[Nfb-krafters-korner] Quick Books

Mon May 12 23:36:28 UTC 2014

Is fresh book and quick book the same thing or just similar??
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nancy Yeager via Nfb-krafters-korner" 
<nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
To: "'slery'" <slerythema at gmail.com>; "'List for blind crafters and 
artists'" <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2014 6:09 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Quick Books


>I read that article a little while ago and then went out and purchased
> Quickbooks.  I wanted the desktop version.  Ended up returning it as I
> didn't find it accessible.  Can't speak to the on-line version of
> Quickbooks, however.
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nfb-krafters-korner [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
> On
> Behalf Of slery via Nfb-krafters-korner
> Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2014 11:12 PM
> To: 'Becky Frankeberger'; 'List for blind crafters and artists'
> Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Quick Books
>
> I use Fresh Books for my accounting. It is an online software that allows 
> me
> to use it from inside a web browser and on my android phone. It runs 
> $19.95
> a month and is accessible. The only issue I have come across is the first
> screen on my android phone app. Technically the buttons are labeled but it
> lists them as if they were one button but when you swipe through the
> "actual" buttons are unlabeled. This is the only screen that has unlabeled
> buttons but they tell you what order the buttons are in. So, you can 
> either
> memorize them or listen to the whole list (only four buttons) and then go 
> to
> the one you want. They offer email and postal mailing of your invoices and
> you can offer your clients online payment options.
>
> Cindy S.
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Nfb-krafters-korner
>> [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>> On Behalf Of Becky Frankeberger via Nfb-krafters-korner
>> Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2014 12:34 PM
>> To: 'List for blind crafters and artists'
>> Subject: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Quick Books
>>
>> This article came from Access Worl.
>>
>> Product Evaluations and Guides
>>
>> An Introduction to Accessible QuickBooks by Intuit and My Blind Spot
>>
>> Aaron Preece
>>
>> Recently, My Blind Spot, Inc., has been working closely with Intuit,
>> the
> makers
>> of
>>
>> the popular QuickBooks accounting software for small businesses, to
>> make the program
>>
>> accessible to people with vision loss and other print disabilities. In
>> the
> past,
>>
>> screen reader users could use the software with version-dependent
>> work- arounds. With
>>
>> recent versions, the program became unmanageable with a screen reader.
>> Albert Rizzi,
>>
>> founder of My Blind Spot, began working with Intuit to bring
>> accessibility
> to
>> QuickBooks.
>>
>> My Blind Spot and Intuit have made amazing strides in QuickBooks
>> accessibility through
>>
>> a blend of accessibility fixes applied directly to QuickBooks code as
>> well
> as
>> screen-reader
>>
>> specific scripts developed by John Martyn and Steven Clark.
>>
>> In this evaluation, I look at select aspects of QuickBooks Pro Version
> 2014.
>> Note
>>
>> also that QuickBooks accessibility is still a work in progress; the My
> Blind Spot
>>
>> and Intuit teams have focused their efforts on the aspects of the
>> program that are
>>
>> used on a regular basis. Infrequently required aspects--such as
> installation
>> and
>>
>> company setup--remain challenging. For this evaluation, I review some
>> of
> the
>> more
>>
>> commonly used facets of the program. My Blind Spot supplements
>> internal QuickBooks
>>
>> accessibility by working with screen readers to add accessibility
>> through scripting.
>>
>> JAWS is the screen reader used in this evaluation; currently, it
>> offers
> the most
>>
>> advanced QuickBooks scripts and provides the best access to the program.
>>
>> Documentation and Tutorials
>>
>> My Blind Spot is in the process of producing documentation and
>> tutorials developed
>>
>> by Vita Zavoli and Richard Kelly to assist users of Accessible 
>> QuickBooks.
> I was
>>
>> able to review a chapter of the documentation as well as the initial
> tutorials.
>> The
>>
>> chapter concerned reports. This was useful as reports are slightly
>> more advanced
>>
>> than other screens with better native accessibility. The chapter
>> briefly described
>>
>> the relevant screen, followed by lists of instructions for
>> accomplishing
> various
>>
>> tasks when working with reports. The instructions were clear and
>> easily understood
>>
>> and the list structure makes it easy for a user to find a specific task.
