1. Basis of Presentation and Consolidation (Policy)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of Accounting

Basis of Accounting

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared using the accrual method of accounting as generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP) and the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Principles of Consolidation

Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the following entities, all of which are under common control and ownership:

	State of		Abbreviated
Name of Entity(2)	Incorporation	Relationship(1)	Reference
Epazz, Inc.	Illinois	Parent	Epazz
IntelliSys, Inc.	Wisconsin	Subsidiary	IntelliSys
Professional Resource Management, Inc.	Illinois	Subsidiary	PRMI
Desk Flex, Inc.	Illinois	Subsidiary	DFI
K9 Bytes, Inc.	Illinois	Subsidiary	K9 Bytes
MS Health, Inc.	Illinois	Subsidiary	MS Health

⁽¹⁾All subsidiaries are wholly-owned subsidiaries.

⁽²⁾All entities are in the form of Corporations.

The consolidated financial statements herein contain the operations of the wholly-owned subsidiaries listed above. All significant inter-company transactions have been eliminated in the preparation of these financial statements. The parent company, Epazz and subsidiaries, IntelliSys, PRMI, DFI, K9 Bytes and MS Health will be collectively referred to herein as the “Company”, or “Epazz”. The Company's headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois and substantially all of its customers are within the United States.

These statements reflect all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments, which in the opinion of management are necessary for fair presentation of the information contained therein.

Segment Reporting

Segment Reporting

FASB ASC 280-10-50 requires annual and interim reporting for an enterprise’s operating segments and related disclosures about its products, services, geographic areas and major customers. An operating segment is defined as a component of an enterprise that engages in business activities from which it may earn revenues and expenses, and about which separate financial information is regularly evaluated by the chief operating decision maker in deciding how to allocate resources. All of the Company’s software products are considered operating segments, and will be aggregated into one reportable segment given the similarities in economic characteristics among the operations represented by the common nature of the products, customers and methods of distribution.

Reclassifications

Reclassifications

Certain amounts in the financial statements of the prior year have been reclassified to conform to the presentation of the current year for comparative purposes.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amount of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Epazz maintains cash balances in non-interest-bearing transaction accounts, which do not currently exceed federally insured limits. For the purpose of the statements of cash flows, all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less are considered to be cash equivalents. There were no cash equivalents on hand at December 31, 2012 and 2011.

Property and Equipment

Property and Equipment

Equipment is recorded at its acquisition cost, which includes the costs to bring the equipment to the condition and location for its intended use, and equipment is depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of the related asset as follows:

Furniture and fixtures	5 years
Computers and equipment	3-5 years
Software	3 years
Assets held under capital leases	3-4 years

Amortization of leasehold improvements is computed using the straight-line method over the shorter of the remaining lease term or the estimated useful lives of the improvements.

Assets held under capital leases are recorded at the lower of the net present value of the minimum lease payments or the fair value of the leased asset at the inception of the lease. Amortization expense is computed using the straight-line method over the useful lives of the assets due to transfer of ownership after the lease term has expired.

Maintenance and repairs will be charged to expense as incurred. Significant renewals and betterments will be capitalized. At the time of retirement or other disposition of equipment, the cost and accumulated depreciation will be removed from the accounts and the resulting gain or loss, if any, will be reflected in operations.

Property and equipment are evaluated for impairment whenever impairment indicators are prevalent. The Company will assess the recoverability of equipment by determining whether the depreciation and amortization of these assets over their remaining life can be recovered through projected undiscounted future cash flows. The amount of equipment impairment, if any, will be measured based on fair value and is charged to operations in the period in which such impairment is determined by management.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Under FASB ASC 820-10-05, the Financial Accounting Standards Board establishes a framework for measuring fair value in generally accepted accounting principles and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. This Statement reaffirms that fair value is the relevant measurement attribute. The adoption of this standard did not have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements as reflected herein. The carrying amounts of cash, accounts payable and accrued expenses reported on the balance sheets are estimated by management to approximate fair value primarily due to the short term nature of the instruments.

Intangible Assets

Intangible Assets

Intangible assets are amortized using the straight-line method over their estimated period of benefit of five to fifteen years. We evaluate the recoverability of intangible assets periodically and take into account events or circumstances that warrant revised estimates of useful lives or that indicate that impairment exists. All of our intangible assets are subject to amortization. No material impairments of intangible assets have been identified during any of the periods presented. Amortization expense on intangible assets totaled $155,448 and $80,047 for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Goodwill

Goodwill

The Company evaluates the carrying value of goodwill during the fourth quarter of each year and between annual evaluations if events occur or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of the reporting unit below its carrying amount. Such circumstances could include, but are not limited to (1) a significant adverse change in legal factors or in business climate, (2) unanticipated competition, or (3) an adverse action or assessment by a regulator. When evaluating whether goodwill is impaired, the Company compares the fair value of the reporting unit to which the goodwill is assigned to the reporting unit's carrying amount, including goodwill. The fair value of the reporting unit is estimated using a combination of the income, or discounted cash flows, approach and the market approach, which utilizes comparable companies' data. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, then the amount of the impairment loss must be measured. The impairment loss would be calculated by comparing the implied fair value of reporting unit goodwill to its carrying amount. In calculating the implied fair value of reporting unit goodwill, the fair value of the reporting unit is allocated to all of the other assets and liabilities of that unit based on their fair values. The excess of the fair value of a reporting unit over the amount assigned to its other assets and liabilities is the implied fair value of goodwill. An impairment loss would be recognized when the carrying amount of goodwill exceeds its implied fair value. The Company's evaluation of goodwill completed during the year resulted in no impairment losses.

