Compliance Basics Checklist

Use this checklist to cover the minimum compliance groundwork for a small SaaS before launch or before taking paid users. This is not legal advice. The goal is to reduce obvious risk, document your data flows, publish the required policies, and make sure your auth, payments, deployment, and monitoring setup match what your policies claim.

Quick Fix / Quick Setup

Compliance basics quick setup:

1. Publish these pages:
   - /privacy
   - /terms
   - /cookies (if using analytics/cookies)
   - /dpa (if selling to businesses and processing customer data)

2. Create a data inventory doc:
   - what personal data you collect
   - why you collect it
   - where it is stored
   - who can access it
   - retention period
   - third-party processors used

3. Verify core controls:
   - HTTPS enforced
   - passwords hashed
   - secrets not committed
   - backups running
   - logs exclude sensitive data
   - payment data handled only by Stripe or PSP

4. Add operational contacts:
   - support email
   - privacy/contact email
   - incident response owner

5. Store proof:
   - policy versions
   - consent/version timestamps if needed
   - vendor list
   - backup restore test date
   - security review date

Best for MVP and small SaaS teams. If you process health, financial, biometric, children’s, or regulated data, get legal review before launch.

What’s happening

Compliance failures in small SaaS usually come from gaps between the product and the published policy, not from missing enterprise certifications.

Common launch blockers:

• missing privacy or terms pages
• unclear cookie usage
• storing sensitive data without documenting it
• using vendors without listing them
• logging or retaining user data longer than intended
• billing language that does not match actual payment behavior

Your goal is to align:

• product behavior
• infrastructure
• auth and access controls
• payment boundaries
• vendor usage
• public documentation

If a customer asks what data you collect, where it is stored, who processes it, how long you keep it, and how deletion works, you should be able to answer quickly and accurately.

Step-by-step implementation

1. Map your data flow

Create a single internal document listing every point where user data enters, is stored, processed, exported, or deleted.

Use a table like this:

Include:

• account data
• billing data
• support data
• analytics data
• uploads/files
• IP and device metadata
• logs
• email delivery events
• backups

2. Classify what you collect

Do not treat all data the same. Separate:

• account identifiers
• authentication data
• payment metadata
• support content
• analytics events
• uploaded user content
• admin audit logs

This helps define retention and deletion rules.

3. Publish the required policy pages

At minimum, most small SaaS products should have:

• /privacy
• /terms

Add these when applicable:

• /cookies
• /refunds
• /dpa

Make sure those pages match reality. Do not publish generic text that claims you do not use analytics, subprocessors, or email vendors if you do.

Basic route example:

// Next.js App Router example
export default function PrivacyPage() {
  return (
    <main className="prose mx-auto py-12">
      <h1>Privacy Policy</h1>
      <p>Effective date: 2026-04-20</p>
      <p>We collect account, billing, support, and usage data as described below.</p>
    </main>
  );
}

4. List all subprocessors

Document all vendors that handle user data:

• hosting
• managed database
• email
• payments
• analytics
• error tracking
• file storage
• customer support
• monitoring

For many B2B buyers, this list matters more than polished policy text.

Example internal vendor inventory:

vendors:
  - name: Stripe
    purpose: payments and subscriptions
    data: customer ID, billing metadata, invoices
    link: https://stripe.com/privacy
  - name: Postmark
    purpose: transactional email
    data: email address, message events
    link: https://postmarkapp.com/privacy-policy
  - name: Sentry
    purpose: error monitoring
    data: error context, user ID if configured
    link: https://sentry.io/privacy/

5. Verify auth controls

Your auth setup must match your security and privacy claims.

Minimum checks:

• passwords hashed with a modern algorithm
• email verification flow works
• password reset flow works
• sessions can be invalidated
• admin access is restricted
• internal admin tools use MFA where possible

Related guide: Auth System Checklist

Password hashing example:

import bcrypt from "bcryptjs";

const hash = await bcrypt.hash(password, 12);
const ok = await bcrypt.compare(passwordAttempt, hash);

Do not log raw credentials, reset tokens, session secrets, or auth cookies.

