17+ Sample Quarterly Schedules

What Is a Quarterly Schedule?

Like any traditional schedule, a quarterly schedule contains a series of dates for every day, month, and year. However, what makes quarterly schedules unique is how it presents three months per page. Unlike a monthly printable calendar that has 12 worksheets, a quarterly schedule has four worksheets that are categorized as Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4. Q1 or the first quarter denotes the months January, February, and March. Q2 or the second quarter marks April, May, and June, Q3 contains July, August, and September, while Q4 is for October, November, and December. In short, expect three months per quarter page.

Why Are Quarterly Schedules Important?

If daily, weekly, monthly, and annual schedules are important, then the same can be said about quarterly schedules. In fact, there are many reasons that prove just how essential a quarterly schedule is. And these are:

Makes Quarterly Plans Easy

If you have a business plan or any sort of plan to be accomplished in a certain quarter, you can surely rely on quarterly schedules to make planning easy. It is always recommended to plan ahead and at least quarterly calendars let you see the next few months ahead on one page. So rather than shoehorning your plans in a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule, simply use a quarterly schedule to fit your quarterly plans.

Involves a Flexible Format

You already know that a quarterly schedule involves four quadrants from Q1 to Q4. But it does not necessarily mean you only use the months January, February, and March for the first quarter, and so forth. An example is to start with May, June, and July for the first quarter. That is if your quarterly schedule starts in May. And for your weekly schedule every month, you may opt to begin on a Monday rather than Sunday. Hence, the formatting of your quarterly schedule is up to your preference.

Engages Easy Comparative Analysis

The fact that you can see three months ahead on one page is not only for easy viewing but also for easy planning and monitoring of what is bound to happen in a quarterly period. Most importantly, you can use each quarter page as your alternative comparison chart. For example, you compare the months April, May, and June in the second quarter to see which month you were most productive. You may also analyze for problems, trends, and other data on a quarterly basis.

Can Be Used for Different Purposes

You should know by now that quarterly schedules are meant for various purposes, not just for fiscal requirements and financial reports. You can use a quarterly schedule for your three-month fitness journey, a study plan, a customer support report, and more. Just make sure to determine what your goals and objectives are in preparing the quarterly schedule so that your reasons align with the schedule you are making.

What Are the Elements of a Quarterly Schedule

A quarterly schedule has several standard elements and you should take note of them while making your schedule. While you can decide what sort of information to add to the schedule, lacking the crucial parts might make your quarterly schedule ineffective. So without further ado, here are the elements worth adding to your quarterly schedule:

Main Title: The title of your document is self-explanatory. Name it “Quarterly Schedule” so that anyone who views the document understands what it is. Also, you can be more specific such as a quarterly report for business, a quarterly sales schedule, or any other title. And the title is often written at the top center part of the schedule for easy visibility.Basic Information: The basic information is where you input the introductory statement of your quarterly schedule. It highlights your schedule’s goals, your name, address, and contact information. Identification details are still crucial in case you lose your schedule and someone finds it.Quarterly Calendars: Of course, the main event of a quarterly schedule is the set of quarterly calendars in your document. Expect to have three-month calendars on every page of your schedule. And it will be arranged chronologically from the first to the last day down to the first week to the last week in each quarter. Don’t forget to leave space per day because you would likely write what happens each day from now on.Plans or Task Lists: Another staple element in a quarterly schedule is your plan or task list. This part is where you jot down the necessary tasks and projects expected to be accomplished quarterly. Be sure to write instructions clearly so you won’t have a hard time understanding later on. Also, you can organize the tasks according to priority level, urgency level, or difficulty level.Visual Organizers: Graphic organizers are a must-have for quarterly schedules. That means you don’t expect the document to contain words alone. There will be tables, organizational charts, bullets, color-coded lists, and more. Go for the visual organizers that you find easy or even pleasant to the eyes.Highlights: Leave a box on your schedule specifically for major highlights. Indeed, a lot can happen per day in a quarterly schedule. But the highlights section is like the executive summary of your schedule that outlines the most important dates to consider. Examples include highlighting birthdays, deadlines, holidays, and other major events.Notes: Finally, give room for notes. This part can gather anything additional details such as feedback, quarterly evaluation, adjustments, and other observations you might have while doing the quarterly tasks. The thing with notes is you may not know what to write yet. But, it will surely come in handy when something comes up during the whole quarterly period.

