The Fiscal Year Trap: Why You Must Involve Procurement Early to Maximize Penetration Testing Value

Don’t let administrative lag derail your security goals. Discover why you need to involve procurement 60 days early to bypass onboarding bottlenecks and guarantee high-quality pentesting results.

One of the most common pitfalls in offensive security planning isn't technical, it's administrative. Every year, Security Directors and CISOs find themselves scrambling in Q4, trying to spend their remaining budget or secure a vendor before the fiscal year closes.

The result? Rushed scoping, limited vendor availability, and missed deadlines. Here is why you need to align your penetration testing schedule with your procurement cycle, not just your release schedule.

The "Use It or Lose It" Bottleneck

Many organizations operate on a "use it or lose it" budget model. If you haven't spent your allocated security budget by the fiscal year-end (often December 31st or March 31st), that money disappears, and your budget for the next year might get cut because you "didn't need it."

• The Crunch: Because thousands of companies have the same fiscal year, quality penetration testing firms are often booked solid 4–6 weeks in advance during Q4.

• The Risk: If you wait until November to call a vendor, you might be forced to settle for a less experienced firm just because they are the only ones with availability.

REQUEST YOUR PENTEST

The Hidden Timeline: Vendor Onboarding

Security leaders often estimate the timeline based on the testing duration ("The test takes 2 weeks, so I'll call them 2 weeks before the deadline"). This calculation ignores the Procurement Lag.

Before a tester can touch your keyboard, the following must happen:

1. NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement): Legal review (3–7 days).

2. Scoping Call: Technical walkthrough to price the job (2–3 days).

3. Proposal/SOW: Creation and revisions (2–5 days).

4. Vendor Onboarding: Procurement adds the vendor to the payment system, checks insurance, and validates tax forms (1–4 weeks).

5. MSA (Master Services Agreement): Contract negotiation (2–4 weeks).

The Reality: You need to involve Procurement 60 days before your desired start date.

The Strategy: "Quote Now, Test Later"

To avoid this trap, involve your procurement team early in Q3.

• Lock in the Rate: Get the Quote and SOW signed now to secure the pricing and the calendar slot.

• Pre-Approve the Vendor: Go through the vendor onboarding process during a quiet period, so when an emergency test is needed, they are already in the system.

• Multi-Year Agreements: Consider signing a multi-year MSA. This allows you to skip the legal review next year and jump straight to the testing.

Hire Your Pentesting Vendor Now (Lock In Your Slot & Ensure Top-Tier Security!)

For organizations planning ahead to ensure high-quality penetration testing, we've partnered with leading offensive security specialists who combine deep technical expertise with an attacker-led mindset. They focus on uncovering business-critical vulnerabilities specific to your unique architecture and workflows.

Our pentesting partners focus on:

• Targeted attack scenarios: Business-critical simulations that focus on your most valuable assets and attack surfaces, thinking like real attackers.

• Regulatory compliance: Specialized assessments for PCI DSS, SOC 2, ISO 27001, and other industry-specific requirements.

• Real-world risk prioritization: Manual testing that uncovers exploitable vulnerabilities beyond automated scanning capabilities.

REQUEST YOUR PENTEST