Field-by-Field Breakdown of `0 0 1 */3 *`
| Position | Field Name | Allowed Values | Value in `0 0 1 */3 *` | Evaluation Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minute | 0 – 59 | 0 | 0 (At minute 0) |
| 2 | Hour | 0 – 23 | 0 | 0 (At midnight / 00:00) |
| 3 | Day of Month | 1 – 31 | 1 | 1 (1st day of the month) |
| 4 | Month | 1 – 12 | */3 | */3 (Every 3rd month: Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct) |
| 5 | Day of Week | 0 – 6 (Sun-Sat) | * | * (Every day of the week: 0-6) |
Quarterly Financial & Compliance Cycles
A quarterly schedule (0 0 1 */3 *) aligns with corporate quarters (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4). It is universally used for filing corporate tax returns, generating quarterly investor reports, auditing employee access permissions, and rotating root security certificates.
The step expression */3 in the fourth field evaluates starting at month 1 (January) with a step of 3: January (1), April (4), July (7), and October (10).
Because quarterly jobs fire only four times per year, automated health checks and test runs should be verified in staging before relying on them for compliance.
Common Production Scenarios for `0 0 1 */3 *`
Quarterly Corporate Tax & VAT Statement Generation
Compiles corporate income and expense totals for Q1–Q4 tax filing and exports GAAP-compliant audit spreadsheets.
/usr/bin/python3 /opt/finance/generate_quarterly_tax.pySOC2 User Access Audit & Permission Review
Audits all employee GitHub, AWS, and database credentials, flagging inactive accounts for security compliance review.
/usr/bin/node /opt/security/soc2_access_audit.jsAutomated API Key & Secret Rotation Prompt
Generates new production API keys and sends automated rotation reminders to developer engineering leads.
/usr/local/bin/rotate_quarterly_keys.shProduction Gotchas When Running `0 0 1 */3 *`
- Missed Annual Runs: A failure on a quarterly job means 25% of your annual reports fail. Ensure automatic retries on failure.
- Month Indexing: Remember that */3 starts at month 1 (January). It fires on Jan 1, Apr 1, Jul 1, Oct 1.
- Calendar Quarter End vs Start: 0 0 1 */3 * fires at the START of the new quarter. If you want the end of the quarter, schedule on the last day of months 3, 6, 9, 12.
Frequently Asked Questions About `0 0 1 */3 *`
Which exact months does */3 run?
Because month numbering starts at 1 (January), */3 triggers in month 1 (January), month 4 (April), month 7 (July), and month 10 (October).
How do I run at the end of each quarter instead of the start?
Schedule on the last day of March, June, September, and December using explicit month lists: 0 23 31 3,12 * (March/Dec) and 0 23 30 6,9 * (June/Sept).
How many times does 0 0 1 */3 * execute each year?
Exactly 4 times per year (once per quarter).