I would like to ask you for help. Is it possible that certain accounting software is more popular in one region of England and less popular in different region? I don't think it works this way but have no knowledge in this subject therefore I am asking this question. Probably it has to do with what suits companies best and no matter what region of England a given company is located in, some companies use for instance Sage and some use Quickbooks. Maybe I am wrong. If yes, can you tell me which software is more popular in north-west, Sage or Quickbooks?
I doubt that there is any regional preference. I'm in Coventry and use Sage. I think with the advent of cloud accounting, where you are located will matter even less. The type of client you are targeting may have different needs though and different budgets.
I agree with RobH, instead of regional preference your needs matter. You should go for any accounting software whether Sage or QuickBooks, depending on your requirements and budget. List your basic requirements first, should hopefully help you to identify which one is suitable for you.