Operations, SOC 2 and website articles.
Practical articles on SOC 2, business systems, operations and websites, written from the work we do every day.
SOC 2 and compliance
How Long Does SOC 2 Take? A Realistic Timeline
Three to six months of preparation, a three-month audit period, then the audit. What happens in each phase.
SOC 2 Type 1 vs Type 2: Which Do You Need?
How the two report types differ, what customers usually ask for, and how to decide.
What to Prepare Before You Engage a SOC 2 Auditor
The decisions and documents to have ready before your first call with an audit firm.
How to Choose a SOC 2 Auditor
What to look for in an audit firm and the questions to ask before you sign.
How to Set Up Vanta for SOC 2
What to connect, configure and assign when you set up Vanta, in the order that saves rework.
What Vanta Automates for SOC 2, and What It Doesn't
Vanta removes a lot of manual evidence collection. It does not run the project. Here is what still takes people.
The SOC 2 Audit Period: What You Have to Prove
During the three-month audit period, someone has to keep the tests passing and collect proof that your controls are really being used.
SOC 2 Policies: Which Ones You Need
The policies most SOC 2 audits expect, what each covers, and how to make them match reality.
How to Run a User Access Review
A practical way to review who has access to what, and to document it for an auditor.
The Systems You Need to Be Compliant, by Department
The systems to have in place across HR, Finance, IT, Web, Operations and RevOps, and what each one proves.
Systems and tools
How to Choose the Right HR System (HRIS)
What to compare when choosing an HR system, and how to run a selection that ends in a decision.
HR System Setup Checklist for Growing Companies
What to decide and prepare before you roll out an HR system, so it is accurate on day one.
Setting Up BambooHR: What to Think About First
The decisions to make before you configure BambooHR, from access levels to time off policies.
How to Roll Out a Password Manager at a Small Company
A practical rollout plan: structure, settings, moving shared logins and getting everyone to actually use it.
Operations
Fractional COO vs a Full-Time Operations Hire
How to tell whether your company needs part-time operations support or a full-time hire right now.
How to Write an SOP People Will Actually Follow
How to document a process so that someone else can do it without asking you.
Employee Onboarding and Offboarding Checklist
A repeatable checklist for bringing people in and out, including accounts, equipment and access.
Bookings to Billings: Fixing Invoicing and Collections
Where the money gets stuck between a signed deal and cash in the bank, and how to fix each handoff.
How to Stop Paying for Auto-Renewals
How to build a vendor list and a renewal calendar, so contracts stop renewing without a decision.
Websites
Why WordPress Is Still a Top Choice for Business Websites
What WordPress still does better than the alternatives, and the one thing it asks in return.
Why It's Smart to Have Someone Manage Your Website
What quietly goes wrong on an unattended website, and what managed care actually covers.
WordPress Maintenance Checklist
What to check weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly to keep a WordPress site healthy.
WordPress Security Basics for Small Businesses
The handful of habits that prevent most WordPress compromises.
Website Speed and Core Web Vitals, Explained
What Google measures, what good looks like, and the fixes that make the biggest difference.
How to Write a Service Page That Ranks and Converts
What every service page needs so that search engines, AI assistants and buyers all understand it.
What Is AEO? Answer Engine Optimization Explained
Answer engine optimization explained, and what it changes about a small business website.
HIPAA and Your Practice Website: Keep Patient Communication in the EHR
Why scheduling, messaging and intake belong in your EHR's patient tools, not in website forms.
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