The Ultimate Excel Guide to How Many Quarters Left in Year?

It is difficult to track goals, deadlines, or financial plans for a full year. So, you can divide a year into small and manageable sections – quarters. In this article, you will clearly understand how many quarters are in a year.

Key Takeaways:

• A quarter means 3 months
• A quarter divides the year into four parts.
• Quarters help you plan goals in smaller time periods.
• You can find the current quarter using an Excel formula.
• Fiscal quarters may start in a different month than January.

 

Understanding Quarters in a Year

In a year, a quarter refers to three months. It divides the calendar year into four equal parts. A year has 12 months, and dividing it into 4 parts gives a quarter.

The four quarters typically consist of:

• January to March
• April to June
• July to September
• October to December

 

How to Calculate Remaining Quarters

Step-by-Step Guide

STEP 1: In cell A2, enter any date.

STEP 2: In cell B2, use this formula to get the current quarter:

• MONTH(A2) gets the month number
• Subtract 1 to shift it so counting starts from 0
• Divide by 3 to group months into sets of 3
• INT function removes decimals
• Add 1 to give the final quarter

STEP 3: In cell C2, use this formula to calculate how many quarters remain:

Differences Between Fiscal and Calendar Quarters

• Calendar Quarters: These follow the standard calendar year. The quarters run as:
  • Q1 from January to March
  • Q2 from April to June
  • Q3 from July to September
  • Q4 from October to December
• Fiscal Quarters: These align with a company’s fiscal year. It may begin in any month, not necessarily January. For instance, if a fiscal year starts in April,
  • Q1 would be April to June
  • Q2 July to September, and so forth.

 

Benefits of Quarterly Planning

• Quarter planning helps you focus on three months and not worry about the entire year.
• If you get quarterly data, you can keep a check on it and fix it in the next quarter. No need to wait till year-end.
• It gives you a sense of achievement to see goals completed each quarter.
• You can clearly see progress every three months

 

FAQs

Q1: What exactly is a quarter in a year?

A quarter contains 3 months. It splits the year into four equal parts.

Q2: How to know how many quarters are left in the year from a specific date?

You can calculate how many quarters are left in the year by using the formula:

=INT((MONTH(A2)-1)/3)+1

Q3: What is the difference between fiscal quarters and calendar quarters?

Calendar quarters follow the normal year from January to December. Fiscal quarters follow a company’s own financial year. It can start in any month.

Q4: How many months are in one quarter?

One quarter has 3 months.