Learn to process to activate or register QuickBooks Desktop once you have successfully installed it:
Each time you install QuickBooks desktop on the system, it demands registering and activating. In case of multiple copied of QB desktop, then you need to register or activate each of them. QuickBooks will itself prompt the user to activate, also the user can activate it manually. When the user activates the QuickBooks desktop, a window appears on the screen stating “Set up your Intuit Account”. The user can log in to the Intuit account when activating the QuickBooks desktop to link the existing account information directly.
The intuit account login is used to access multiple websites, and after the user signs in the Intuit account, he or she can purchase and view products and services and download or activate products that you have already purchased. If you are also looking forward to register and activate QuickBooks desktop, then today’s post can be of great help to you. Moreover, if you don’t want to risk the activation process by doing it manually, then feel free to call us at 1-800-761-1787. You can ask our accounting professionals to register and activate QuickBooks desktop for you. Our QuickBooks desktop support team will be happy to help you.
Important Points
- The most important point is to always verify that the QuickBooks software is activates or NOT, for this click on F2 key OR press and hold CTRL + 1 keys
- If the user sees that QuickBooks is ACTIVATED, then you are set. If not, the user needs to move ahead with the steps to activate.
- In case at the time of activation, the user receives the error “The validation code is wrong“, then verify the things below:
- The validation code is right
- Also, ensure that the license and product number is correct. If the product number doesn’t match the license number then change the product number first before moving forward with the activation.
Similar article: Reinstall QuickBooks for Windows using QuickBooks Clean Install Tool
Steps to Registering QuickBooks desktop 2016 or newer versions
In order to register QuickBooks desktop 2016 or newer versions, the user can carry out the below steps:

- First of all, the user needs to open the QuickBooks and press F2 key on the keyboard
- After that, check the registration status on the product information window on the right side of the license number
- In case the status is Activated, then the user need not to do anything
- In case it is not activated, then carry out the steps below:
- The user will have to select OK to close the product information window
- And then, visit the help menu and then choose activate QuickBooks. But for the 2015 version select Register QB
- Now, carry out the onscreen prompts and verify the information. Followed by completing the activation process.
- You will get a thank you message once the activation process completes.

QuickBooks Desktop for Mac
If you are a QuickBooks desktop for Mac user, then you need to carry out the steps below to register and activate it:
- The very first step is to visit the menu and then choose register QuickBooks
- After that, the user needs to enter the license number and product number also choose next
- The next step is to select register online tab
- To end the process, follow the onscreen instructions and complete the registration. In case, you do not find any register option, then this indicates that the software us already registered.
For Older versions
In older versions, discontinued products cannot get registered for the first time. And then, the user will have to re-register the discontinued products. The user can re-register discontinued products of an older version if he/she has registered it before and is just reinstalling it. However, the user can contact the customer service provider for the validation code, but assisted support for discontinued products is no longer available.
See this also: How to download a trial of QuickBooks Desktop?
Activating QuickBooks desktop with your Intuit Account
The activation screen in QuickBooks offers an option to the user to either activate using an existing Intuit account or create a new one. If the user is not having an Intuit account, then he/she will be required to fill in the necessary information in create your user ID section and complete the activation process. It should be noted that the on the registration form that follows, the phone number and ZIP code are pre-filled depending upon the company file the user had opened up.
In case the user opts for creating the account, then he/she will continue to discover the message when opening QuickBooks. In case the user has an existing Intuit Account, then merely entering the user ID and password will start the activation process. However, if you have lost your user ID or password, then you can carry out the below steps to retrieve them:
- The very first step is to visit the https://www.quickbooks.com/account
- And then, the user needs to click on I forgot my User ID or password link
- The next step is to enter the registered email, phone number or User ID
- After that, the user needs to enter the code received
- Once done with that, the user will see the User ID and can then reset the password
- To end the process, log in again.
Issues while registering or activating QuickBooks desktop
- In case the user finds that the information entered is not accepted, then the user can ensure it is the same information that was given at the time of purchase
- Also, in case the user finds any technical glitches, such as blank screen or error messages, then it is recommended to temporarily disable the antivirus software.
Checkpoints before fixing the issue
Before trying to fix this issue, the user needs to check out the points below:
- The user is recommended to verify if QuickBooks is activated and also verify the license number and product code. Match the one on the sticker on QuickBooks product package
- And for downloaded commodities, the user needs to view the purchase confirmation email that is received from Intuit
- In case the user purchased QuickBooks on CD, then one can see the brightly colored sticker on the original CD envelope
You may also see: How to Set up QuickBooks Desktop to Work From Home?
Winding up!
This drags us towards the end of this post, where we expect that the information, we have shared in above might be of some help in activating and registering the QuickBooks desktop successfully. However, if you are still confused, then give us a call at 1-800-761-1787 and speak to our QuickBooks enterprise technical support team.
Our experts and Intuit certified accounting professionals will help you in registering the software without any technical glitch that too in the least possible time. So, do not hesitate in contacting us anytime.
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