Website Development Costs

Website Development Costs

The Company accounts for website development costs in accordance with ASC 350-50, “Accounting for Website Development Costs” (“ASC 350-50”), wherein website development costs are segregated into three activities:

1)	Initial stage (planning), whereby the related costs are expensed.
2)	Development (web application, infrastructure, and graphics), whereby the related costs are capitalized and amortized once the website is ready for use. Costs for development content of the website may be expensed or capitalized depending on the circumstances of the expenditures.
3)	Post-implementation (after site is up and running: security, training, and administration), whereby the related costs are expensed as incurred. Upgrades are usually expensed, unless they add additional functionality.

The Company didn’t have any capitalized website development costs during the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011.

Deferred Financing Costs

Deferred Financing Costs

Costs relating to obtaining certain debts are capitalized and amortized over the term of the related debt using the straight-line method. The unamortized capitalized balance of deferred financing costs at December 31, 2012, and 2011, was $17,033 and $1,861, respectively. Amortization of deferred financing costs charged to operations was $25,849 and $1,772 for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. When a loan is paid in full, any unamortized financing costs are removed from the related accounts and charged to operations.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

We generate the majority of our revenues and corresponding accounts receivable from the sales of software products. We evaluate the collectability of our accounts receivable considering a combination of factors. In circumstances where we are aware of a specific customer’s inability to meet its financial obligations to us, we record a specific reserve for bad debts against amounts due in order to reduce the net recognized receivable to the amount we reasonably believe will be collected. For all other customers, we recognize reserves for bad debts based on past write-off experience and the length of time the receivables are past due. Bad debts expense was $2,957 and $82,306 for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. The allowance for doubtful accounts was $68,521 and $242,792 for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Beneficial Conversion Features

Beneficial Conversion Features

From time to time, the Company may issue convertible notes that may contain an imbedded beneficial conversion feature. A beneficial conversion feature exists on the date a convertible note is issued when the fair value of the underlying common stock to which the note is convertible into is in excess of the remaining unallocated proceeds of the note after first considering the allocation of a portion of the note proceeds to the fair value of warrants, if related warrants have been granted. The intrinsic value of the beneficial conversion feature is recorded as a debt discount with a corresponding amount to additional paid in capital. The debt discount is amortized to interest expense over the life of the note using the effective interest method.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition

The Company designs and sells various software programs to business enterprises, hospitals and Government and post-secondary institutions. Prior to shipment, each software product is tested extensively to meet Company specifications. The software is shipped fully functional via electronic delivery, but some installation and setup is required. No other entities sell the same or largely interchangeable software.

Installation is a standard process, outlined in the owner's manual, consisting principally of setup, calibrating, and testing the software. A purchaser of the software could complete the process using the information in the owner's manual, although it would probably take significantly longer than it would take the Company’s technicians to perform the tasks. Although other vendors do not install the Company’s software, they do provide largely interchangeable installation services for a fee. Historically, the Company has never sold the software without installation. Most installations are performed by the Company within 7 to 24 days of shipment and are included in the overall sales price of the software. In addition, the customer must pay for support contracts and training packages, depending on their desired level of service. The Company is the only manufacturer of the software and it only sells software on a standalone basis directly to the end user.

The sales price of the arrangement consists of the software, installation, and training and support services, which the customer is obligated to pay in full upon delivery of the software. In addition, there are no general rights of return involved in these arrangements. Therefore, the software is accounted for as a separate unit of accounting.

The Company does not have vendor-specific objective evidence of selling price for the software because it does not sell the software separately (without installation services and support contracts). In addition, third-party evidence of selling price does not exist as no vendor separately sells the same or largely interchangeable software. Therefore, the Company uses its best estimate of selling price when allocating such arrangement consideration.

In estimating its selling price for the software, the Company considers the cost to produce the software, profit margin for similar arrangements, customer demand, effect of competitors on the Company’s software, and other market constraints. When applying the relative selling price method, the Company uses its best estimate of selling price for the software, and third-party evidence of selling price for the installation. Accordingly, without considering whether any portion of the amount allocable to the software is contingent upon delivery of the other items, the Company allocates the selling price to the software, support, and installation.

The Company doesn’t currently provide product warranties, but if it does in the future it will provide for specific product lines and accrue for estimated future warranty costs in the period in which the revenue is recognized.

Advertising and Promotion

Advertising and Promotion

All costs associated with advertising and promoting products are expensed as incurred. These expenses approximated $104,431 and $4,088 for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities based on differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities using the enacted tax rates and laws that are expected to be in effect when the differences are expected to be recovered. The Company provides a valuation allowance for deferred tax assets for which it does not consider realization of such assets to be more likely than not.

