You could add finished compost before planting. However, if you rotate your plantings (which you should do anyway) you'll still pull additional nutrients, enough to get your plants going anyway, from last year's productive soil. A soil test is really only necessary if production or plant quality tapers off. A good, balanced compost might be all you'll ever need to add.
Use your friend's manure and start a compost pile now, if you don't have one already. When it's ready, you can add it as a top-dressing. Alternatively, you can purchase finished compost and add it at any time. Water, microbes and worms can take it from there. If you aren't familiar with the composition of finished compost, buy a bag and check it out. It looks, smells and feels like good *soil*, nothing else. Once your compost decomposes to a similar consistency, and no longer smells of barnyard, it's generally considered safe to use.
