Getting Started Guide

The Complete Compliance Checklist

A step-by-step guide to achieving SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and GDPR compliance. Whether you are a startup closing your first enterprise deal or a growing company scaling your security program, this checklist covers everything you need to get audit-ready.

Start Free with Evidr Browse Frameworks

4-8

Weeks to audit-ready

Phases in the process

40+

Checklist items

To start with Evidr

The 5-Phase Process

From zero to certified

Follow this proven process to achieve compliance efficiently. Each phase builds on the previous one to create a comprehensive security program.

Assessment: Understand your compliance requirements

Before diving into implementation, you need to understand what compliance frameworks apply to your business and what your current security posture looks like.

Week 1-2

Planning: Create your compliance roadmap

With a clear understanding of your requirements and gaps, create a realistic plan that assigns ownership and sets deadlines.

Week 2-3

Implementation: Build your compliance program

The bulk of compliance work happens here. Implement controls, create policies, and collect evidence to demonstrate compliance.

Week 3-6

Evidence & Audit: Prepare for your audit

Collect and organize evidence, conduct internal reviews, and prepare for the external audit.

Week 6-8

Continuous Compliance: Maintain your certification

Compliance is not a one-time event. Maintain your certification with continuous monitoring and regular evidence refresh.

Ongoing

1Phase 1: Assessment

Understand your compliance requirements

Before diving into implementation, you need to understand what compliance frameworks apply to your business and what your current security posture looks like.

Identify which frameworks your customers require (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, etc.) Critical

Review existing security policies and procedures

Document your current tech stack and data flows Critical

Identify sensitive data types you process (PII, PHI, payment data) Critical

Assess current access controls and authentication methods

Review vendor relationships and data sharing agreements

Identify compliance gaps between current state and target frameworks Critical

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2Phase 2: Planning

Create your compliance roadmap

With a clear understanding of your requirements and gaps, create a realistic plan that assigns ownership and sets deadlines.

Select primary framework(s) to pursue first Critical

Map controls to your specific business context Critical

Assign control owners across your organization Critical

Create timeline with milestones and deadlines

Budget for tools, auditors, and potential consultants

Identify evidence requirements for each control Critical

Plan employee security awareness training

Select auditor and schedule audit window Critical

Evidr Tip

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3Phase 3: Implementation

Build your compliance program

The bulk of compliance work happens here. Implement controls, create policies, and collect evidence to demonstrate compliance.

Implement technical controls (encryption, access controls, logging) Critical

Draft and approve security policies (Acceptable Use, Data Classification, etc.) Critical

Set up vulnerability scanning and penetration testing Critical

Implement endpoint security (MDM, antivirus, disk encryption)

Configure cloud security settings (AWS, GCP, Azure) Critical

Set up security monitoring and alerting Critical

Conduct background checks on employees

Train employees on security policies and procedures Critical

Implement vendor risk management process

Set up business continuity and disaster recovery plans

Evidr Tip

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4Phase 4: Evidence & Audit

Prepare for your audit

Collect and organize evidence, conduct internal reviews, and prepare for the external audit.

Collect evidence for all controls (screenshots, configs, logs) Critical

Organize evidence by control and framework requirement Critical

Conduct internal control testing and gap remediation Critical

Review all policies for accuracy and completeness

Prepare auditor access portal with organized evidence Critical

Brief team on audit process and interview expectations

Conduct mock audit or readiness assessment

Address any findings from readiness assessment Critical

Evidr Tip

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5Phase 5: Continuous Compliance

Maintain your certification

Compliance is not a one-time event. Maintain your certification with continuous monitoring and regular evidence refresh.

Set up automated evidence collection from integrations Critical

Monitor evidence expiry and refresh before audits Critical

Conduct quarterly access reviews Critical

Review and update policies annually

Perform annual security awareness training Critical

Monitor vendors for security incidents and breaches

Track and remediate security incidents Critical

Prepare for annual audit recertification Critical

Evidr Tip

Evidr continuous monitoring tracks evidence expiry and sends alerts before things go stale. Never scramble before an audit again.

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Avoid These Pitfalls

Common compliance mistakes

Learn from companies that have gone through compliance before. These are the most common mistakes we see and how to avoid them.

Starting too late

Enterprise deals often require SOC 2 as a procurement checkbox. Starting compliance after the deal is already in progress means you lose momentum and potentially the deal.

Solution: Start compliance early, even before you need it. A free Evidr account lets you track readiness without committing to a full audit.

Treating compliance as a checkbox

Compliance should improve your actual security posture, not just generate paperwork. Checkbox compliance leads to findings during audits and false confidence.

Solution: Use compliance as a framework for building a real security program. The controls exist because they actually reduce risk.

No single owner

When compliance is everyone responsibility, it becomes no one responsibility. Tasks fall through cracks and deadlines slip.

Solution: Assign a compliance lead with authority to hold others accountable. Use Evidr to assign control owners and track progress.

Manual evidence collection

Collecting screenshots and exporting configs manually is slow, error-prone, and does not scale. It also makes continuous compliance nearly impossible.

Solution: Automate evidence collection with integrations. Evidr connects to AWS, GitHub, Okta, and 20+ tools to pull evidence automatically.