- Straightforward solution for PCI DSS v4 compliance-focused policies & standards.
- Designed to address compliance needs for Self Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ A).
- Editable Microsoft Word & Excel templates - enables tailoring for an organization's specific needs.
- Immense time & cost savings - policies & standards require minimal effort to customize.
Don't Write It From Scratch.
If you accept card payments, your acquiring bank expects documented policies and standards that satisfy PCI DSS v4.0, and a SAQ A attestation you can actually back up. Could you produce that documentation today, or would a self-assessment expose gaps? Writing PCI-aligned policies from a blank page is slow and easy to get wrong. The PCI DSS v4 SAQ A Policies & Standards gives you a running start: editable Microsoft Word and Excel policies and standards scoped to SAQ A, plus supporting documentation to implement them and stay compliant. It gets you roughly 80 to 90 percent of the way there, then you tailor it to your cardholder data environment.
If your company needs information security policies and standards to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) SAQ A, then we can be of service to you at a price you can afford. Our professional cybersecurity team developed a comprehensive and affordable PCI DSS Cybersecurity Policies & Standards that are fully-editable in Microsoft Word format, so that you can add any customization that you want to add. In addition to the PCI DSS Cybersecurity Policies & Standards, you get additional documentation that will help you implement it and ensure you stay compliant. It is well documented that the lack of standards and lack of employee awareness are the leading causes of security breaches, malware infections (e.g. viruses & spyware), and identity theft. These cybersecurity policies and standards templates for PCI DSS v4.0 help alleviate the time constraints and errors associated with trying to generate the documentation by yourself. Our product is a fraction of the cost associated with hiring a consultant to write similar documentation for you. We offer an unparalleled product at an exceptional value!
SAQs are requirements for smaller merchants and service providers that are not required to submit a Report on Compliance (ROC). SAQs are designed as a self-validation tool to assess security for cardholder data that uses a series of yes-or-no questions for each applicable PCI DSS requirement. This product page is specific to SAQ A.
There are different questionnaires available to meet different merchant environments. Merchants are required to identify the SAQ that best describes how it accept payment cards. Some organizations may even need to fill out different SAQs, based on different methods of accepting payment (e.g., SAQ A for its website and SAQ C for its "brick & mortar" store locations). If you are not sure which questionnaire applies to you, contact your acquiring bank or payment card brand for assistance.
ComplianceForge sells its PCI DSS Policies & PCI DSS Standards based on the SAQ type (shown below):
You can click on the matrix below for a downloadable PDF that shows the PCI DSS v4 controls as they apply to the SAQ levels:
What Is The PCI DSS v4.0 SAQ A Policies & Standards?
ComplianceForge provides businesses with exactly what they need to protect themselves - professionally written policies, procedures, standards and guidelines at a very affordable cost. Similar documentation standards can be found in Fortune 500 company that have dedicated IT Security staff. All information security policies and standards are backed up by documented best practices.
The PCI DSS v4.0 SAQ A Policies & Standards is an editable Microsoft Word document that gives the merchant the documented policies and standards needed to answer the SAQ A questionnaire. Where most cybersecurity documentation describes general security policy, this product is specifically scoped to the PCI DSS v4.0 requirements that apply to SAQ A merchants, so the merchant is not paying for content covering PCI DSS requirements that do not apply to its environment.
The SAQ A product is built around the core PCI DSS v4.0 requirements that apply to fully-outsourced card-not-present merchants: maintaining an information security policy, managing third-party service providers (including the PCI DSS responsibility matrix), training staff on security awareness, restricting access to cardholder data, monitoring for and responding to security incidents, and maintaining policies for personnel screening and acceptable use. Each PCI DSS v4.0 requirement that applies to SAQ A is addressed with a mapped policy and supporting standard.
This product is intended for merchants who outsource all cardholder data functions to PCI DSS-validated third-party service providers and have no electronic storage, processing, or transmission of cardholder data on their own systems. The SAQ A documentation is also valuable when merchants are asked by acquiring banks, payment brands, or strategic partners for documented evidence of a PCI DSS-aligned security program.
No Software To Install
The SAQ A Policies & Standards is a one-time purchase of editable Microsoft Word-based documentation templates. There is no software to install, no agent to deploy, no account to provision, and no cloud environment to configure. If the merchant can open and edit Microsoft Word files, the SAQ A documentation is ready to use.
Microsoft Word
Delivered as a fully editable .docx file. Compatible with Word 2016 and newer, Microsoft 365, OpenOffice, LibreOffice, and Google Docs. The SAQ A documentation includes built-in styles, mapped sections per PCI DSS v4.0 requirement, and clearly marked placeholders for customization.
