Checklist: Preparing for Your Next Security Review or Vendor Audit

Security reviews and vendor audits are now a standard part of doing business in B2B SaaS. Whether it’s a customer conducting a due diligence assessment or a formal audit from a regulatory body, how prepared you are can make—or break—deals, timelines, and trust.

The key to a successful audit? Preparation. And the best preparation comes from having a centralized, well-maintained system that keeps your compliance documentation, policies, and reports organized and audit-ready.

Use the checklist below to ensure you’re set up for a smooth, fast, and confident audit process.

✅ 1. Centralize Your Compliance Documentation

Audit readiness starts with having everything in one place. Make sure you’ve collected and stored the following:

  • Most recent SOC 2, ISO 27001, or relevant compliance reports
  • Completed penetration test reports and vulnerability scans
  • Internal risk assessments and vendor risk evaluations
  • Your Trust page documentation (if publicly available)
  • Past audit reports (for reference)

🔒 Pro Tip: Use our compliance repository to store, tag, and manage expiration dates for all audit-critical documents.

✅ 2. Ensure Policies Are Current and Version-Controlled

Outdated or inconsistent policies can cause delays—or worse, audit failures. Review and verify:

  • Your Information Security Policy
  • Incident Response Plan
  • Data Retention & Disposal Policy
  • Access Control Policy
  • Acceptable Use Policy
  • Your Privacy Policy and Terms of Service

Ensure each document:

  • Has a version number and review date
  • Is approved by the relevant stakeholder
  • Matches the version published on your Trust page (if applicable)

🛠️ Use Case: Our platform automatically manages versioning and visibility controls so internal and public-facing policies stay aligned.

✅ 3. Review and Organize Your Security Questionnaires

If you’ve answered customer questionnaires in the past, they’ll likely come up again. Prepare by:

  • Reviewing your past responses to identify commonly asked questions
  • Creating a reusable answer library for recurring topics
  • Flagging outdated or inconsistent responses
  • Linking supporting documentation (e.g., policies, certifications) to your answers

🤖 Bonus: With our AI-powered questionnaire tool, you can autofill responses using your stored policy data and previous answers—saving hours of manual effort.

✅ 4. Update Your Trust Page (If You Have One)

Your Trust page is often the first stop for auditors and security reviewers. Check that it includes:

  • The latest compliance certifications (SOC 2, ISO 27001, etc.)
  • Your most recent penetration test results (summary or redacted)
  • Public-facing security and privacy policies
  • A clearly written responsible disclosure policy
  • Contact information for security inquiries

🌐 Tip: Our platform lets you dynamically update your Trust page in real time—no code or CMS updates required.

✅ 5. Assign Internal Roles and Responsibilities

Don’t wait for the audit to start before figuring out who does what. Define and assign:

  • Audit coordinator (main point of contact)
  • Policy owners responsible for updates
  • Technical leads for system-specific questions
  • Legal or compliance reviewer for risk and liability considerations

📋 Use task management features in our dashboard to assign responsibilities and track progress throughout the review cycle.

✅ 6. Prepare Supporting Evidence

Auditors may ask for logs, screenshots, or procedural documentation. Pre-assemble evidence like:

  • MFA and SSO configuration screenshots
  • Access control audit logs
  • Vendor risk management documentation
  • Change management process overviews
  • Data encryption and key management policies

📎 Our system lets you attach supporting evidence to specific policy records or questionnaire responses—keeping everything in context.

✅ 7. Set Review Alerts and Deadlines

If your audits or certifications occur annually or biannually, make sure you’re never caught off guard. Use automation to:

  • Set renewal reminders for SOC 2/ISO audits
  • Schedule policy reviews at the appropriate intervals
  • Get notified before key documents expire

⏰ Our dashboard includes customizable alerts to help your team stay ahead of the compliance calendar.

✅ 8. Perform a Mock Review or Internal Audit

Finally, run through a dry run or internal assessment. This helps you:

  • Validate readiness
  • Identify documentation gaps
  • Uncover outdated responses
  • Test how fast your team can gather the required materials

🧪 Many of our customers use the questionnaire tool internally to simulate customer or auditor requests and test their preparedness.

Final Thoughts

Security reviews and vendor audits don’t have to be stressful. With proper preparation and the right tools, you can:

✅ Respond faster ✅ Reduce errors ✅ Show professionalism and transparency ✅ Build confidence with customers, partners, and regulators

Stay ready—not reactive. Use our platform to centralize, automate, and streamline your entire security review workflow.

👉 Start Free Trial and see how we help B2B SaaS teams get audit-ready—on their own terms.

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