CCPA Compliance Software: What Small Businesses Actually Need

Do You Even Need CCPA Compliance Software?

Let us start with the question nobody in the privacy software industry wants you to ask: do you actually need dedicated CCPA compliance software?

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), applies to for-profit businesses that meet at least one of these thresholds:

• Annual gross revenue over $25 million
• Buy, sell, or share the personal information of 100,000 or more California consumers, households, or devices per year
• Derive 50% or more of annual revenue from selling or sharing California consumers' personal information

These thresholds are defined in Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.140(d).

If you do not meet any of these thresholds, CCPA does not apply to you. Full stop. You do not need CCPA compliance software because you do not need CCPA compliance. (Though other state privacy laws may still apply — Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, and others have their own rules with different thresholds.)

If you do meet the thresholds, keep reading. But know this upfront: for most small businesses, CCPA compliance does not require expensive software. It requires a good cookie banner, a proper privacy policy, a process for handling consumer requests, and some common sense about how you handle data.

What CCPA Actually Requires

Before shopping for tools, understand what you are solving for. CCPA gives California consumers several rights:

• Right to Know (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.100) — Consumers can ask what personal information you have collected about them, where you got it, why you have it, and who you shared it with.
• Right to Delete (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.105) — Consumers can ask you to delete their personal information (with some exceptions).
• Right to Opt-Out of Sale/Sharing (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.120) — Consumers can tell you to stop selling or sharing their personal information. If you sell or share data, you must have a "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link on your website (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.135).
• Right to Correct — Consumers can ask you to fix inaccurate personal information.
• Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information — Consumers can restrict how you use sensitive data like Social Security numbers, financial information, and precise geolocation.
• Right to Non-Discrimination — You cannot penalize consumers for exercising their privacy rights.

The compliance obligations that flow from these rights fall into a few categories. Let us look at each one and what tools (if any) actually help.

Cookie Consent Management

What CCPA Requires

CCPA itself does not require cookie consent banners the way GDPR does. Under CCPA, the focus is on the sale or sharing of personal information. However, if your cookies facilitate the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information — which advertising cookies and third-party tracking cookies often do — you need to give consumers a way to opt out.

The CPRA amendments also created the concept of sharing personal information for "cross-context behavioral advertising," which covers most targeted advertising scenarios. If you use Google Ads, Facebook Pixel, or similar advertising tools on your website, you are probably "sharing" personal information under CCPA/CPRA.

What You Actually Need

At minimum, you need a "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link on your website that actually works — meaning when someone clicks it and opts out, your advertising and tracking cookies are actually disabled for that user.

A cookie consent management platform (CMP) can handle this for you.

Tool Options

Free or Low-Cost:

• CookieYes — Free tier covers basic cookie consent for low-traffic sites. Paid plans start around $10/month. Supports CCPA opt-out and GDPR consent.
• Termly — Free tier available. Generates cookie policies and provides a consent banner. Paid plans from about $10/month.
• Osano — Free tier for small websites. Transparent pricing. Includes both cookie consent and vendor monitoring.
• Google Consent Mode — Free. If you use Google Analytics and Google Ads, Consent Mode lets you adjust how Google tags behave based on user consent. Not a full CMP, but useful if Google products are your main tracking tools.

Mid-Range ($50 to $500/month):

• Cookiebot (Usercentrics) — Scans your site for cookies, generates a consent banner, and blocks scripts until consent is given. Well-established in the market.
• OneTrust CookiePro — Enterprise heritage but offers small business plans. Thorough cookie scanning and categorization.

Our Take: For most small businesses, a free or low-cost CMP is sufficient. CookieYes, Termly, or Osano's free tier will handle CCPA opt-out requirements. You do not need to spend hundreds of dollars per month on cookie consent unless you have a high-traffic site with complex tracking setups.

"Do Not Sell or Share" Implementation

What CCPA Requires

If you sell or share personal information, you must:

1. Provide a clear "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link on your website homepage (and in your mobile app, if you have one)
2. Process opt-out requests within 15 business days
3. Wait at least 12 months before asking an opted-out consumer to reconsider
4. Respect the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal — a browser setting that automatically communicates opt-out preferences

What You Actually Need

Your cookie consent platform should handle the link and the technical opt-out. For GPC compliance, make sure your CMP detects and respects the GPC signal. Most modern CMPs do this, but verify before you deploy.

