What Contractors Should Tighten Up Before October 1
The fourth quarter starts in two weeks. That is not a tax-season speech. It is a work-and-cash speech. October through December is when leftover summer jobs, new bids, payroll, and collections all compete for attention.
A short tightening-up now makes Q4 easier to run. Waiting until the calendar flips usually means starting the quarter already behind.
Why October 1 Matters
Q4 is roughly 90 days. If summer jobs are still open, invoices are still sitting, or the books are behind, those problems follow you into the last quarter. They do not reset on October 1.
The point of this review is to start Q4 with fewer loose ends. It is the job-and-bid side of the September financial check-in: that piece looks at profit, cash, taxes, and owner pay. This one looks at the work itself.
What to Tighten Up
1. Open summer jobs
List every job that was started in the summer and is not closed. For each one, write down three things: what is left to finish, what has been done but not yet billed, and what is hanging at closeout. Closeout items are the ones that get forgotten: final inspections, punch-list work, lien waivers, warranty paperwork, and retainage that cannot be requested until the job is formally complete.
Then give each job a status. Finishing this month, finishing in Q4, or stalled. A stalled job is the expensive one. It still carries supervision, equipment, and insurance cost while it waits, and it usually has a change order or a customer decision sitting somewhere that nobody has chased. Unfinished jobs take time and cash into Q4 whether you planned for them or not.
2. Billing that should already be out
If work is done and the invoice is not out, that is Q4 cash you have not started collecting yet. Get the billing current before new October work piles on. Year-end collections covers the follow-up side: open invoices, unbilled work, and retainage that can be released as jobs close.
3. The next 90 days of cash
Look at payroll, vendors, insurance, materials, and known job costs through December. Then look at what is likely to be collected. The question is simple: can the next 90 days run without hoping a late invoice saves the month? If the answer is not obviously yes, build the week-by-week view described in cash flow forecasting basics before October, not after the first tight payroll.
4. Pricing on work you are about to bid
Q3 results are on the books. If summer jobs were thin, do not carry the same pricing into Q4 by habit. Use what the last few months actually cost you.
Pull the summer jobs that are closed or nearly closed and compare the bid to the final cost on each: labor hours, materials, subcontractors, and the overhead the job had to carry. Where the job came in over the estimate, ask which line missed and whether that miss was a one-off or the new normal. Labor that ran long on three jobs in a row is a rate problem, not bad luck. Material prices that moved between bid and purchase belong in the next estimate, not in a hoped-for correction.
Then adjust the estimating inputs, not just the final number. A flat markup on top of a stale cost base still loses money; it just loses it more slowly. Tracking job profitability while the job is running shows how to read those numbers, and when to turn down work covers pricing from cost and target profit rather than from the competitor.
5. The bookkeeping rhythm
If the books are behind going into October, Q4 will be harder to read while you are in it. Get the file current through September now so October, November, and December can be reviewed as they happen. What to clean up in the books before year-end lists what to reconcile and fix first.
A Short Pre-Q4 List
- Close out or status every open summer job
- Bill finished work that is still sitting
- Look at cash needs for October through December
- Compare summer bids to final costs before the next round of bids
- Bring the books current through September
How KDM Accounting Services Can Help
At KDM Accounting Services, we help Florida contractors start the fourth quarter with a clearer picture. We can:
- Bring the books current before October
- Organize open jobs, receivables, and recent job costs
- Help you see the next 90 days of cash more clearly
- Give you usable numbers before Q4 work gets crowded
The goal is to enter the last quarter organized, not to reconstruct the summer after October has already started.
Start Q4 With Fewer Loose Ends
October 1 does not create a clean slate. It just starts the last 90 days. Tightening up jobs, billing, cash, pricing, and the books now gives the quarter a better chance to run cleanly.
If you want help getting the numbers ready before Q4 starts, contact KDM Accounting Services. We'll help you tighten up the file while there is still time.
Related reading
- A September Financial Check-In for Business Owners
- Year-End Collections: Getting Paid Before the Calendar Turns
- Cash Flow Forecasting Basics for Florida Contractors
- What to Clean Up in the Books Before Year-End Starts
- Bookkeeping services
Frequently Asked Questions
Why review the business before October 1 instead of at year-end?
Q4 is roughly 90 days. Open summer jobs, unbilled work, and books that are behind do not reset on October 1; they take time and cash into the last quarter. Fixing them in September leaves the whole quarter to run on current numbers instead of reconstructing the summer after October has started.
What counts as an open summer job?
Any job started in the summer that is not formally closed. That includes jobs with work left to finish, jobs where the work is done but not yet billed, and jobs waiting on closeout items such as final inspections, punch-list work, lien waivers, or retainage that cannot be requested until completion.
How should summer results change Q4 pricing?
Compare the bid to the final cost on each closed summer job, line by line: labor hours, materials, subcontractors, and overhead. Where a line missed repeatedly, change that estimating input for the next round of bids rather than adding a flat markup on top of a stale cost base.
What does a 90-day cash look ahead include?
Known cash out through December, including payroll, vendors, insurance, materials, and job costs, set against what is realistically likely to be collected in the same window. If the quarter only works when a late invoice lands on time, the forecast is telling you to act now.
Does KDM Accounting Services collect receivables or manage jobs for contractors?
No. KDM brings the books current, organizes open jobs, receivables, and recent job costs, and gives you usable numbers before Q4 gets crowded. Following up on invoices and finishing the work stays with you.