But when you search for “QuickBooks download,” the internet gets messy fast. Are you looking for the Desktop version? The Online version? And how do you avoid those sketchy “free download” sites that are actually full of malware?

Remember the golden rule: Never download accounting software from a third-party site. Always go through accounts.intuit.com .

Once you have it installed, take five minutes to set up an automatic backup. Because the only thing worse than not having accounting software is losing your accounting data.