[rehab] Fwd: Nonvisual Access to Peachtree Complete Accounting

[David Andrews]

>
>Greetings:
>
>For some time, many blind people have been searching for an 
>"accessible" accounting package that would work well with screen 
>access technology for the blind.  I cannot count the number of times 
>I have had to tell someone that for all practical purposes, there 
>was no really good way to use a business-oriented accounting package 
>(such as Quick books) with JAWS for Windows.  At best, I have had to 
>recommend nonvisually-accessible financial programs that were more 
>appropriate for the home user.
>
>I am pleased to tell you that a company called Virtual Vision 
>Technologies has developed JAWS scripts for the Peachtree Complete 
>Accounting system.  Although this is not a solution for people using 
>Quick Books, this can be a solution for that small business person 
>who needs a well-reputed and powerful commercial accounting program 
>and who needs to use that program with JAWS for Windows.  The 
>complete package--that is, JAWS scripts and the Peachtree Complete 
>Accounting program--is available from Scripts for JAWS.  Quoting 
>from the Scripts for JAWS home page:
>
>"With Jaws Scripts for Peachtree, the two best solutions available 
>for the visually impaired are united: Jaws and Peachtree! This means 
>that everything from simply maintaining your own personal checkbook 
>through running your own business (of virtually any sort or size) is 
>now open to you! Even becoming an accountant yourself is now accessible!"
>
>There is a lot of promise here and, I admit, no real-world 
>experience.  I myself have not had a chance to evaluate this 
>offering.  Nevertheless, given what I know about Virtual Vision 
>Technologies, I am optimistic that an extremely viable solution 
>exists here and for only $169 (i.e., $100 for Peachtree Complete 
>Accounting and $69 for the JAWS scripts--an introductory price) at that.
>
>One of the challenges that has made nonvisual access even more 
>difficult is that once extensive scripting has been done for a 
>specific version of an accounting program, the scripting falls apart 
>when the next version is released.  When I raised this issue with 
>the folks who developed the Peachtree Complete Accounting scripts 
>for JAWS, this is the response I received:
>
>"allow me to point out one great thing right off the top:  Peachtree 
>(unlike other applications such as QuickBooks) has no constant 
>requirement to upgrade.  Thousands upon thousands (actually, 
>literally millions) of Peachtree users never upgrade.  Peachtree 
>Complete Accounting is and will be available for purchase for years 
>to come.  For example, PCA 2006 is still widely available.  Real 
>users of accounting applications rarely upgrade unless there is a 
>business need to do so.  Compare to QuickBooks; which requires at 
>least one upgrade every other year.  This very stability issue to 
>which you point is perhaps the primary reason Peachtree was chosen 
>(to be scripted)."
>
>If you want to learn more about Peachtree Complete Accounting and 
>the JAWS scripts that have been developed for this software, point 
>your browser to http://www.scriptsforjaws.com/index.php.
>
>Best regards,
>
>Curtis Chong