NCH Software Packages Fully Accessible to the Blind and Visually Impaired

Guest post by Craig Faris, President of Seeds of Promise International Child Welfare

This information does not apply to everyone, but for the blind and/or those using screen-reading software, I can save you a bit of time. I myself am totally blind, live in Canada, use Window-Eyes 7.5 as my screen-reader of choice, and recently tried Express Scribe. Much to my immense surprise and considerable delight, the software package is fully accessible to the blind, as every single option can be selected from ordinary text-based menus! In addition, the software uses ordinary dialogue boxes which can be fully read aloud with a screen-reader, and generally the software is fast and easy to use.

This simple fact is a rarity in today's graphics-based computing environment, where custom dialogue boxes, photo buttons, and other generally inaccessible programming methods are commonly employed to make the screen busy and appealing to sighted folks.

I have since tried some of NCH Software's business point-of-sale software, such as Copper, Inventoria, and Barillo, and these packages are all also easily used by a totally blind individual like myself!

Hats off to NCH Software for, perhaps inadvertently, making their lightning-fast, user-friendly software packages fully accessible to blind computer users.

Now all we need is for the POS software packages to somehow be linked together, or at least use a common database, and I can open my own storefront with 100% accessible software!

Run Your Business from Anywhere

Small business owners frequently wear different hats, run errands and are pulled in a million directions. That is one of the many reasons why we built the web access feature into our business software applications. We know you aren�t always at your desk when you need to update your records and accounts, check your inventory levels, or check the status of a client�s account. Here�s an overview of a few of our business programs that include the web access feature:

• Inventoria stock control software�update stock levels as you buy or sell product from the road, or from any of your warehouse locations.
  
• Express Invoice invoicing software�send invoices or print customer receipts from tradeshows, or anywhere else your business takes you.
  
• Express Accounts accounting software�the value of seeing your business performance no matter where you are is invaluable
  

By setting up the web interface for any of these programs, you make it possible for other staff members to log into the system, and you can also log in and update information from your mobile phone or any remote computer. This means if you are at a meeting with a client you can make an invoice, and if you are at your warehouse you can update your inventory. To help make sure you take full advantage of this ability to access your data on the go, we created a video tutorial on setting up the Inventoria web access for easy access to your business inventory information wherever and whenever you need it. You can also view tutorials for setting up web access for Express Invoice and Express Accounts.

Top Smart Rated Inventory Software

Inventoria Stock Manager - Inventory Software. Features, reviews, ratings.Inventory control is an important aspect of many businesses, so you want to make sure that you have all the necessary tools at your disposal to stay on top of your inventory. We know how important tracking stock levels and reporting can be, which is why we are so pleased that our Inventoria inventory software has just been listed as a top inventory program by the reviewers at findthebest.com.

Already this year Inventoria was named a top inventory software by TopTenReviews. We are grateful for both of these positive reviews and all of the businesses out there that have trusted NCH Software to help them manage their inventory. With all these positive ratings, we look forward to the new businesses to add to that list in the new year.

Business Software On the Go: Web Access

Do you feel tied down to your business? You shouldn�t; try taking it with you! Many of NCH Software�s business solutions have a web access feature that lets you check your business info and run your business no matter where you are. You can check sales data, create invoices, manage stock and keep your business running smoothly whether you are in your office, at any of your business locations, or on the road with these cost-effective business programs:

Express Invoice

Create and send invoices, print receipts for �quick sales,� and view client contact info and statements while you travel. Download Express Invoice and watch this tutorial about setting up the web access feature.

Express Accounts

Manage every financial aspect of your business, including sales and purchases, accounts receivable and accounts payable, access reports, and reconcile your accounts. Download Express Accounts and set up the web access feature. Also be sure to check out our essential guide to bookkeeping.

Inventoria

A great solution for a single or multiple locations, Inventoria�s web access feature lets you order stock, receive stock, manage stock, and view reports. Download Inventoria and watch this tutorial about setting up the web access feature.

And for those days you are in the office, check out our other Business Software for everything from customer relationship management to employee time management software.

Award-Winning Software from NCH

The true test of a software program is how well it works for the people who install and use it. The number of people downloading and using NCH programs everyday (roughly 3 million downloads every month) suggests our focus on creating powerful, easy and intuitive software is working well for a lot of people out there. And while you have the final word on if a program is right for you, we still appreciate the feedback of reviewers recognizing the work that has gone into making our software programs both powerful and easy-to-use.

Here is a peek into our trophy case, and just a small sample of the award-winning software titles in the NCH Software collection:

WavePad Sound Editor

WavePad has long been praised by reviewers for its easy and powerful, yet lightweight interface for audio editing.

"In spite of its tiny size, WavePad packs a big audio punch."
     - CNET

"WavePad has a lot to offer to the amateur audio editor, while still providing enough tools to make it a useful program for more seasoned audio editors."
     - TopTenReviews

Switch Audio Converter

Switch is not only easy to use, it supports more audio formats than the competition, making it a clear winner.

