QuickBooks Time Accessibility Features: Keyboard Shortcuts and Screen Reader Support
QuickBooks Time includes a hidden accessibility toolbar, keyboard shortcuts, and screen reader support for navigating the time-tracking platform without a mouse.
QuickBooks Time ships with a built-in set of accessibility features designed to let users navigate the platform entirely by keyboard and with common screen readers. The tools range from a visually hidden accessibility toolbar to dedicated shortcuts for clocking in, clocking out, and managing breaks — useful information for any team member who relies on assistive technology or simply prefers not to use a mouse.
The Hidden Accessibility Toolbar
At the top of the QuickBooks Time interface sits a header — sometimes referred to in accessibility terminology as the “banner.” Within this header is a visually hidden accessibility toolbar that most users never see unless they navigate to it. The toolbar provides quick shortcuts to reach and interact with commonly used features across the platform.
The toolbar breaks the page into several landmark regions. The Navigation region serves as the primary site menu; selecting options here opens pop-up windows for the chosen feature within the main work area. The Main region contains whatever pop-up windows are currently open. The Footer — sometimes labeled “contactinfo” — holds the legal, privacy, and contact information.
A “Skip to main navigation” shortcut lets keyboard users jump directly to the Navigation section without tabbing through everything above it.
Quick Actions Menu
The quick actions menu displays a pop-up with two sections: a quick action area and a skip-to area. Users navigate the menu using the up and down arrow keys and close it by pressing Tab or Escape. Each quick action also has a corresponding keyboard shortcut, and those shortcuts work anywhere in the application — not just inside the menu.
The available quick actions cover the core time-tracking tasks:
- Clock in returns you to the last job or customer you were clocked into. If you are already clocked in, selecting this opens the Time Clock window instead.
- Clock out ends your active shift. Companies that require custom fields will prompt you to complete those fields before the clock-out can finish.
- Take or end a break starts a break, or ends one already in progress. When more than one break type is available, an accessible dialog appears so you can choose.
- Close windows shuts all open pop-up windows. Anything unsaved at that point is at risk, so users should make sure their work is saved before triggering it.
The “Skip to” links appear for every open pop-up window. Selecting one moves your screen reader focus to that window, making it easier to jump between multiple open panels.
Keyboard Shortcuts
QuickBooks Time offers three different shortcut patterns for each quick action, accommodating different setups and preferences:
| Action | Windows | macOS | Letter Shortcut |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clock in | Alt+Shift+I | Opt+Shift+I | CI |
| Clock out | Alt+Shift+O | Opt+Shift+O | CO |
| Take or end a break | Alt+Shift+B | Opt+Shift+B | TB |
| Close windows | Alt+Shift+W | Opt+Shift+W | CW |
The letter shortcuts — for instance, pressing C and I in sequence without a space — work without modifier keys and can be typed quickly on the keyboard.
Getting Help and Giving Feedback
The “Get help” option opens a menu with further support resources. Users navigate it with the up and down arrows and close it with Tab or Escape. Three options are available:
- Accessibility Guide opens this help content in a new browser tab.
- Chat with us launches a dialogue with the support team when agents are available.
- Give feedback opens a submission form routed directly to the QuickBooks Time accessibility team.
Supported Screen Readers and Browsers
QuickBooks Time has been evaluated with specific assistive-technology combinations. The supported environments are:
- macOS with VoiceOver and Safari
- Windows 10 with NVDA and Chrome
- Windows 10 with NVDA and Firefox
Users running other browser or screen-reader combinations may find that most features still work, but the configurations above are the ones formally documented.
Voluntary Product Accessibility Template
QuickBooks Time maintains a VPAT — a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template — which details how the application conforms to established accessibility standards. The VPAT is the document organizations typically request when they need to evaluate whether the software meets their internal accessibility requirements or compliance obligations.
For broader help with QuickBooks Time and other QuickBooks products, our QuickBooks Online troubleshooting resources cover common issues across the platform.