[Nfb-krafters-korner] Quick Books

Wed May 14 13:04:47 UTC 2014

The Quick Books program needs the Jaws scripts to be installed on your
computer to increase the accessibility of the Quick Books program.

www.MyBlindSpot.org 
is working with a script writer presently and the beta phase of the script
testing is just about complete.

Dixie
@-> ~ <-@

-----Original Message-----
From: Nfb-krafters-korner [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Nancy Yeager via Nfb-krafters-korner
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2014 7:10 PM
To: 'slery'; 'List for blind crafters and artists'
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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