> The
>> chapter
>>
>> was also rendered in Microsoft word format making it easily navigable
>> with
> a
>> screen
>>
>> reader.
>>
>> My Blind Spot is also producing video tutorials that provide extensive
>> overviews
>>
>> of various tasks that can be accomplished in QuickBooks. At the moment
>> of writing,
>>
>> two tutorials are available on YouTube:
>>
>> Selecting Chart of Accounts as Home Screen and Recommended Basic
>> Settings
>>
>> and
>>
>> QB Check Writing
>>
>> . For these tutorials, each action is described and the JAWS screen
>> reader
> is
>> used
>>
>> so that a screen reader user can follow along with the tutorial. Each
> keystroke
>> is
>>
>> described to add further clarity for viewers with visual impairments.
>> It
> is
>> extremely
>>
>> easy to follow the lesson and accomplish the tasks described, and the
>> instructor,
>>
>> Richard Kelly, is excellent, clearly describing the program.
>>
>> Initial Setup and Menu Bar
>>
>> Once you have installed the QuickBooks program and created your
>> company profile,
>>
>> you can open your company's profile when the program launches.
>> QuickBooks opens to
>>
>> a list of QuickBooks company files on your computer. You can navigate
>> this
> list
>> using
>>
>> your up and down arrow keys. Once you have selected the QuickBooks
>> file you want
>>
>> to work with, you can tab to the "Open Company" button and activate it
> with
>> the spacebar
>>
>> key. If you have set a password on your account, you will be prompted
>> to enter it
>>
>> here. When the file loads with the default home screen. This screen is
> very
>> inaccessible
>>
>> but luckily, it is not needed; close it with Ctrl + F4. The items on
>> the
> home
>> screen
>>
>> can be accessed from the menu bar, which is presented as a Windows
>> standard menu
>>
>> bar, so it's accessible to screen readers. After this, you should set
>> some recommended
>>
>> settings to make QuickBooks easier to navigate with a screen reader.
>> The
> first
>> setting
>>
>> to deactivate the What's New setting in the Help menu. To do this,
>> press
> Alt
>> + H
>>
>> to open the Help menu. The What's New item is the second item in the 
>> list.
>> If it
>>
>> is checked, press Enter to uncheck it. It is also recommended that you
> change
>> some
>>
>> items in the View menu. You can open this menu by pressing the Alt + V
> keys.
>> The
>>
>> first item you should check in this menu is the Hide Icon Bar item,
>> listed fourth
>>
>> in the menu. Next, have QuickBooks only display one window at a time
>> (this
> is
>> the
>>
>> second to last item on the menu).
>>
>> Creating a Bank Account
>>
>> To create a bank account, first open the Chart of Accounts screen by
> pressing
>> Ctrl
>>
>> + A. The screen displays the list of your current accounts. To create
>> + a new
>> account,
>>
>> you can activate the "Account" button and select New or you can press
>> Ctrl
> +
>> N. When
>>
>> the new account screen appears, you first must select the account type
>> via
> a
>> list
>>
>> of radio buttons. The possible choices are: Income, Expense, Fixed
>> Asset Major Purchases,
>>
>> Bank, Loan, Credit Card, Equity, and Other Account Types. For this
> evaluation, I
>>
>> created a standard Bank account. Below the list of radio buttons,
>> there is
> a
>> combo
>>
>> box for selecting the type of account for the Other Account Types.
>> Below
> this
>> is
>>
>> a "Continue" button that you must press to continue account creation.