6. Verify your payment boundary

For most small SaaS products, card data should go directly to Stripe or your payment provider. Your app should store only:

• provider customer ID
• subscription ID
• invoice references
• payment status
• limited billing metadata

Do not store:

• raw PAN/card number
• CVC
• full card payloads
• payment tokens beyond documented provider use

Related guide: Payment System Checklist

Example safe billing table fields:

create table billing_customers (
  id uuid primary key,
  user_id uuid not null,
  stripe_customer_id text not null unique,
  stripe_subscription_id text,
  plan text not null,
  status text not null,
  current_period_end timestamptz
);

7. Define retention rules

Set retention periods for:

• active accounts
• deleted accounts
• invoices
• logs
• backups
• support messages
• file uploads
• email events
• webhook payloads

Example retention policy document:

retention:
  app_logs: 30 days
  error_events: 30 days
  support_tickets: 12 months
  deleted_account_tombstone: 30 days
  backups: 14 days
  invoices: 7 years
  uploaded_files_after_account_deletion: 7 days

If you keep data indefinitely, document why.

8. Define deletion and export procedures

You need a real process, not just policy text.

Document:

• how a user requests deletion
• how you verify identity
• which systems must be cleaned up
• what cannot be deleted immediately
• how exports are generated
• who owns the task

Deletion checklist example:

User deletion runbook
1. Disable login and revoke sessions
2. Delete or anonymize profile fields
3. Delete uploaded files from object storage
4. Remove queued jobs referencing the user
5. Remove marketing list membership
6. Retain invoices and fraud-required records where necessary
7. Record deletion timestamp and operator

9. Review logging and analytics

Logs should not contain:

• passwords
• tokens
• raw webhook secrets
• full cookies
• authorization headers
• full card details
• unnecessary payload dumps

Example Express logger redaction:

import pino from "pino";

export const logger = pino({
  redact: {
    paths: [
      "req.headers.authorization",
      "req.headers.cookie",
      "req.body.password",
      "req.body.token",
      "req.body.secret",
      "stripeSignature",
    ],
    censor: "[REDACTED]",
  },
});

Related guide: Monitoring Checklist

10. Confirm transport and storage protections

Minimum controls:

• HTTPS enforced
• secure cookies
• encrypted managed database or disk
• encrypted backups where available
• least-privilege access to infra and dashboards
• named user accounts for production tools

Check headers and TLS quickly:

curl -I https://yourdomain.com
openssl s_client -connect yourdomain.com:443 -servername yourdomain.com </dev/null | head -n 20

Cookie example:

res.cookie("session", token, {
  httpOnly: true,
  secure: true,
  sameSite: "lax",
  path: "/",
});

11. Create an incident process

Document:

• who responds
• where incidents are logged
• how severity is assigned
• who notifies customers
• where remediation notes are stored

Minimum internal template:

Incident template
- Date/time detected:
- Detected by:
- Severity:
- Affected systems:
- User impact:
- Containment steps:
- Root cause:
- Customer communication sent:
- Follow-up actions:
- Owner:

12. Version your policies

Store policy text in source control or a document system.

Track:

• effective date
• version number
• what changed
• whether checkout or signup references changed
• whether user consent/version timestamps must be stored

Example footer snippet:

<p>Privacy Policy. Effective date: 2026-04-20. Version: 1.3</p>

13. Add customer-facing contact paths

Expose at least:

• support email
• privacy/contact email
• security or abuse reporting channel

Example:

Support: support@yourdomain.com
Privacy: privacy@yourdomain.com
Security: security@yourdomain.com

14. Review consent and marketing behavior

If you serve users in regions with privacy requirements, document:

• whether analytics cookies load before consent
• whether marketing email is opt-in or opt-out
• where consent state is stored
• how users revoke consent

If you use only essential cookies for auth/session, document that separately from analytics or ads.

15. Match checkout and policy language

Make sure your billing terms match actual behavior:

• free trial length
• auto-renewal
• cancellation timing
• refund policy
• invoice handling
• proration behavior

If your app bills immediately but your terms say “trial first,” fix the app or fix the text.