"Switch is just as useful for professionals that need to convert many songs into multiple formats as it is for the average person who knows they want to convert an AAC file to MP3. Switch is able to handle many different audio formats and has the largest selection of output formats of any program we reviewed."
     - TopTenReviews

VideoPad Video Editor

VideoPad has quickly become a major player in video editing with upgraded features, putting even more advanced options at your disposal.

"NCH Software's VideoPad Video Editor Professional is a full-featured video-editing tool that is surprisingly easy to use... It's a rare video editor that you can just fire up and start making movies with, but that's what we did with VideoPad."
     - CNET

PhotoStage Slideshow Software

PhotoStage lets you bring your digital photos to life and make easy-to-share presentations of every memorable occasion.

"PhotoStage Slideshow Producer shows that slideshow makers don't need to be difficult to use to produce great results."
     - CNET

"PhotoStage is intuitive and savvy photo slideshow software that enables you to assemble artistic, personalized picture slideshows with total ease."
     - TopTenReviews

Zulu DJ Mixing Software

Zulu is the complete DJ software solution for both amateur and professional DJs alike.

"In an extremely competitive field of DJ software, Zulu stands just a bit taller than all of the rest. The intuitive and advanced features of this program, including a user-friendly, simple and straightforward interface, helped it rise to the top of our rankings."
     - TopTenReviews

Inventoria Inventory Management

Inventoria allows businesses of all sizes to efficiently track all their inventory processes, whether for one small retail outlet, or a chain of stores and warehouses across several locations.

"The versatility of Inventoria is an excellent reason to purchase this product. It offers numerous helpful features such as the ability to add notes and photos to each item in your inventory. In addition, you have the opportunity to allow more users to access the program, which can increase productivity and ultimately enhance your bottom line."
     - TopTenReviews

Check out the complete range of NCH Software programs for more easy-to-use and award-winning software solutions for all your software needs.

Express Accounts: New Look Gives Users a Better Experience

Some of you may have noticed that Express Accounts accounting software has a different look these days. Earlier this year, we optimized the interface workflow after considering research we conducted about the features our customers use most within the program. What resulted was a "tabbed" interface�by clicking category tabs at the top of the main interface, the user can pull up tasks related to that category, such as Sales, Purchases, Banking and Reports.

The updated interface gives users the option to ignore functionality they don�t use without giving up precious screen space, but also provides quick access to the full range of features for businesses that require a more robust accounting system. The category tab solution also allowed us to stick with the basic interface structure Express Accounts has had for some time now, one that has proven to be easy to navigate, work with, and simple enough to understand quickly. Seasoned Express Accounts users will still find links to their tasks in the left-hand Explorer Bar, within the center control panel, on the toolbar, and within the program�s menus, no matter which category tab they are on.

Here are a few other new characteristics worth highlighting:

• The Home tab saves users from clicking through tabs in search of common tasks they would rather have quick access to. Express Accounts always opens to the Home tab.
• Account overviews are provided in the lower left section of each tab, giving the user a quick reference to how their business is doing without running reports.
• Accounts payable: One of Express Account�s strengths has always been in tracking payments due to your business by your customers. Now you can track your own accounts payable by entering them as they come in and paying them when they are due.
• Improved help documentation gives users new to bookkeeping and accounting a solid introduction to the program. To access the Help, press F1 from within the program, or click the Help button from any window to find the help topic specific to the task you are working on.

We are very excited about the changes in Express Accounts, but we�re not finished yet. Currently, our development team is working on adding more inventory tracking capability into the program, mirroring the features available within target="_blank"Inventoria inventory management software. For all of you who have asked for complete integration between these two powerful programs, keep a lookout over the next six months for this exciting feature update.

Learn more about Express Accounts or sign up for the NCH Software newsletter to stay informed of version updates, new software features, and receive special offers.

Inventory Management from a Mac or PC

A new addition to our Mac business software is Inventoria inventory management software. Inventoria has already proven itself to be a useful application for helping businesses manage and track their stock as evidenced in the Salem Health Case Study on Inventory Software Freeing Up Time for Other Tasks, and by being named a top inventory software program by TopTenReviews. Now the flexible and efficient tools Inventoria provides are available to businesses no matter which operating system they prefer.

Other business software available for both Windows and Mac platforms include Express Accounts accounting software and Express Invoice invoicing software, providing all the utilities businesses need to design a customized software solution to tailor fit their individual needs.

Inventoria Named Top Inventory Software

Any business that has an inventory, including retail stores large and small, distributors and manufacturers, can benefit from using inventory software. As TopTenReviews points out in their recent review of inventory software, Inventoria inventory management software can not only help better organize your business, but the added efficiency, tools and reports it gives you access to can help you improve your bottom line. With all that said, we are thrilled that Inventoria has earned the Silver Award for TopTenReviews� newly added inventory software category.

"The versatility of Inventoria inventory management software is an excellent reason to purchase this product. It offers numerous helpful features such as the ability to add notes and photographs to each item in your inventory. In addition, you have the opportunity to allow more users to access your inventory management program, which can increase productivity and ultimately enhance your bottom line."

