To learn QuickBooks ® you can use the instructional material that comes with the software--the set-up interview, the manual and the "Help" function. This method is very time-consuming and will likely not teach you how to use the software efficiently and comprehensively. It will also raise questions the answers to which you will not find.
When you set up QuickBooks ® the software runs you through a fairly lengthy interview. It will ask you lots of questions about how you will be conducting your business. The questions are designed to activate the functions you will need to do the accounting for your particular venture. I've found, though, that the questions are often confusing to someone with no prior accounting knowledge. Or that the answer to a particular question will activate a QuickBooks ® function which, while appropriate, is better off bypassed.
There are lots of judgment calls to be made in deciding what to use in QuickBooks, ® and what not to use. Someone who is not really familiar with what the day to day accounting process is really like will be making these decisions in the dark. And none of the QuickBooks ® instructional materials will address these issues. For example, you may carry inventory in your business. QuickBooks ® can keep track of inventory in lots of cases, but not all. And even if it can keep track of your inventory in a suitable manner, it might not be worth it. Keeping on top of inventory in QuickBooks ® involves lots of diligence (and time) on a daily basis. While there are benefits to doing that, the benefits are frequently of dubious benefit. In many cases, there are ways to handle inventory in a more friendly manner. How best to do it depends on your business. It also depends on your temperment. You can become a slave to the software, or you can use QuickBooks in a way that is both adequate to your business and easy on your psyche.