>> Note that there
>>
>> appears to be a second combo box after the combo box for selecting the
>> Other Account
>>
>> Type, but it is not used. Once you select the account type and
>> activate
> the
>> "Continue"
>>
>> button, you move to a screen where you can enter your account
>> information, starting
>>
>> with the Account Name field. Below this is a check box that allows you
>> to
> make
>> the
>>
>> account that you are creating a sub-account of another account. If you
> check
>> this
>>
>> box, you are presented with a combo box just below the check box in
>> order
> to
>> choose
>>
>> the parent account. Next is a Description field, followed by a field
> labeled
>> "Bank
>>
>> Act. No.," where you enter the bank account number. The following
>> field is
> for
>> the
>>
>> routing number, followed by a combo box for selecting the tax line for
> this
>> account.
>>
>> The field is simply labeled "Select From Examples." To discover what
>> this
> field
>> referred
>>
>> to, I used Manual Navigation (described later). Following this combo
>> box,
> you
>> can
>>
>> enter an opening balance for your account. Instead of a field, this
>> option
> is a
>> button
>>
>> that launches a dialogue where you can enter the opening balance
>> information. Note
>>
>> that the fields in this dialogue are not automatically read and some,
> including
>> the
>>
>> field where you can enter the opening balance, are not read at all.
>> Using Manual
>>
>> Navigation, it is possible to read these fields and enter information.
> After this
>>
>> button, there is a field where you can enter the check number that
>> will
> alert
>> you
>>
>> to order new checks. Below this is a check box that allows you to
>> choose
> to
>> order
>>
>> checks that can be printed with QuickBooks. After this box you can
>> save
> the
>> account
>>
>> by using the "Save and Close" or "Save and New" (Alt + A and Alt + S,
>> respectively)
>>
>> buttons. You can also cancel the account by using the "Cancel" button,
> which
>> is located
>>
>> after the "Save and New" button.
>>
>> Writing Checks
>>
>> Press Ctrl + W to launch the check writing screen. This screen is like
>> all
> other
>>
>> data input screens; you can navigate by either using the arrow keys or
>> the
> Tab
>> key.
>>
>> The first field is the Bank Account field, which is automatically
> populated with
>>
>> your bank account. Following this field is the date field, also
> automatically
>> populated,
>>
>> then the Pay to the Order Of field, where you can enter the payee. As
>> is
> true
>> for
>>
>> most fields of this nature, you can begin to type the name of the
>> vendor
> and
>> the
>>
>> list will populate with names of vendors matching the letters you have
> typed.
>> Note
>>
>> that if you have purchase orders for vendors, you can have that
> information
>> automatically
>>
>> entered into the form. Below the vendor name is the Amount field. This
>> may be populated
>>
>> with data, depending on your settings and the decisions you made in
>> the previous
>>
>> field (such as using a purchase order to populate the check). Next is
>> the Address
>>
>> field, which should be populated with the address of your selected 
>> vendor.
>> Below
>>
>> this is the Memo field, followed by the Account field for selecting
>> the
> account
>> from
>>
>> which you would like to expense this check. Next is the amount to be
>> expensed followed
>>
>> by another Memo field, which is followed by additional fields for
>> entering other
>>
>> transactions. The fields include those for customer job, account,
>> amount,
> and
>> memo.
>>
>> Once you have completed entering your transactions, you can print the
> check
>> by pressing
>>
>> Alt + T, or save it by either using Alt + A or Alt + S to save and
>> close
> or save
>>
>> and begin a new check, respectively.
