Yes, you can learn most of the QuickBooks fundamentals in three months or less. Most QuickBooks learners find that it takes less than one month to feel comfortable navigating the software interface and learn basic QuickBooks skills. While basics can be learned quickly, QuickBooks is considered to be a feature-heavy and comprehensive accounting software so it will take longer to learn how to use features that are more advanced, complex, industry-specific, or that involve a good amount of customization. How quickly you end up learning QuickBooks will be dependent upon what kind of QuickBooks training you receive, whether you have a background in accounting, and how long it takes you to pick up new skills.
How Much QuickBooks Can I Learn in 3 Months
How quickly you can learn QuickBooks and how much you can learn in three months depends upon your knowledge of accounting and the amount of time and effort you can put into learning QuickBooks. While there are no formal prerequisites to learning QuickBooks, most people suggest that you should have some knowledge of double-entry bookkeeping or accounting. This includes knowing common accounting terms and principles like cash vs. accrual accounting, accounts payable, and accounts receivable as well as knowing how to read financial statements and reports. You do not need to be a certified Bookkeeper or Accountant to master QuickBooks, but if you lack any financial knowledge you should consider taking a quick bookkeeping or accounting class before starting with QuickBooks to make learning this accounting software easier and more useful.
Most people can learn QuickBooks fundamentals in two to four weeks, either on their own or by taking a live, instructor-led class. In as little as a few hours or one day, QuickBooks beginners can learn how to navigate the software interface, set up their company’s profile, and start creating their Chart of Accounts. The next features beginners learn to use will take longer to master and be dependent on the kind of business they are running. Common basic features that most learners become proficient in include recording transactions, sending customer invoices, managing customer, vendor, and inventory lists, generating detailed reports, reconciling accounts, and managing inventory and payroll through QuickBooks. Beginners can also learn how to customize invoices and templates to their own business and efficiently manage projects using job and cost estimates and time-tracking features.
How much you can learn in three months will depend on the QuickBooks training method you choose. Self-teaching is often one of the slowest ways to learn QuickBooks, as those opting to self-teach need to find accurate, up-to-date, and useful materials on their own and then take time out of their own schedule to read and watch the tutorials, webinars, books, and instructions they have found. Self-motivated learners who can devote extensive time to learning QuickBooks should still be able to learn how to use this software in less than three months. In general, it will take less time to learn QuickBooks in a bootcamp or another live, instructor-led class. These classes remove the need to vet the course materials oneself and offer guided, hands-on instruction that makes learning QuickBooks easier.
Not only does the training method matter, but so does the learner’s determination and schedule. Those able to learn QuickBooks full-time will be able to learn how to use the software quicker than someone who can only learn part-time or a few hours at a time. This means that those with full-time jobs or busy schedules will likely take longer to learn QuickBooks. As long as you can find a few hours per week to learn QuickBooks, you should still be able to learn QuickBooks in less than three months. Having a busy schedule will not prevent you from learning QuickBooks but it will mean that you need to consistently carve time out of your schedule to put what you’re seeing in tutorials and guides to use. Those with busy schedules should consider looking for live online and in-person QuickBooks classes offered with part-time, evening, and weekend options from professional training facilities and community colleges.
How Can I Learn QuickBooks More Quickly?
Enrolling in an instructor-led bootcamp is one of the quickest ways to learn QuickBooks. Bootcamps are accelerated courses that aim to teach learners about one skill or topic in a short amount of time. Most QuickBooks bootcamps are beginner-friendly and in-person and live online QuickBooks bootcamps offer guided, hands-on training that will make learning how to use this software easier. Many QuickBooks bootcamps will teach learners both basic and advanced skills so that those in the bootcamp leave with a comprehensive knowledge of what one can do with the software. If someone has one or two days to devote to learning QuickBooks, taking a bootcamp is one of the best options to learn QuickBooks skills quickly and comprehensively.
Outside of a bootcamp, QuickBooks learners can use free resources and on-demand classes to jumpstart the learning process. Once learners locate quality materials, these resources can be accessed online immediately so that no one needs to wait for an instructor-led class to begin learning QuickBooks. With enough self-motivation and determination, one can follow along with free YouTube tutorials or enroll in an introductory QuickBooks course to become familiar with the interface and some of the basic features. This is an especially good option for those with full-time jobs, busy schedules, or other commitments that will prevent them from being able to attend a four-to-six-hour-long instructor-led class.
QuickBooks learners can also consider signing up for a free trial of the version of QuickBooks they are interested in and starting to familiarize themselves with the software on their own. Most people will need some sort of instruction on how to best use QuickBooks, but users can get started right away by testing out the different features on their own. This is another option where, like watching YouTube tutorials, you will not have to wait to take a particular QuickBooks course and can get started learning QuickBooks as soon as you subscribe for a free trial. Accounting professionals can even use QuickBooks Online Accountant to learn QuickBooks for free using Inuit’s on-demand training materials.
What QuickBooks Skills Will I Need to Learn After 3 Months?
While most people can become proficient in QuickBooks in less than three months, it will take longer to master the more advanced features of this accounting software. This is because advanced QuickBooks skills involve using more complex, industry-specific, or customized features of the software. To learn these more advanced features, it can be useful to take an intermediate or advanced QuickBooks class which will allow you to build off of the skills you have previously learned. Professional training centers, in particular, will often offer these types of classes as intensive, instructor-led bootcamps or as on-demand classes that provide, on average, 24 hours of course material per class that learners can work through to deepen their knowledge of QuickBooks.
Common advanced features of QuickBooks include more complex and customized ways to do inventory and payroll management, creating customized reports, and working to automate workflows and track productivity and efficiency. Customizing reports can involve using class and location data to analyze finances by department or location. With advanced inventory management, one can learn how to track inventory by location or using batch and serial numbers. Those looking to optimize the business’s efficiency can learn to automate recurring transactions which will cut out manual reentry for bills and invoices and focus more on QuickBooks project management features which will allow users to track job progress and project profitability.
Learning QuickBooks is not only useful for managing your own business, but it can also be an entry point into becoming an accounting or finance professional. Many Accountants, Bookkeepers, Financial Managers, Financial Analysts, and Financial Advisors work with individuals and small businesses that rely on QuickBooks. Becoming familiar with QuickBooks can help one manage and advise their clients and even allow someone to use the historical data in QuickBooks to offer advice on key business decisions like how to create a sustainable budget and reach one’s long-term financial goals. After learning QuickBooks, those wanting to pursue these kinds of professions should consider taking an all-inclusive certificate program or learning skills like data analysis, Excel, and financial modeling.