Basic and Diluted Net Earnings per Share

Basic and Diluted Loss per Share

The basic net loss per common share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted net loss per common share is computed by dividing the net loss adjusted on an “as if converted” basis, by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding plus potential dilutive securities. For the periods presented, there were no outstanding potential common stock equivalents and therefore basic and diluted earnings per share result in the same figure.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company adopted FASB guidance on stock based compensation on January 1, 2006. Under FASB ASC 718-10-30-2, all share-based payments to employees, including grants of employee stock options, are to be recognized in the income statement based on their fair values. Pro forma disclosure is no longer an alternative. Common stock issued for services and compensation was $1,278,151 and $-0- for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Uncertain Tax Positions

Uncertain Tax Positions

Effective January 1, 2009, the Company adopted new standards for accounting for uncertainty in income taxes. These standards prescribe a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. These standards also provide guidance on de-recognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure, and transition.

Various taxing authorities periodically audit the Company’s income tax returns. These audits include questions regarding the Company’s tax filing positions, including the timing and amount of deductions and the allocation of income to various tax jurisdictions. In evaluating the exposures connected with these various tax filing positions, including state and local taxes, the Company records allowances for probable exposures. A number of years may elapse before a particular matter, for which an allowance has been established, is audited and fully resolved. The Company has not yet undergone an examination by any taxing authorities.

The assessment of the Company’s tax position relies on the judgment of management to estimate the exposures associated with the Company’s various filing positions. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had no uncertain tax positions.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2013, Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2013-02, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, to improve the transparency of reporting these reclassifications. Other comprehensive income includes gains and losses that are initially excluded from net income for an accounting period. Those gains and losses are later reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income into net income. The amendments in the ASU do not change the current requirements for reporting net income or other comprehensive income in financial statements. All of the information that this ASU requires already is required to be disclosed elsewhere in the financial statements under U.S. GAAP. The new amendments will require an organization to:

- Present (either on the face of the statement where net income is presented or in the notes) the effects on the line items of net income of significant amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income - but only if the item reclassified is required under U.S. GAAP to be reclassified to net income in its entirety in the same reporting period; and

- Cross-reference to other disclosures currently required under U.S. GAAP for other reclassification items (that are not required under U.S. GAAP) to be reclassified directly to net income in their entirety in the same reporting period. This would be the case when a portion of the amount reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income is initially transferred to a balance sheet account (e.g., inventory for pension-related amounts) instead of directly to income or expense.

The amendments apply to all public and private companies that report items of other comprehensive income. Public companies are required to comply with these amendments for all reporting periods (interim and annual). The amendments are effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2012, for public companies. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of ASU No. 2013-02 did not have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

In January 2013, the FASB issued ASU No. 2013-01, Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Clarifying the Scope of Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities, which clarifies which instruments and transactions are subject to the offsetting disclosure requirements originally established by ASU 2011-11. The new ASU addresses preparer concerns that the scope of the disclosure requirements under ASU 2011-11 was overly broad and imposed unintended costs that were not commensurate with estimated benefits to financial statement users. In choosing to narrow the scope of the offsetting disclosures, the Board determined that it could make them more operable and cost effective for preparers while still giving financial statement users sufficient information to analyze the most significant presentation differences between financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and those prepared under IFRSs. Like ASU 2011-11, the amendments in this update will be effective for fiscal periods beginning on, or after January 1, 2013. The adoption of ASU 2013-01 did not have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

In October 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2012-04, “Technical Corrections and Improvements” in Accounting Standards Update No. 2012-04. The amendments in this update cover a wide range of Topics in the Accounting Standards Codification. These amendments include technical corrections and improvements to the Accounting Standards Codification and conforming amendments related to fair value measurements. The amendments in this update will be effective for fiscal periods beginning after December 15, 2012. The adoption of ASU 2012-04 did not have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

In August 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2012-03, “Technical Amendments and Corrections to SEC Sections: Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 114, Technical Amendments Pursuant to SEC Release No. 33-9250, and Corrections Related to FASB Accounting Standards Update 2010-22 (SEC Update)” in Accounting Standards Update No. 2012-03. This update amends various SEC paragraphs pursuant to the issuance of SAB No. 114. The adoption of ASU 2012-03 did not have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

In July 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2012-02, “Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment” in Accounting Standards Update No. 2012-02. This update amends ASU 2011-08, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment and permits an entity first to assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the quantitative impairment test in accordance with Subtopic 350-30, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - General Intangibles Other than Goodwill. The amendments are effective for annual and interim impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012. Early adoption is permitted, including for annual and interim impairment tests performed as of a date before July 27, 2012, if a public entity’s financial statements for the most recent annual or interim period have not yet been issued or, for nonpublic entities, have not yet been made available for issuance. The adoption of ASU 2012-02 did not have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-12, “Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05. This update defers the requirement to present items that are reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income to net income in both the statement of income where net income is presented and the statement where other comprehensive income is presented. The adoption of ASU 2011-12 did not have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.