Check before you buy, not after
Buying software your computer cannot run is a frustrating way to spend an afternoon, and it is entirely avoidable. It takes two minutes to check.
A short warning about sources: system requirements change between releases, and Intuit is the only authority on the current ones. Treat this as a guide to *what to check*, and confirm the exact figures against the official specification for the edition you are buying. Where the two disagree, Intuit is right.
The things that actually matter
Your operating system. This is the one that catches people out. QuickBooks Desktop for Windows will not run on a Mac, and QuickBooks Desktop Mac Plus will not run on Windows. They are separate products, and buying the wrong one is the most common mistake we see. Check which you have before you choose an edition.
Also check the *version* of your operating system, not just its family. Older Windows and macOS releases fall out of support, and once they do, a current QuickBooks will not install on them.
Disk space. You need room for the program, and then more room for your company file as it grows over the years. Free space also matters for the temporary files QuickBooks creates while working. If your drive is nearly full, sort that out first.
Memory. More matters most when the file is large or several people are working in it. A machine that feels slow today will feel slower with an accounting package open all day.
An internet connection for activation. You need it once, to activate. After that QuickBooks Desktop runs locally on your computer — the connection is not what keeps it working.
Screen resolution. QuickBooks has a dense interface. On a small or low-resolution display, dialogs can be awkward or cut off.
If you are on a Mac
QuickBooks Desktop Mac Plus is a genuinely different product from the Windows editions, not a port with the same feature set. If a specific Windows feature is why you are buying, check it exists on Mac before you order rather than after.
Mac Plus is also sold as a single-user licence, which is worth knowing if several people need to be in the file at once.
Working with others in the same file
If more than one person will use QuickBooks at the same time, the requirements extend past the software: the computers need to reach each other reliably over your network, and the file needs to live somewhere all of them can get to.
A shaky wireless connection is the usual cause of "QuickBooks keeps disconnecting" — and no amount of memory fixes it.
Not sure your setup qualifies?
Tell us what you have — the operating system and its version, roughly how old the machine is, and how many people will use it. We will say plainly whether the edition you are looking at will run, including if the honest answer is that it will not.
We would rather talk you out of a purchase than process a refund for one.