Atif Qazi
An accountant plays with numbers, transactions, and other data ALL the time. Data entry, and in turn, typing is essentially PART of an accountant’s job.
So, if you punch numbers almost your entire day then it only makes sense that you have the right tools for your trade.
Essentially, there is no specialized keyboard for accountants. However, there are a few features that we look into when suggesting a keyboard to someone who types and enters data all day long.
Most of these features are catered towards the speed and comfort factor. Speed is important for efficiency and getting your work done quickly and comfort is important for prolonged worked hours to save you from strains and improve your endurance.
Essentially, for someone who types a lot like an accountant, there needs to be a balance between how high or shallow the keys are, how strong of an actuation force the key requires, what is the actuation distance, the texture of the keys, and feedback of the keys, etc.
I will explain all this as we go along in our search for the best keyboards for accountants.
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Low Actuation Force is Recommended
The key to finding a workhorse keyboard for accountants it to have one with as low of an actuation force as possible.
The actuation force, better known as the operating force, is defined as the amount of force needed for the key press.
RTings.com arranges keyboards into three categories depending on their operating force.
- < 45 gf – Very Light key presses
- 45 to 65 gf – Light key presses
- > 65 gf – Heavy key presses
For accounting, you essentially want the keystrokes to have as low of an operating force as possible.
There are two hallmark benefits of having a low operating force for the keystrokes:
- It helps in reducing strain and thus ensuring that your sessions are less tiring
- Improves your typing speed as you can switch around to the other keys faster.
The drawback of having a lighter key is that there is reduced feedback meaning you are more prone to making typing errors.
The errors can be more profound if the keys are shallow chiclet shaped or do not have any indents for finger grip.
There has to be a balance between shallow keys (chiclet), actuation force, and travel distance. You would not want shallow keys to be too light as that would be a recipe for making typos.
Options for Best Keyboards for Accountants
For accountants, comfort is of paramount importance, and for that light keys with moderate travel distance are recommended.
Mechanical Keyboard | Cherry MX Speed Switches | 6 Dedicated Macro Keys 
Wired
Operating force = 42 gf (Very Light)
Pre/Total travel = 1.1 – 3.4 mm (Short)
Cushioned Wrist Rest
The keyboard with low operating force and low travel distance is for accountants who prefer speed and comfort at the slight risk of accuracy. The speed of the keyboard is ensured thanks to the very light operating force required and a very shallow pre-travel distance.
The low force required equates to comfort and a lower risk of pain associated with prolonged typing.
HOWEVER, faster and lighter strokes also mean lower accuracy. But once you get used to it, the accuracy should improve.
If you want a higher accuracy then you’d want to go with heavier keys or keys requiring more force, however, that can cause fatigue quickly.
It’s better to err on the side of comfort and speed over accuracy because accuracy can develop over time.
Low Profile Keyboard
Low-profile keyboards have short travel distances and some quality keyboards can have indents making them comfortable for typing.
Low Profile | Chiclet/Scissor | Dished Keys | Tactile | Illuminated 
Wireless
61gf operating force (light)
1.3mm / 1.9mm Pre-Travel / Total Distance (short)
No Wrist Rest
The keyboard above is a popular low-profile keyboard. However, it does NOT have the lightest keys out there, which is typical for a low-profile keyboard. This can hinder comfort and speed.
It makes it up for that with shorter travel distance which can instead improve the speed factor.
Mechanical Keyboard | Linear Glorious Fox Switches
Wired
Operating force = 50 gf (Light)
Pre/Total travel = 2.7 – 4.3 mm (Long)
No Wrist Rest
A keyboard requiring light actuation force while having a long travel distance means you are balancing accuracy and comfort.
Profile of Keyboard, Actuation Distance, and Actuation Force
I have already pointed out that all keyboards try to strike a balance between comfort, speed, and accuracy.
This is largely determined by the profile of the keyboard and the type of keys it has.
As far as the profiles go, there are two general types, raised and flat keyboards (aka low profile / shallow keyboards).
Flat keyboards with shallow keys have a low actuation distance naturally. Actuation distance is defined as the distance where your key press is registered.
Raised keyboards have a longer actuation distance (generally speaking).
Now I have already established that having a low actuation force would improve your speed. However, a low actuation force on a low-profile keyboard with shallow actuation distance will result in far more typos than on a raised keyboard.
On the other hand, if you have a raised keyboard with low actuation force, you would be less prone to making mistakes due to the longer travel distance. The longer strokes will be better at securing keystrokes.
Hence, you will often note that shallow keyboards have harder keys requiring more actuation force as compared to raised keyboards.
Take for instance the following flat keyboards and raised keyboards:
| Type | Operating Force |
Total Travel Distance |
|
| Apple Magic | Low Profile Scissor (Membrane) |
64 gf | 1.3 mm |
| Logitech MX Keys | Low Profile Scissor (Membrane) |
61gf | 1.9 mm |
| Logitech ERGO K860 | Low Profile Scissor Ergonomic (Membrane) |
69gf | 2.2 mm |
| Razer Huntsman | Raised Mechanical |
37gf | 4.1 mm |
| SteelSeries Apex Pro | Raised Mechanical |
37gf | 3.5 mm |
| Corsair K100 RGB | Raised Mechanical |
42gf | 3.4 mm |
You can read more on Rtings.com
While I have taken a short sample to prove a point, the assumption holds true for all popular keyboards: flat membrane keyboards require a harder actuation force as compared to raised mechanical keyboards.
What About Raised Membrane and Low Profile Mechanical Keyboards?
The majority of the popular membrane keyboards feature scissor switches (low profile) and the majority of the popular mechanical keyboards have raised switches.
However, you also have the keyboards in between such as the rare low-profile mechanical keyboards and the raised membrane keyboards (with rubber dome switches).
| Type | Operating Force |
Total Travel Distance |
|
| Logitech G915 | Low Profile Mechanical Keyboards |
54 gf | 2.7 mm |
| ROCCAT Magma | Raised Rubber-Dome (Membrane) |
58 gf | 3.8 mm |
| Corsair K55 | Raised Rubber-Dome (Membrane) |
74 gf | 4.0 mm |
Raised membrane keyboards can be some of the most tiring keyboards out there. Not only are they tougher to press, they also have a longer actuation distance making them quite tiring.
The low-profile mechanical keyboards, however, do strike a good balance between actuation force and travel distance to ensure comfort and accuracy, but they are rare and expensive.
Final Words
The two hallmark features, in our opinion, for choosing the best keyboards for accountants is comfort and speed.
The definition of comfort changes from person to person but generally, the lighter the keystrokes and shorter the travel distance, the more comfortable they’ll feel
In addition to that, there are other factors like cushioned wrist rest, inclination, and indented key caps all affect the comfort factor of the keyboard.
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