If you do not sell or share personal information (many small businesses do not), you do not need this link at all. "Selling" under CCPA has a broad definition — it includes receiving anything of value in exchange for personal information, not just money. But if you are not sharing customer data with third parties for cross-context behavioral advertising or other monetization, you are likely in the clear.

An Honest Assessment

Many small businesses install a "Do Not Sell" link because they think they have to, even though they do not actually sell or share personal information. Before implementing this, audit your data flows. Ask yourself:

• Do I share customer data with advertising platforms? (If you use Facebook Pixel or Google Ads remarketing, the answer may be yes.)
• Do I share customer lists with partners or affiliates?
• Do I use data brokers or sell customer information?

If the answer to all of these is no, you probably do not need the "Do Not Sell" link. Focus your energy elsewhere.

Consumer Request Handling (DSARs)

What CCPA Requires

You must provide at least two methods for consumers to submit requests (one of which must be a toll-free phone number if you have one, and a website for online businesses). You must respond within 45 calendar days (extendable by an additional 45 days) (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.130(a)(2)).

You must verify the identity of the person making the request. For requests to know or delete, you must verify identity to a "reasonable degree of certainty" or "reasonably high degree of certainty" depending on the sensitivity of the data.

What You Actually Need

A DSAR process. This can be as simple as:

1. A privacy request form on your website (Google Forms works)
2. A dedicated email address (privacy@yourbusiness.com)
3. A spreadsheet to track requests and deadlines
4. Response templates for acknowledgment, verification, and fulfillment

We have written extensively about this. See our guide on building a DSAR workflow for the full process. For a comparison of dedicated DSAR management tools, see our DSAR software comparison.

Tool Options

Free:

• Google Forms + Google Sheets for intake and tracking
• Email templates for responses
• Calendar reminders for deadlines

Low-Cost ($20 to $200/month):

• Dedicated privacy request forms from your CMP (many include this feature)
• Project management tools (Trello, Asana) repurposed for request tracking

Mid-Range ($200+/month):

• Dedicated DSAR management platforms (Ketch, Transcend, Osano)
• These make sense at higher request volumes

Our Take: If you receive fewer than 20 consumer requests per year, the free approach works. Invest the money you save in good response templates and employee training instead. If request volume grows, graduate to dedicated tools.

Data Mapping

What CCPA Requires

CCPA requires you to disclose the categories of personal information you collect, the sources, the purposes, and the third parties you share it with. To do this accurately, you need to know where personal data lives in your business — that is data mapping.

CPRA went further by creating the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA), which is expected to increase enforcement and auditing. Having a documented data map helps you respond to regulatory inquiries and demonstrates good faith compliance.

What You Actually Need

A record of:

• What personal information you collect (names, emails, purchase history, etc.)
• Where it is stored (which systems)
• Why you collect it (business purpose)
• Who you share it with (third parties, service providers)
• How long you keep it

Tool Options

Free:

• A spreadsheet. Seriously. For a small business with 5 to 15 systems, a well-organized spreadsheet is the most practical data mapping tool. List each system, the types of personal information it holds, the purpose, who has access, retention period, and any third-party sharing.

Low-Cost:

• Transcend Data Mapping — Automated data mapping that discovers personal data across your tech stack.
• OneTrust Data Mapping — Part of their broader platform.

Our Take: Start with the spreadsheet. A small business owner who sits down for two hours and honestly documents their systems will produce a more accurate data map than an expensive tool that scans for data patterns. The tools are useful when you outgrow manual tracking — either because you have many systems or because your data environment changes frequently.

Privacy Policy

What CCPA Requires

Your privacy policy must be updated at least every 12 months and must include:

• Categories of personal information collected in the past 12 months
• Categories of sources
• Business or commercial purpose for collecting
• Categories of third parties with whom you share personal information
• Specific pieces of personal information collected (or a description)
• Whether you sell or share personal information, and the categories involved
• Information about consumer rights and how to exercise them
• The date the policy was last updated

What You Actually Need

A well-written privacy policy that covers all the above. You can write one yourself, use a generator, or hire a lawyer.

