Accessibility & Technology – Every Industry
Making products and various services accessible for assistive readers, and providing greater keyboard control are two major aspects of providing accessibility within electronic communications (i.e. Web sites, e-mails). It is becoming more important to the retail industry and other types of businesses to provide for accessibility, as competition for obtaining new customers, while retaining existing ones is growing exponentially. They are quickly realizing there is yet another market segment that includes people with disabilities, in which, by making a few technical changes, customer bases can be further developed.
Many businesses have a web presence, at a minimum, (perhaps a static page describing what their businesses offer), while others offer complete product lines for purchase over the internet. What can they do to make their information more accessible to people with disabilities?
Two Options
There are two different ways. The first would be to hire in-house 508 accessibility staff. This means recruiting, training, etc. and numerous human resources tasks that are included with any hiring situation. The tasks that must be accomplished for accessibility are generally of a highly technical nature. Thus, this can be a very time-consuming process, and it may or may not achieve the end goal of providing a means for accessible services or products.
The second way is to contract with an outside specialty vendor. This is a very attractive way to accomplish accessibility as it is generally more expedient, and generally reduces hiring, and training costs for the business, while accomplishing the end-goal of providing for accessibility. A lot of businesses would go this way, but the first consideration usually has to do with costs involved.
So, on to the save money in the process part….
Did you know that the IRS offers form 8826 to assist businesses with the costs involved with becoming accessible? (This is no way to be misconstrued as tax advice, I am just letting you know that it exists.)
Did you know you could deduct up to $5,000.00? There are some pre-requisites, and I would recommend talking to your tax-preparer or accounting department for further information and follow up. Alternately, you can obtain further information from the IRS directly, by requesting instructions for form 8826.
You can hire an outside vendor and maybe even get a great tax deduction? Win-Win!
Pearl Interactive Network, Inc. provides these services and much more! Please visit our website or contact: Dee Moradi at dmoradi@pinsourcing.com for more information.
Article written by: Dee Moradi
#assistivetechnology #accessibility #inclusion #WCAG