Sometimes our clients are on the fence: should we get a VPAT or can we kick the can?
Our answer is usually yes, you should move forward with a VPAT (if you’re asking, there’s a reason you’re asking), but sometimes not getting one makes sense too.
Let’s start with when you should wait on a VPAT (Technically an ACR, but the two terms are used interchangeably. VPAT is just the template we fill in and once completed it becomes an ACR.)
Note: VPAT stands for Voluntary Product Accessibility Template. ACR stands for Accessibility Conformance Report.
When to Wait
This isn’t a sermon on forgoing accessibility documentation – it’s always desirable (i.e., we’ll take that valuable piece of paper if we can get it). But obviously there are budgetary reasons why you might not proceed with VPAT services.
- Procurement agents aren’t asking for it
- You haven’t addressed accessibility yet
- Your product isn’t ready to sale
- Your product will soon have significant new updates
- Your competitors don’t have ACRs
- Your budget is forcing a higher priority purchase
- If you need one, you’ll have 6 weeks to secure it
When to Waltz
Going for the gusto is basically the opposite list of what’s above. For those of you keeping score at home:
- You’ve had one or more purchasers bring it up
- Your accessibility is decent and/or you’re willing to fix issues
- Your product is ready for showtime or already on the market
- You just made your latest revisions
- Your competitors have already invested in ACRs
- If you don’t get an ACR, your spidey senses are telling you that you’re missing out
VPAT Consulting
If you’re our client (who knows, maybe you will be), we’re generally going to err on the side of probably for a few reasons. A big one is this is where the marketplace is headed. The network effect has taken hold (kind of like how skinny jeans caught on) and it’s dominoing everywhere so even if you haven’t been asked for one yet, you probably will be in the near future.
And, let’s be real, you found this post because you already had an inkling this might be the case. So that alone gives you a hint. It’s not like there aren’t reasons you can wait, but there are a lot of compelling reasons to move forward.
If you’re interested in VPAT services, we’d love to help. Just send us a message and we’ll write back very soon.
