How to Fill Out Security Questionnaires for SaaS & Fintech Companies
Are you a SAAS or a Fintech company that needs to fill out endless security questionnaires before onboarding a client? Whether you’re closing a big deal, going through procurement, or trying to work with enterprise clients, you might be filling tens of questionnaires every month. Through these security questionnaires, your clients check if you’re taking security seriously. Although, they’re often long, confusing, and repetitive. Most SAAS and Fintech companies are figuring out how to fill out Security Questionnaires quickly.
Why do SaaS & Fintech Companies Get Security Questionnaires?
If you’re a SaaS or fintech company, chances are your product touches sensitive data, such as customer information, financial records, or user behavior. That makes your clients (especially enterprises) very cautious.
Before they decide to work with you, they need to make sure:
- Their data will be safe with you
- You follow proper security practices
- You meet their compliance and legal standards
That’s where security questionnaires come in.
It’s their way of doing a background check. They secure themselves by asking questions about how you store data, who has access to it, what policies you follow, how you handle risks, and more.
7 Tips: How to Fill Out Security Questionnaires Swiftly
1. Start With a Centralized, Up-to-Date Knowledge Base
Before you tackle your next questionnaire, build a central repository of your security documentation: compliance certificates (SOC 2, ISO 27001), policy documents, architecture diagrams, and standard responses to commonly asked questions. Keeping this “single source of truth” always updated will make answering future questionnaires much faster.
Tip: If you don’t have one, get started with industry-standard frameworks (like SOC 2, NIST, CAIQ, or VSAQ) as templates for organizing your answers.
2. Automate Assessment Questionnaires
Manual effort is the number one pain point for SaaS and fintech teams. Many companies are now automating the process. Use tools that can auto-fill forms with your stored responses, auto-suggest answers, or map your answers to various client templates. This cuts the time to complete each questionnaire dramatically and avoids duplication.
Tip: Narad.io is an AI-based tool that helps you to automate security questionnaires. It can answer the questionnaires in minutes, cutting down the manual efforts by 90%. Book a free consultation, and relax while it fills all your answers automatically.
3. Keep Answers Clear, Direct, and Evidence-Backed
Clients want confidence, not confusion. Short, direct answers work best. Specify your encryption standards, authentication methods, access controls, and compliance status without jargon or fluff. Attach supporting documents or links, such as recent penetration test reports or certifications, to back up your claims.
Tip: If you are using a tool, they automatically attach relevant evidence with answers.
4. Don’t Reinvent the Wheel Each Time
Repetition wastes everyone’s time. Reuse (and update) previous, well-reviewed answers for similar questions. Many leading companies build up a library of responses that can be quickly tailored for each new client, rather than writing from scratch.
Tip: Maintain a version-controlled answer library. Update it regularly so you can quickly pull in responses and only tweak what’s needed for each client. If you are using an automation tool, it picks up the latest response for your review.
5. Involve the Right People Early
Answering security questionnaires is a team sport. Pull in IT, security, and compliance leads early. While collecting the evidence is a team-work, make sure there’s a single owner responsible for coordination and final review. This prevents missing context or inconsistent answers, which are a common source of delays and frustration.
Tip: Assign owners for different sections or question types and set clear internal deadlines for reviews. Collaboration features in automation tools can help manage this process smoothly.
6. Communicate Openly and Flag Gaps
If there’s a question you can’t (yet) answer or a security control still in progress, you must answer accordingly. It’s okay to mention if a particular requirement is not available, but in progress. Additionally, be transparent about your roadmap or timeline to address it. Enterprise buyers appreciate openness far more than vague or incomplete answers.
Tip: Mark “in progress” controls clearly, and share planned actions and estimated timelines in your response instead of skipping or fabricating information
7. Review Regularly and Improve
Security requirements (and your product) change quickly. Schedule periodic reviews of your knowledge base, templates, and processes to make sure your answers always reflect your current posture and certifications. This not only saves time but avoids compliance surprises down the line.
Tip: Set reminders each quarter or after major product/security updates to review and refresh your library, reducing the risk of outdated or inconsistent answers
Conclusion:
Security questionnaires don’t have to be a time sink. By centralizing your knowledge, embracing automation, and keeping answers direct and well-documented, you can respond with confidence and speed.
Need help automating your security questionnaires? Talk to our experts at Narad.io and discover how leading SaaS and fintech companies are getting this done in 2025.