As we go further into Q3, now is the perfect time to pause and ask yourself: “Are your financials where they need to be?”
While the end of the year might still seem far away, in reality, Q3 is your best opportunity to get your company’s financials in order before the pressures of Q4 hit. It’s a critical window that allows you to make strategic financial decisions, adjust course, and prepare for the year-end without the last-minute chaos that happens during the final months of the year.
If your financials are disorganized, outdated, or unclear, you may be setting yourself up for unnecessary stress, audit delays, and operational setbacks. Fortunately, there’s still time to turn things around. In this blog, we’ll take a look at what you should do now to stay ahead and how Scrubbed’s finance solutions can help you close the year strong:
Why You Shouldn’t Wait for Q4
Many businesses often make the mistake of delaying their financial cleanup or planning until the very end of the year. However, once Q4 starts, tasks can pile up and the combination of financial close and tax preparations can quickly become a serious problem.
By waiting for Q4 to get your finances in check, you risk:
1. Time-consuming reconciliations
As your business transactions accumulate over the year, reconciling your books becomes more complex the longer you wait. In fact, only 53% of businesses complete their monthly close within six business days. By waiting until year-end, you are left with more accounts to verify and more time spent tracking down documentation that should’ve been organized months ago.
2. Inaccurate or outdated forecasts
Revisiting your forecasts too often can be misleading, but waiting until Q4 also has its drawbacks. Business conditions can rapidly change, and the budgets and forecasts you made in Q1 may no longer be accurate by the end of the year.
Maybe sales are running ahead of plan, maybe costs are higher than expected, or maybe the market shifted. With so many factors to consider, it’s nearly impossible to make informed decisions or reallocate resources effectively without updated numbers.
3. Audit and compliance risks
Without updated financial records, audits can become a long and drawn-out process. Auditors will often request additional documentation and ask more questions to clarify any inconsistencies. Because of this, what could have been a straightforward and routine review can turn into a time-consuming back-and-forth that drives up costs.
4. Overwhelmed internal teams
By Q4, your in-house accounting team is likely already spread thin with managing day-to-day operations and handling budgets, reporting, and tax planning. Adding a last-minute cleanup or audit prep task load will only lead to burnout, rushed work, and mistakes that not only affect this year’s close but also spill into the next fiscal cycle.
What You Can Do Now to Prepare for the Next Fiscal Year
What You Can Do Now to Prepare for the Next Fiscal Year
By this time, you will already have enough data to spot trends, validate budgets, and adjust strategies, making it the perfect time to lay the groundwork for the next fiscal year.
Here’s how to make the most of this season:
- Reconcile accounts and clean up your books. Don’t let unreconciled balances carry into Q4 as it will only make year-end harder.
- Review year-to-date performance vs. budget. Compare actual performance to your budget to see what’s working, what’s off track, and where resources should shift.
- Update forecasts and cash flow projections. Since markets, expenses, and customer behavior change, it’s best to recalibrate forecasts during Q3. With nine months of data available, you can ensure projects reflect reality instead of assumptions made at the start of the year.
- Strengthen compliance and internal controls. Address gaps now to reduce the risk of audit findings and avoid last-minute scrambling.
- Evaluate team capacity. If the team is already stretched thin, consider bringing in outside support or utilizing tools to avoid bottlenecks.
Get Ahead With Scrubbed’s Offshore Fractional Finance Solutions
Q3 is the best time to get ahead on your finances, and Scrubbed can provide the right level of support to make it happen. We provide offshore fractional finance tax and accounting solutions that give you on-demand access to experts who can step in quickly, fill capability gaps, and help you move forward with clarity and confidence.
Here’s how our fractional dream team can support you during this quarter:
- Full-service bookkeeping & accounting. We manage your day-to-day bookkeeping and accounting tasks, keeping your ledgers updated, accurate, and audit-ready.
- Audit preparation. Our team can organize your documentation and identify any issues early on, ensuring your records are audit-ready so you avoid last-minute stress in Q4.
- Tax compliance & planning. With Scrubbed, you get expert support in navigating tax regulations, optimizing credits and deductions, and planning for a smoother year-end.
- Accounting & finance staffing. If your internal teams are overwhelmed, you can tap Scrubbed’s finance and accounting professionals to provide the necessary support.
- Forecasting and budgeting. Scrubbed can help you model different scenarios, track against your goals, and present reliable numbers to your board or leadership team.
With our fractional model, we can scale our support to your exact needs and provide you with the specialized skills you need to meet demands. Whether you need one accountant or an entire finance function, we’ve got you covered.
Use Q3 to Strengthen Your Financials—Before the Year-End Rush
Q3 gives you breathing room to make changes that actually impact results. It’s the best time to clean your financials, refresh your forecasts, and prepare your team for a smoother close.
If you want to take advantage of this crucial window, Scrubbed is here to ensure that your team is set up for success. Whether you need a short-term cleanup project or a long-term strategic partner, our experienced professionals can integrate into your business quickly and seamlessly. We work with business at every stage, from startups to more established companies across a wide range of industries, bringing the flexibility, knowledge, and structure you need to close the year.
Let’s make Q4 smoother, starting now. Reach out to explore how we can plug into your team this quarter.