>>
>> Navigating a Report with Manual Navigation
>>
>> For several screens, QuickBooks currently requires the use of a
>> scripted feature
>>
>> called Manual Navigation. This feature allows a user to navigate a
> screen's
>> visual
>>
>> layout by using keystrokes. Here I describe using Manual Navigation to
> access
>> a Profit
>>
>> and Loss report (which otherwise would not be accessible). To launch a
> Profit
>> and
>>
>> Loss report, press Alt + R to open the Reports menu. From here, press
>> the
> F
>> key to
>>
>> open the Company and Financial submenu. The first item is labeled
>> "Profit and Loss
>>
>> Standard." Activate this item to launch the report. From here, you
>> need to
> use
>> Manual
>>
>> Navigation to read the report. In the current iteration of the scripts
> used
>> during
>>
>> this evaluation (R46), you must first toggle Manual Navigation by
>> pressing
> Ctrl
>> +
>>
>> Shift + M. Once Manual Navigation has been activated, you can press
>> Ctrl + Shift
>>
>> + an arrow key to move in that direction. For example, the down and up
>> arrows move
>>
>> vertically along the page and read each line completely; the left and
> right
>> arrows
>>
>> move left and right across the screen, element by element. Note that
>> when you reach
>>
>> the end of a line while moving left and right, you are moved to either
>> the proceeding
>>
>> or succeeding line. When you navigate vertically, you are always
>> placed at
> the
>> beginning
>>
>> of the line of elements for the row to which you just navigated. When
> Manual
>> Navigation
>>
>> is first activated, it begins at the top of the screen. The first item
>> is
> a title
>>
>> bar followed by Minimize, Restore, and Close icons. One row below
>> contains the Menu
>>
>> bar. A row below this is the text "Account Quick Report" and a Close 
>> icon.
>> Following
>>
>> this is a list of action buttons for manipulating the report. These
>> are as
> follows
>>
>> from left to right: "Customize Report," "Share Template," "Memorize,"
>> "Print," "E-mail,"
>>
>> "Excel," "Hide Header," and "Refresh." Below this row is a listing of
>> your current
>>
>> display settings including the range of time that the report covers
>> and
> the
>> method
>>
>> used to sort the data. You can use the Right Arrow while using Manual
>> Navigation
>>
>> to edit these settings from this row of controls. The "Customize"
>> button
> will
>> display
>>
>> a more complete list of settings. Below this list is the time the
>> report
> was
>> generated,
>>
>> followed by the name of the QuickBooks user. On a row below this is
>> the
> rest
>> of the
>>
>> date the report was generated and the name of the report. The next row
>> states accrual
>>
>> basis and the dates that the report spans. The following row restates
>> the report
>>
>> dates followed by the report itself. You can navigate the report using
> Manual
>> Navigation
>>
>> and the report may include items such as the following depending on
>> the
> data
>> you
>>
>> have chosen to display. My report displays income and expenses. The
>> word "Income"
>>
>> is in a row by itself followed by accounts from which I gained income
>> and
> their
>> values.
>>
>> The total income is also displayed. The same is true for expenses. At
>> the bottom
>>
>> of the report, my net income and net ordinary income are displayed.
>> The information
>>
>> is easily read using the Manual Navigation cursor and it is also
>> useful
> that you
>>
>> can directly interact with buttons using this cursor; it makes
>> navigating
> such
>> screens
>>
>> much easier than using the JAWS cursor.
>>
>> The Bottom Line
>>
>> My Blind Spot and Intuit should be commended for their efforts to
>> improve accessibility.
>>
>> Not only have they made great strides towards developing an accessible
>> product, they
>>
>> have also produced a product that is very usable. I am a QuickBooks
>> novice
> yet
>> I
>>
>> was able to learn to operate the program quickly including performing
>> such additional
>>
>> tasks as making a deposit, creating an invoice and adding a customer.
>> A
> long-
>> time
>>
>> QuickBooks user should find using the accessible aspects of the
>> program effortless.
>>
>> The inclusion of tutorials and extensive documentation also should
>> make
> the
>> program
>>
>> easy to learn for those accountants with visual impairments who are
>> new to the QuickBooks
>>
>> program. If you have experience with QuickBooks and screen readers
>> (JAWS/NVDA/Window
>>
>> Eyes) and would like to take part in QuickBooks testing for
>> accessibility,
> send
>> an
>>
>> email to
>>
>> Info at myblindspot.org
>>
>> .
>>
>> Product Information
>>
>> Product:
>>
>> QuickBooks Pro 2014
>>
>> Price: $249.95
>>
>> Manufacturer:
>>
>> Intuit
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Becky Frankeberger
>>
>> Butterfly Knitting
>>
>> -           Ponchos
>>
>> -           Afghans
>>
>> -           Shawls
>>
>> -           Custom Knitting
>>
>> 360-426-8389
>>
>> becky at butterflyknitting.com
>>
>>
>>
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