How to Make a Quarterly Schedule

With everything you discovered about the quarterly schedule’s definition, significance, and main elements, are you ready to apply what you learned and create the quarterly calendar itself? Not to worry because you will be guided every step of the way so the process comes off easy. And the steps to make a quarterly schedule are:

Step 1: Pick a Quarterly Schedule Sample

First things first, browse the 17+ sample quarterly schedule templates enlisted in this article. Then, pick your favorite sample template to work with until you can customize its content and format. These professionally made samples grace you with ready-made content so you don’t need to make a schedule from scratch. Also, you may try optimizing more premade sample schedules such as daily schedule templates, weekly schedule templates, and lots more. Download now!

Step 2: Lay Out Your Quarterly Plans

What good is a quarterly schedule if you don’t have any idea as to what content you would add to the schedule in the first place? Of course, you should have in mind or create a draft of the quarterly plans to discuss in the quarterly schedule. Remember to focus on your goals first. Do you need the quarterly schedule to focus on a quarterly business report, a quarterly event plan, or any other reason? Then, figure out what needs to be done to achieve your objectives, which you will write down in the task lists categorized per date in the quarterly schedule.

Step 3: Complete the Main Elements of Your Schedule

Remember the basic elements of a quarterly schedule? Check if your schedule has the title, basic information, calendars, and the rest of what makes a quarterly schedule. And besides those standard elements, you can also give room to more provisions such as a quarterly budget plan. Just make sure that whatever you insert in the quarterly schedule is still relevant to your objectives. Otherwise, what you inputted may be pointless and would only litter your schedule.

Step 4: Keep Your Data Concise and Clear

A quarterly schedule should be succinct, meaning you write concisely and clearly. It is important that your schedule has all the important details there is to know about what is in store for every quarter. But, there is no need to make it long since you can save space in your schedule and make it easier to understand if your data are straight to the point. Keep it brief such as using bullet points in enumerating plans rather than writing long paragraphs. The easier it is to understand, the better the outcome will be.

Step 5: Organization Is Key

Your visual presentation in the quarterly schedule can be optimized by organizing your content. Of course, you are expected to use tables in setting a quarterly calendar for your schedule. But, you can make the most out of your presentation such as using an organizational chart, Gantt chart, or any other diagram needed for your schedule. Also, know how to arrange the elements in your quarterly schedule such as knowing which parts to present first until the last part.

Step 6: Maintain a Flexible Schedule

Last but not least, find ways to keep your quarterly schedule flexible. Indeed, the key to making schedules is to follow them. But you never know what can happen in a span of quarterly periods. There may be canceled action plans, a change in your schedule, and sudden projects that you need to insert into your quarterly schedule. So be prepared for a plan B when circumstances come up. That way, you would know how to adjust to such matters. And finally, don’t forget to insert free time in your schedule as you may have forgotten to take care of yourself in doing so much quarterly.


FAQs

What is the quarterly schedule for 2022?

The quarterly schedule for the year 2022 is:

  • 1st quarter – January 1, 2022 to March 31, 2022
  • 2nd quarter – April 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022
  • 3rd quarter – July 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022
  • 4th quarter – October 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022

Why is Q4 important?

According to Investopedia, Q4 or the fourth quarter in a quarterly schedule marks the most important quarter. That is because it is the last part of a fiscal year, and the financial data and results recorded there will be useful for the whole business financial summary and annual report. Also, the data would say something about an enterprise’s stock price.

How many quarters are in four years?

Just do basic math and you can figure out how many quarters occur for different years. In four years, there would be 16 quarters since you multiply four quarters by the number of years which is four.

What do you call a period of four months?

A four-month period is referred to as a quadrimester. And quadrimester schedules have three parts with the first part covering January to April, the second one covering May to August, and the third one noting September to December.

With an average of three months, 91 days, and 2,190 hours in a quarter, a lot can happen in each quarter. And you won’t be concerned about your productivity per quarter with an easy-to-follow visual schedule that sets your quarterly activities, events, tasks, and plans. So start drafting and use free sample quarterly schedules on Sample.net. Download a template now!