defined by the AICPA and evaluated against the Trust Services Criteria. Getting one involves two separate jobs: becoming ready, and being audited. The first three options below cover readiness. The fourth, the audit, is always a separate engagement.
| Option | What you get | Who does the work | Can issue the SOC 2 report? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Compliance-automation software (self-run) | A platform that tracks controls, collects evidence from connected systems, and hosts policies | Your team operates the program inside the tool | No |
| 2. Managed readiness service / outsourced security team | People plus tooling: gap assessment, remediation, evidence collection and audit preparation run for you | The provider does most of it, with your approvals | No |
| 3. Readiness consultant | Advice, a gap assessment, policy drafting and a remediation plan, usually for a defined scope | The consultant advises; your team implements and operates | No |
| 4. CPA audit firm | The independent SOC 2 examination and the signed Type I or Type II report | The auditor tests your controls; your team supplies evidence | Yes, and only a licensed CPA firm can |
1. Compliance-automation software
A self-run platform connects to your cloud, identity, HR and code systems, maps them to controls, and collects evidence on a schedule. It is efficient when someone inside the company owns the program. Software tracks tasks; it does not run access reviews, approve changes or fix vulnerabilities for you. Our SOC 2 evidence automation comparison goes deeper on how automated collection works.
2. Managed readiness service or outsourced security team
A managed service supplies the people as well as the tooling. It runs the gap assessment, drives remediation, collects evidence, and prepares you for fieldwork, with your team approving changes. It suits companies that need the outcome without hiring a security lead.
3. Readiness consultant
A consultant scopes the system, assesses gaps, drafts policies and writes a remediation plan. Your team then implements and operates the controls. The risk is continuity: when the engagement ends, someone still has to run the controls for the whole Type II observation window.
4. The CPA audit firm
Only a licensed CPA firm can perform a SOC 2 examination and issue a Type I or Type II report. You need one regardless of which readiness option you pick. Independence matters: a firm that designed your controls generally should not also audit them. Our SOC 2 Type II audit prep guide covers how to choose an auditor and what the observation window involves.
Criteria for comparing SOC 2 software, services and consultants
Use these criteria to score any readiness provider. The columns describe what each category typically offers; individual providers vary, so verify each row in a demo or proposal.
| Criterion | Automation software | Managed readiness service | Readiness consultant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Readiness support | Control templates and guided checklists; you interpret them | Experts run the gap assessment and own the remediation plan | Strong assessment and advice, often time-boxed |
| Evidence automation | Usually the core strength, through integrations | Automated collection plus people who chase what cannot be automated | Rarely included; evidence is gathered by hand or in your tool |
| Vulnerability scanning and remediation proof | Often imports results from a separate scanner you license | Varies; the strongest options scan, drive fixes and verify closure | Recommends a scanner; does not usually operate it |
| Auditor coordination | Auditor access to the platform; you manage the relationship | Mock audits and auditor liaison are commonly offered | Often helps pick a firm and prepare for fieldwork |
| Who does the work | Your engineers and a named internal owner | The provider, with your team approving changes | Your team, guided by the consultant |
| Time your team spends | Highest ongoing internal effort | Lowest; mostly approvals and interviews | High during remediation and through the window |
| Type I to Type II continuity | Good if someone keeps running the controls every month | Built in when the provider operates controls through the window | At risk once the engagement ends |
| Multi-framework reuse | Usually maps one control set to several frameworks | Depends on the provider; ask which frameworks share evidence | Depends on the consultant’s expertise |
| Pricing model fit | Typically an annual subscription, often tiered by seats or company size | Often a fixed-scope program or ongoing managed engagement | Usually hourly, a retainer, or a fixed-scope project |
Vulnerability management deserves extra weight. Auditors want to see a finding detected, assigned, fixed within your stated deadline and verified by a rescan, not just a policy. See how to prove vulnerability remediation to SOC 2 auditors, and use our guides to choosing a vulnerability platform for SOC 2 and comparing vulnerability management software to test that row properly.
Which option fits which company
Three facts decide most choices: whether you have an in-house security owner, how large and busy your engineering team is, and how close your customer deadline is.
| Your situation | Best fit |
|---|---|
| You have an in-house security or IT owner with time to run the program | Compliance-automation software, plus a CPA firm |
| No security owner, small engineering team, product roadmap is full | Managed readiness service, plus a CPA firm |
| Strong engineers who can implement, but nobody has run a SOC 2 before | A readiness consultant for the plan, then software or a managed service to operate it |
| A customer deadline is weeks away and controls are immature | A managed service that can remediate quickly; consider a Type I first while the Type II window runs |
| Several frameworks are coming (for example SOC 2, then ISO 27001) | Any option that reuses one set of evidence across frameworks |
| Controls are already mature and evidence is in good shape | Go straight to a CPA firm; add software only to keep evidence current |
Whatever you choose, plan the work in phases. Our 30-60-90-day SOC 2 plan and SOC 2 readiness checklist for startups work with any of the options above.
