Can I add recommendations BEFORE sending my Common App?

I’ll probably submit my Common App in late October (Just before the November 1st deadline for ED). My question is, could I have my teachers submit their recommendations in early September? Also, could my counselor submit my transcript in early September too?
I just wanted to get recommendations out of the way early so I could submit my Common App later on without hassle.
Is that possible?
Also, could someone please clarify how I would add recommendations early, before sending the Common App?
If I add recommendations early, would colleges receive them immediately? Or would they receive the recommendations when I submit the Common App later?

Yes, you can submit all these early particularly on CommonApp. You just need to invite the teachers and counselor so that they can start working on them. When you assign them to the application for each school, the files will be linked and the school can download them together with the application (or separately if submit later). For transcript, it depends on how your school process it. Very often it is sent independent of CommonApp. Although the school should open a file whenever there is information from a new/potential applicant coming in, you probably don’t want to send physical transcript too much ahead of time to avoid misplacing. The school wants the most updated transcript anyway.

So when I assign a teacher to a school, does the recommendation get sent to the school immediately? Or does the recommendation just sit there for a while and get sent along with the Common App? I’m confused :? I really don’t want colleges to get my recommendations before the Common App

I think it depends. Does your school use Naviance? Our HS uses Naviance and the teachers wrote their recommendations and submitted them the my Ds guidance counselor and then the CG submitted them through Naviance, along with the transcript etc.

@maaz97 Only after you submit the application to that school, they will download the application and support documents. Before you submit the application, it just stay in the system. If the LOR is submitted after your application, the school will receive it whenever they update the download.