Tool Options

Free:

• Termly Privacy Policy Generator — Free tier generates a basic CCPA-compliant privacy policy.
• FreePrivacyPolicy.com — Free generator that covers CCPA basics.

Low-Cost:

• Termly or CookieYes premium plans include privacy policy generators and hosting.
• Iubenda — Privacy policy generator with CCPA-specific provisions. Plans from about $10/month.

Lawyer-Drafted ($500 to $3,000):

• If your business model is complex or you operate in regulated industries, a lawyer-drafted policy is worth the investment. A privacy policy generator gets you 80% of the way there, but the last 20% — the parts specific to your business — is where the risk lives.

Our Take: Use a generator to create your first draft, then have a lawyer review it if your budget allows. Do not pay $300/month for privacy policy software. Update the policy annually or whenever your data practices change significantly.

All-in-One CCPA Compliance Platforms

Several vendors sell comprehensive CCPA compliance platforms that bundle cookie consent, DSAR management, data mapping, and privacy policy tools into a single package.

Who They Are For

All-in-one platforms make sense when:

• You need multiple compliance capabilities and want them integrated
• You have the budget ($5,000 to $50,000+/year depending on the platform)
• You want a single vendor relationship for privacy compliance
• Your compliance team (even if it is one person) wants a centralized dashboard

Who They Are Not For

All-in-one platforms are overkill when:

• You only need one or two capabilities (like just cookie consent)
• Your budget is under $5,000/year
• You are a small business that can handle requests manually
• You do not have someone to administer and maintain the platform

The Honest Math

Here is a realistic breakdown of what CCPA compliance costs for a small business using point solutions:

Compare that to an all-in-one platform at $5,000 to $20,000 per year. The math does not work for most small businesses.

A Practical CCPA Compliance Checklist

If you want a clear path to CCPA compliance without overspending, here is what to do:

Step 1: Determine If CCPA Applies to You

Check the thresholds. If you do not meet them, stop here (but check other state privacy laws).

Step 2: Map Your Data

Spend two hours documenting what personal information you collect, where it is stored, why you have it, and who you share it with. Use a spreadsheet.

Step 3: Update Your Privacy Policy

Use a generator to create a CCPA-compliant privacy policy, or update your existing one. Include all required disclosures.

Step 4: Set Up Cookie Consent

If you use advertising cookies or third-party tracking, install a CMP with a "Do Not Sell or Share" option. Verify it respects GPC signals.

Step 5: Create a Consumer Request Process

Set up an intake form and tracking spreadsheet. Write (or download) response templates. Assign someone to own the process. See our full walkthrough on building a DSAR workflow.

Step 6: Train Your Team

Make sure anyone who handles customer communications can recognize a privacy request and route it to the right person.

Step 7: Document Everything

Keep records of your compliance activities — your data map, your process documents, your request logs, your training records. If the California Privacy Protection Agency comes knocking, documentation is your best defense.

For a more detailed checklist, see our guide on CCPA compliance for small businesses.

The Bottom Line

CCPA compliance is not about buying the right software. It is about understanding your obligations, knowing where personal data lives in your business, and having a repeatable process for handling consumer requests.

For most small businesses, the right approach is:

• A free or cheap cookie consent tool
• A solid privacy policy (generated + reviewed)
• A manual DSAR process with good templates
• A spreadsheet data map
• Documented procedures and trained staff

Save the enterprise software for when you are an enterprise.

References

• California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA): Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1798.100–1798.199.100. Full text on the California Legislative Information site
• California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA): Proposition 24 (2020), amending the CCPA. CPRA ballot text
• CCPA Regulations: Title 11, Division 6, California Code of Regulations. Final CCPA regulations (California Office of the Attorney General)
• California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA): Official CPPA website

Get Your CCPA Compliance Foundation in Place

The biggest piece of CCPA compliance for most small businesses is handling consumer requests properly. Our DSAR Compliance Guide walks you through the entire process — from understanding your obligations under CCPA and other privacy laws to building a response workflow that keeps you compliant. Written for small businesses, not enterprise legal teams.

Download the DSAR Compliance Guide