Related guide: SaaS Production Checklist

Common causes

Most launch compliance issues come from basic mismatches.

Frequent causes:

• privacy policy copied from another product and never updated
• analytics, Sentry, email, or support vendors used but not disclosed
• passwords or tokens appearing in logs because request bodies are logged by default
• backups exist but restore testing has never been done
• terms say one thing about cancellation, refunds, or retention, but product behavior differs
• cookies or tracking scripts load before consent where consent is required
• developers store unnecessary personal data because schema design was never reviewed
• admin access is shared across team members with no audit trail
• webhook payloads or support exports contain personal data and are retained indefinitely
• no documented process exists for deletion, export, or incident response

Related guide: Security Checklist

Debugging tips

Audit your app from signup to deletion using a test account and note every vendor that receives user data.

Run basic checks:

git grep -niE "password|token|secret|authorization|cookie|session|card|ssn" .
git ls-files | xargs grep -niE "AKIA|SECRET_KEY|STRIPE_SECRET|DATABASE_URL|PRIVATE KEY"
docker compose exec app env | sort
printenv | sort
ps aux
ss -tulpn
curl -I https://yourdomain.com
curl -s https://yourdomain.com/privacy | head
curl -s https://yourdomain.com/terms | head
grep -RniE "password|token|authorization|set-cookie" /var/log/nginx /var/log/app 2>/dev/null
pg_dump --schema-only "$DATABASE_URL" | head -n 200
redis-cli INFO
openssl s_client -connect yourdomain.com:443 -servername yourdomain.com </dev/null | head -n 20

Additional debugging steps:

• compare production environment variables and service integrations to your public policy pages
• search code and logs for sensitive field names
• review browser storage and cookies before login and after consent
• inspect Stripe, Sentry, analytics, email, and storage dashboards to verify what customer data is actually stored
• export one user record end-to-end from database, logs, storage, billing, and email systems to see your real retention footprint
• run a deletion drill for a test user and confirm files, sessions, and queued jobs are removed or anonymized
• test a backup restore into a non-production environment and record restore time and steps

Related guides

• Security Checklist
• Payment System Checklist
• Auth System Checklist
• Monitoring Checklist
• SaaS Production Checklist

FAQ

Do I need GDPR compliance for a small SaaS?

If you have users in applicable regions, you need to handle privacy requests, disclose processing, and manage consent where required. The exact obligations depend on your product and audience.

Do I need a cookie banner?

Only if your tracking setup and user regions require consent for non-essential cookies. Essential auth or session cookies are handled differently from analytics or marketing cookies.

Can I store card data myself?

For most small SaaS products, no. Use Stripe or another payment provider so card data does not pass through or live in your app.

Is a privacy policy enough?

No. Your infrastructure, auth, logging, billing, retention, and deletion behavior must match the policy.

Do I need a DPA?

If you sell to businesses and process customer data on their behalf, many customers will expect one.

Is this enough to be compliant everywhere?

No. This is a baseline operational checklist for small SaaS products. If you handle regulated data or sell into strict jurisdictions, get legal review.

What are the minimum pages I should publish?

Usually Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Add a Cookie Policy if you use non-essential cookies, and add billing or refund language where relevant.

Do I need to mention every third-party service?

You should document and usually disclose processors that handle user data, such as hosting, payments, email, analytics, storage, and support tools.

What is the biggest technical compliance mistake?

Collecting or logging more user data than necessary, then failing to document retention and deletion.

How often should I review this checklist?

At minimum:

• before launch
• before major infrastructure or vendor changes
• quarterly for active products

Final takeaway

Compliance basics for a small SaaS means documenting what data you collect, limiting what you store, publishing accurate policies, and making sure auth, payments, deployment, and monitoring align with those promises.

Do the minimum well:

• accurate policies
• secure defaults
• clean logs
• tested backups
• documented vendors
• working deletion and export process

That baseline is enough to avoid most preventable launch mistakes.