[Nfb-krafters-korner] Quick Books

Tue May 13 06:30:32 UTC 2014

No, They are different entities though they are both accounting
programs/services. With Fresh Books, you never install anything. On your
desktop, you run the program in your browser ( use Firefox). They also have
apps for the android and for the iPhone. The latest feature they just
released last week is that you can now export your data into a format for
your accountant to use in Quickbooks (if you happen to use an accountant)
They also have third party add-ons. I am personally waiting for an update to
the electronic signature to see if it is accessible (they currently only
offer a monthly plan and I am looking for a per signature price plan for
that particular add-on).

You can check them out at www.freshbooks.com.

Cindy S.
PS Their customer service is awesome.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nfb-krafters-korner [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On Behalf Of Debbie Killian via Nfb-krafters-korner
> Sent: Monday, May 12, 2014 7:36 PM
> To: Nancy Yeager; List for blind crafters and artists
> Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Quick Books
> 
> 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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> >
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> > 542%40verizon.net
> >
> >
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> 
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