Email Delivery
Documentation is delivered via email download link within 1-2 business days of purchase, often the same business day. There is no installer, no license server, and no activation step.
One-Time Purchase
A single-entity license is included with purchase. There is no recurring subscription requirement, although an optional update subscription is available to stay current as PCI DSS guidance evolves.
This deployment model is intentional. PCI DSS documentation belongs in the merchant's own hands, inside the merchant's own document management and assessor evidence workflows, rather than locked inside a vendor's SaaS tool. Once delivered, this product belongs to the buyer.
What Problems Does The SAQ A Documentation Solve?
Merchants completing PCI DSS SAQ A face common challenges that this product is designed to address with documented, PCI DSS v4.0-mapped policies and standards specifically scoped to SAQ A.
Lack of In House Security Experience
Writing security documentation is a skill that many good cybersecurity professionals simple are not proficient at and avoid the task at all cost. Tasking your security analysts and engineers to write comprehensive documentation means you are actively taking them away from protecting and defending your network, which is not a wise use of their time. The PCI DSS Cybersecurity Policies & Standards is an efficient method to obtain comprehensive security policies and standards for your organization!
Compliance Requirements
PCI DSS is a requirement for most companies, regardless of industry. The PCI DSS Cybersecurity Policies & Standards is designed with compliance in mind, since it focuses on PCI DSS requirements.
Audit Failures
Security documentation does not age gracefully like a fine wine. Outdated documentation leads to gaps that expose organizations to audit failures and system compromises. The PCI DSS Cybersecurity Policies & Standards shows you exactly what s required to both stay secure and compliant.
Vendor Requirements
It is very common for clients and partners to request evidence of a security program and this includes policies and standards. The PCI DSS Cybersecurity Policies & Standards provides this evidence to cover the Cardholder Data Environment (CDE)!
How Does The SAQ A Documentation Solve These Problems?
The SAQ A Policies and Standards addresses each merchant challenge with documented, PCI DSS v4.0-mapped content. It is designed to give the merchant a defensible policy set in days rather than months.
Clear Documentation
The PCI DSS Cybersecurity Policies & Standards provides the comprehensive documentation to prove that your PCI DSS security program exists. This equates to a time saving of hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars in staff and consultant expenses!
Time Savings
The PCI DSS Cybersecurity Policies & Standards can provide your organization with a semi-customized solution that requires minimal resources to fine tune for your organization's specific needs.
Alignment With Leading Practices
The PCI DSS Cybersecurity Policies & Standards is directly mapped to version 4.0 of the PCI DSS!
What Is Included?
Our products are one-time purchases with no software to install - you are buying Microsoft Office-based documentation templates that you can edit for your specific needs. If you can use Microsoft Office or OpenOffice, you can use this product! The Cybersecurity & Data Protection Program (CDPP) version for PCI DSS v4.0 contains necessary cybersecurity policies & standards in an editable Microsoft Word format.
Our PCI DSS Cybersecurity Policy and Standards for version 4.0 of the PCI DSS includes:
- Complete coverage of all PCI DSS version 4.0 requirements - specific to SAQ A
- Certification of information security awareness training form
- Customizable Incident Response Plan (IRP)
- Business Impact Assessment (BIA) template
- Business Continuity Plan (BCP) & Disaster Recovery (DR) templates
- Service provider indemnification & Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) template
- User acknowledgement form
- Change management request form
- Risk assessment methodology template
- Appointment orders for an Information Security Officer (ISO)
- 40+ pages of policies, standards & guidelines that provide you comprehensive PCI DSS v4.0 coverage.
- 60+ pages of supplemental documentation that saves hundreds of hours by not having to make it on your own.
- Just as Human Resources publishes an “employee handbook” to let employees know what is expected for employees from a HR perspective, the PCI DSS Cybersecurity Policies & Standards does this from a cybersecurity perspective.
Scoped Specifically To SAQ A
This product is not a generic PCI DSS policy set. It is scoped to the PCI DSS v4.0 requirements that apply to SAQ A merchants who outsource all cardholder data functions to PCI DSS-validated third-party service providers. The merchant is not paying for or maintaining content that does not apply to its self-assessment.
Cost Savings Estimate
When you look at the costs associated with either (1) hiring an external consultant to write cybersecurity documentation for you or (2) tasking your internal staff to write it, the cost comparisons paint a clear picture that buying from ComplianceForge is the logical option. Compared to hiring a consultant, you can save weeks of wait time and tens of thousands of dollars. Whereas, compared to writing your own documentation, you can potentially save hundreds of work hours and the associated cost of lost productivity. Purchasing the SAQ A Policies & Standards from ComplianceForge offers these fundamental advantages when compared to the other options for obtaining quality cybersecurity documentation:
Internal Staff Cost
For your internal staff to generate comparable documentation, it would take them an estimated 400+ internal staff work hours, which equates to a cost of approximately $38,500 in staff-related expenses. This is about 1 to 3 months of development time where your staff would be diverted from operational duties.