� TopTenReviews

You can read the complete review of Inventoria inventory software on the TopTenReviews website. Or, as is the case with all our software, download a free 14-day trial from our website to see firsthand what Inventoria can do for your business.

New Barillo Barcode Generation Software

One of our most rapidly growing software areas is our business software suite. In the last year, we not only made significant improvements to our existing business software but also introduced several new business applications including Reflect CRM Software and Copper Point of Software. Now we're starting 2011 in the vein with our first new product of the year: Barillo Barcode Software.

Barillo is a free barcode generator that allows you to create graphic files for EAN-8, EAN-13, UPC-A and UPC-E barcodes. Barillo makes creating labels even easier by allowing users to set the image size needed and export to a variety of different graphic file formats.

The first barcodes were created to label railroad cars but after being introduced to grocery stores to use in the automatic checkout process, they became almost universal and are now being used by businesses everywhere to satisfy the need to accurately identify and track items. With barcodes being so widely used, we are excited to add Barillo to our range of business software utilities to help customers using products such as Inventoria Inventory Management Software since barcodes are so key to maintaining a successful inventory tracking system.

In the future we�ll be adding additional barcode types to Barillo, as well as directly integrating the Barillo Barcode Generator into related software including Inventoria and Copper for easy access to this vital feature when and where you need it.

Inventory Software Frees Up Time for Other Tasks

Hospitals and pharmacies are required by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to maintain a detailed and accurate inventory of all the drugs and medication that they stock. Keeping track of their entire inventory can be a very time consuming task, especially if the pharmacy is not up to date with the latest technology. Peter McNulty, Pharmacy Operations Manager at Salem Health, has had a significant reduction in the time spent maintaining and tracking inventory by transitioning from a manual system to Inventoria Professional Inventory Management Software.

Prior to using Inventoria, McNulty was manually recording his inventory in a log book, which was a huge drain on his time, requiring several hours daily to keep records accurate and up to date. Inventoria greatly simplified the way McNulty runs his business, "I estimate we save two hours per day in staff time that can now be used in providing direct patient care."

McNulty has found not only significant reductions in the time required to record and maintain DEA records, but greater control over the distribution processes in real time making Inventoria an ideal solution for tracking inventory movement of Controlled Substance Drug Distribution in an acute care Hospital setting.

"Setup was very easy, it required about eight hours of staff time to load items, record beginning inventory count, add customers and give user access," noted McNulty. "I especially like how quickly reports are generated and the ease of saving the report on a daily basis which makes it easy to comply with DEA record-keeping regulations. Inventoria is easy-to-use, requires minimal maintenance and has a high value in comparison to most other programs in this category."

Inventoria stock management software allows businesses of all types and sizes to track and manage inventory at a single location or across several locations. With this complete inventory management system you can manage stock levels by category, location and supplier, transfer stock between locations, set low level alerts, even generate and send purchase orders to vendors directly from within the program.

NCH Software Now in Canadian Retail Stores

Today is the first day that two of our essential business software programs are available across Canada in Staples business supply retail stores. As bundled French and English versions of Express Invoice Invoicing Software and Inventoria Professional Inventory Software hit the shelves today, it marks not only the first time NCH Software products are being sold in retail stores outside the US Market, but also as the first time localized versions of our software are being sold in a retail store environment.

NCH first entered retail stores across the United States early this year. WavePad, VideoPad, PhotoStage, FlexiServer, and Golden Records are just some of the software titles that can now be found at stores including Office Depot, CompUSA, Micro Center, and Fry�s. Seeing our software on the shelves at retail stores in the US has been incredibly exciting and we hope our success here will help us continue to branch out to still more retail stores both here and in other countries, including Australia where we are based, in the future.

Lions and Tigers and Ports, OH MY!

How to overcome your fear of port forwarding

When I was tasked with creating a tutorial series for configuring server-based software applications, my throat did a big cartoon-gulp�especially when I started reviewing all the problems a user could face when setting up their software. Port forwarding not only sounded like something from a Star Trek episode, but something you needed an engineering genius like Scotty to figure out. But then, bit by bit, it started making sense, and now I�m confident that with a little help, it will make sense for all of you, too.

The most important thing to understand is that the problem isn�t necessarily the software you�re using. It�s probably your router, firewall, IP address, or some combination of these, and it is going to take some time to figure it all out. But if you�re set on streaming video of your attempt to jump your bike over three cars, two buses, a clown and a flock of geese, it�s worth the effort, right?

To help you make your computer accessible to the public Internet for all your gaming, VoIP, business data retrieval, and media streaming needs, we have put together a tutorial page geared at helping you not only make the correct connections, but to fill you in on why it all has to be so complicated in the first place. You can view the tutorial series at http://www.nch.com.au/kb/10046.html.


If you don't want to be left out of all the fun, check out some of our server-based software, and see what kind of solutions you'll find for your business or home. For instance, BroadCam streaming video server allows you to broadcast live or recorded video over your website, and BroadWave streaming audio server lets you stream audio podcasts and more. Or for business, you might be interested in accessing and updating your inventory information stored in Inventoria from multiple locations. Our new tutorial series will help you get these server-based features up and running.

And I promise, you won't need Scotty.