Questions to ask each type of provider
Compliance-automation software
- Which of our systems does it collect evidence from automatically, and which controls stay manual?
- Does it scan for vulnerabilities itself, or import results from a scanner we must license separately?
- Who on our team will need to operate it each month, and for how long?
- How does it alert us when a recurring control is missed during the observation window?
Managed readiness service
- Which tasks do your people perform, and which still fall to our team?
- Do you drive remediation of findings, or only report them?
- Do you keep operating controls and collecting evidence through the Type II window?
- Do you offer mock audits and liaison with our audit firm?
Readiness consultant
- What exactly is in scope, and what is the deliverable at the end?
- Who operates the controls after the engagement ends?
- Have you prepared companies of our size and stack for SOC 2 before?
CPA audit firm
- Are you licensed, and how many SOC 2 examinations do you perform for companies like ours?
- Will the same team handle a Type I and a later Type II?
- Can you accept evidence exported from our readiness tooling?
- How long from the end of fieldwork to an issued report?
Red flags
- A readiness provider that says it will issue your SOC 2 report. Only a licensed CPA firm can.
- A guaranteed clean report. The auditor decides, based on how your controls actually operated.
- The same firm designing and auditing your controls. That undermines auditor independence.
- Vulnerability management as a policy only. If the option cannot show scan results, owners, fixes and verified closure, expect gaps in that evidence area.
- No plan for the observation window. A Type I prepared by hand, with nobody owning evidence afterward, is the most common way a Type II goes wrong.
- Vague division of labor. If nobody can say who runs each control every month, the work will default to your engineers.
Where Scan Ninja fits
Scan Ninja is option 2: an outsourced security and compliance team. Our U.S.-based experts can operate the program for you, or your team can run the platform yourselves. Either way, the work is built on our own AI-native scanner rather than a separate tool you license:
- Readiness in the first week. The Week-1 Aha Pack delivers, within 7 days of access, a vulnerability assessment of in-scope assets, an evidence gap analysis, a remediation backlog mapped to the Trust Services Criteria, and an executive risk summary.
- Type I and Type II readiness tracks with stage-gated milestones, mock audit preparation and auditor selection guidance.
- Evidence automation with control mapping, evidence tracking and owner workflows for evidence requests.
- Remediation proof: each finding is enriched, assigned to an owner, verified closed and exported for your auditor. Our managed vulnerability remediation service can drive the fixes for you.
- Multi-framework support for ISO 27001, PCI DSS and HIPAA alongside SOC 2.
Scan Ninja is not a CPA firm and does not issue SOC 2 reports. We get you ready and work alongside the audit firm you choose. See the full SOC 2 readiness program, or compare approaches on our Vanta alternative and Drata alternative pages and in our platform comparison.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best SOC 2 automation platform for a small business?
There is no single best platform; the right choice depends on who will run the program. Compliance-automation software works well when you have an in-house owner with time to operate controls. If you do not, a managed readiness service that combines tooling with people who do the work usually gets a small team to an audit-ready state with less internal effort. Either way, you still need a licensed CPA firm for the report.
Can compliance software issue a SOC 2 report?
No. Only a licensed CPA firm can perform a SOC 2 examination and issue the report, under AICPA attestation standards. Software platforms, managed readiness services and consultants prepare you for the audit and organize your evidence, but none of them can sign the opinion.
Should I hire a SOC 2 consultant or buy compliance software?
A consultant is strongest at the start: scoping, gap assessment and a remediation plan. Software is strongest at keeping evidence current once controls run. Many small teams need both functions, which is why managed readiness services that combine advice, tooling and hands-on operation have become a common middle path.
Do I still need an audit firm if I use a SOC 2 platform?
Yes. Every SOC 2 report is issued by an independent CPA firm. Budget and plan for the audit engagement separately from any readiness software or service, and confirm the audit firm can accept evidence exported from the tool you choose.
How do I choose a SOC 2 Type II audit service?
Confirm the firm is licensed and regularly performs SOC 2 examinations for companies of your size, ask whether the same team will carry a Type I into a Type II, check how it wants evidence and samples delivered, and confirm it did not help design the controls it will audit.
What red flags should I watch for when comparing SOC 2 providers?
Be wary of any readiness provider that promises a guaranteed clean report, claims to issue the SOC 2 report itself, offers to both build and audit your controls, or treats vulnerability management as a policy document instead of scan results, fixes and verified closure.
Sources
- AICPA & CIMA, SOC 2: SOC for Service Organizations, Trust Services Criteria
- AICPA, 2017 Trust Services Criteria (with revised points of focus, 2022)
Checked November 9, 2026. For SOC 2 readiness with remediation proof built in, see our SOC 2 readiness program.