The SAQ A Policies & Standards is approximately 3% of the cost for your internal staff to generate equivalent documentation.
External Consultant Cost
If you hire a consultant to generate this documentation, it would take them an estimated 300+ consultant work hours, which equates to a cost of approximately $96,000. This is about 1 to 2 months of development time for a contractor to provide you with the deliverable.
The SAQ A Policies & Standards is approximately 1% of the cost for an external consultant to generate equivalent documentation.
Product Examples
The SAQ A Policies & Standards is built to be evaluated before purchase. The PDF example below shows representative content from the SAQ A documentation, including the mapped PCI DSS v4.0 policy structure, the third-party service provider management policy, and the standards format used throughout the product.
Coverage spans the PCI DSS v4.0 requirements specifically applicable to SAQ A merchants, with cross-references to NIST 800-53, NIST CSF, ISO 27002, and the Secure Controls Framework where the merchant has obligations beyond PCI DSS.
Below is a PDF example containing a sample of the policies & standards you would receive upon purchasing the CDPP.
How Much Customization Remains?
Given the difficult nature of writing templated PCI DSS documentation, ComplianceForge aims for approximately a 90% solution because it is impossible to write a 100% cookie-cutter document that can be equally applied across every merchant. SAQ A merchants share many common requirements, but the specific third-party service providers, payment channels, and acquiring relationships vary, so the remaining work is fine-tuning the SAQ A documentation with the specific information that only the merchant knows.
In practice, customization is filling in the blanks and following the guidance provided to identify the who, what, when, where, why, and how for the specific merchant. Typical customization tasks include adding the company name and logo, naming the specific PCI DSS-validated third-party service providers used, completing the third-party responsibility matrix with the agreed split of PCI DSS responsibilities, identifying the security awareness training cadence, and integrating the SAQ A policies with any existing merchant security program documentation.
Professional Services
ComplianceForge offers optional professional services to customize purchased documentation. Professional services are not required to customize ComplianceForge documentation. However, some clients want our subject matter expertise to help customize their documentation to meet their specific business needs. If you have any questions about our professional services, please contact us at:
We offer the following professional service bundles:
5-Hour Bundle
This includes five (5) hours of professional services, which may be beneficial for companies that need some guidance on getting started with how to tailor their documentation.
10-Hour Bundle
This includes ten (10) hours of professional services, which may be beneficial for companies that need additional guidance on tailoring their documentation to meet their compliance requirements.
20-Hour Bundle
This includes twenty (20) hours of professional services, which may be beneficial for companies that need robust services, beyond just 10 hours, to assist in tailoring their documentation to meet their compliance requirements.
Purchased professional service hours expire 120 days (4 months) from the time of purchase if unused. Hours are intended to supplement, not replace, your own customization work, since only your organization knows the exact details to tailor your documentation. For questions regarding scoping a professional services engagement or configuring a custom package, contact ComplianceForge directly through the Contact Us page.
Comprehensive PCI DSS v4.0 Cybersecurity Policy & Standards
The PCI DSS Cybersecurity Policies & Standards can serve as a foundational element in your organization's cybersecurity program for PCI DSS compliance. It can stand alone or be paired with other specialized products we offer.
In light of the recent credit card breaches at major retailers, it is likely that a crackdown will follow for businesses to follow better IT security. One of the most important points to remember when it comes to compliance is that if you cannot prove you are compliant (e.g., documented policies & standards) then your business will be unlikely to count on business insurance to cover the expense of a breach. Our PCI DSS Cybersecurity Policies & Standards contains the policies, standards, and documentation you need to comply with PCI DSS version 4.0.
The benefits of our comprehensive PCI DSS Cybersecurity Policies & Standards include:
- Documented security policies and standards are mandatory if you accept credit / debit cards
- Easy to implement
- Affordable for any business size
- Complete PCI DSS v4.0 coverage
- Developed by experts with PCI DSS experience
- Editable - Microsoft Word format
- Quick turnaround - email delivery within one business day
- Supplemental forms to ease implementation
This Is How PCI DSS Cybersecurity Documentation Is Meant To Be Structured!
ComplianceForge provides businesses with exactly what they need to protect themselves - professionally written policies, procedures, standards and guidelines at a very affordable cost. Similar documentation standards can be found in Fortune 500 company that have dedicated IT Security staff. All information security policies and standards are backed up by documented best practices.
