Windows accounting and tax software on a Mac.

Many vendors have added web or Mac editions over the years. Before anything else, check whether yours has one for the version and the features you need. A web edition can be missing something a desktop one has, so look at your actual workflow, not just the brochure.

If a proper edition exists and does the job, use it. Workarounds are for programs where it does not.

Accounting and tax programs keep data in files or in a database, often on the same computer as the program. This matters because it decides what moves with the program. If the program runs on a remote machine, the data should live there too, so that the program is working next to its own files and not across a slow connection.

Think about which files are the real thing: the company file, the client folders, the export you send to the filing system. Know where each one is, and which copy is the master.

Accounting programs are fussy about licences. Some tie to a computer, some to a person, and some limit how many people can have a company file open at once. If you plan to run the program on a remote machine, check that its licence allows it and that activation works there.

If several people in your practice use it, check the vendor's multi-user mode. Running it on one machine that everyone reaches is a common and sensible arrangement, as long as the licence agrees.

Financial data deserves a backup you have tested. Ask what is backed up, how often and how you would restore a single client's file after a mistake. If the machine is looked after for you, ask for the answer in plain words. If you look after it yourself, set the backup up before the first client's data goes in.

Things that bite in March or at year end, and are easy to prepare for.

• Updates. Tax programs ship large yearly updates. Know who installs them, and when, so you are not updating on deadline day.
• Printing and PDFs. Test printing a return to PDF and to a real printer before you need it.
• E-filing. Check that the filing connection works from the remote machine.
• Client files. Decide how clients send documents, and where those land.

Choose one client and one realistic task, such as preparing and printing a return. Do it end to end on the remote setup in a quiet week. If it works, you can move the rest across with confidence. If it does not, you found out early and cheaply.