SOC 2 readiness for Canadian SMBs — from gap analysis to Type 2 report

Most companies get a Type 1 first. It attests that your controls are suitably designed as of a given date, which gives you something to hand a prospect while the Type 2 observation window runs its course. Going straight to Type 2 saves an audit fee but leaves you empty-handed for months. If a deal is waiting on proof, the Type 1 usually pays for itself; if nobody is pressing, skipping it is a defensible way to save money. We help you make that call based on your pipeline, not a rule of thumb.

It depends on where your controls stand today, how quickly your team can absorb the remediation work, and which report you pursue — a Type 2 adds an observation window during which your controls have to operate and generate evidence. Automation shortens the evidence side considerably, but policies still need to be adopted and lived. Rather than quote a generic timeline, we run the gap assessment first and build the schedule on what we actually find.

Budget for three separate costs. First, readiness — the gap analysis, policies, controls and evidence preparation, which is the part we deliver: published Canadian consulting ranges start around $2,000 to $4,000 for a light gap assessment, and run higher when hands-on remediation is included. Second, the audit itself, paid to a licensed CPA firm (we aren’t one — we get you ready for them and work alongside them): Canadian sources put a Type 1 report at roughly $6,500 to $12,000 and a Type 2 at $12,000 to $20,000, with US specialist firms often charging more. Third, a compliance-automation platform like Drata — industry-reported pricing typically runs US$7,500 to $25,000 a year depending on tier. All in, Canadian sources place a first SOC 2 attestation — readiness, platform and audit together — anywhere from about $10,000 for a lean, automated startup path to $40,000 and up for a larger SMB. We scope your gap first, so you know which of those numbers actually apply to you.

Yes. Only a licensed CPA firm can issue a SOC 2 report, and we aren’t one — that separation is deliberate. Our job is everything before and around the audit — closing the gaps, assembling the evidence, and sitting beside your team through the auditor’s questions. If you don’t have an audit firm yet, we can suggest ones that work well with SMBs and coordinate directly with whoever you choose.

Because your policies and evidence can exist in both French and English — useful when your team works in French but your auditor works in English. A consultant based here liaises with the CPA audit firm, runs Law 25 compliance inside the same program instead of as a separate track, works in your time zone, and can meet you in person in Gatineau or Ottawa. For a Canadian SMB, that’s a lot less friction than a distant provider who knows neither Law 25 nor your language reality.