1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2018

Notes to Financial Statements

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements (“financial statements”) are unaudited. However, the condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2017 was derived from audited financial statements. In the opinion of management, the accompanying financial statements include all necessary adjustments to present fairly the condensed consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows of Zoom Telephonics, Inc. (the “Company” or “Zoom”). The adjustments are of a normal, recurring nature.

The results of operations for the periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the entire year. The Company has evaluated subsequent events from March 31, 2018 through the date of this filing and determined that there are no such events requiring recognition or disclosure in the financial statements.

The financial statements of the Company presented herein have been prepared pursuant to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission for quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and do not include all of the information and disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2017 included in the Company's 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Sales Tax

The Company recorded a sales tax accrual in 2017 after the Company became aware that a state sales tax liability was both probable and estimable as of December 31, 2017. The state sales tax liability stems from the Company’s ‘Fulfilled by Amazon’ sales agreement which allows Amazon to warehouse the Company’s inventory throughout a number of states. As a result, the Company recorded an expense of $831 thousand in Q4 2017, and approximated $119 thousand additional expense in Q1, 2018.

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

Revenue Recognition

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, to clarify the principles used to recognize revenue for all entities. Under ASU 2014-09, an entity will recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which a company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.

The Company adopted Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 606 using the modified retrospective method provision of this standard effective January 1, 2018, which requires the Company to apply the new revenue standard to (i) all new revenue contracts entered into after January 1, 2018 and (ii) all existing revenue contracts as of January 1, 2018 through a cumulative adjustment to retained earnings. In accordance with this approach, there was no material impact which required a cumulative effect adjustment.

Revenue recognition is evaluated through the following five steps: (i) identification of the contract, or contracts, with a customer; (ii) identification of the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determination of the transaction price; (iv) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognition of revenue when or as a performance obligation is satisfied.

● Identification of the contract, or contracts, with a customer — a contract with a customer exists when the Company enters into an enforceable contract with a customer, typically a purchase order initiated by the customer, that defines each party’s rights regarding the goods to be transferred and identifies the payment terms related to these goods.

● Identification of the performance obligations in the contract — performance obligations promised in a contract are identified based on the goods that will be transferred to the customer that are distinct, whereby the customer can benefit from the goods on their own or together with other resources that are readily available from third parties or from us. Persuasive evidence of an arrangement for the sale of product must exist. The Company ships product in accordance with the purchase order and standard terms as reflected within the Company’s order acknowledgments and sales invoices.

● Determination of the transaction price —the transaction price is determined based on the consideration to which the Company will be entitled in exchange for transferring goods to the customer. This would be the agreed upon quantity and price per product type in accordance with the customer purchase order, which is aligned with the Company’s internally approved pricing guidelines.

● Allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract — if the contract contains a single performance obligation, the entire transaction price is allocated to the single performance obligation. This applies to the Company as there is only one performance obligation, which is to ship the goods.

● Recognition of revenue when, or as, the Company satisfies a performance obligation — the Company satisfies performance obligations at a point in time when control of the goods transfers to the customer. Determining the point in time when control transfers requires judgment. Indicators considered in determining whether the customer has obtained control of a good include:

● The Company has a present right to payment

● The customer has legal title to the goods

● The Company has transferred physical possession of the goods

● The customer has the significant risks and rewards of ownership of the goods

● The customer has accepted the goods

The Company has concluded that transfer of control substantively transfers to the customer upon shipment or delivery, depending on the delivery terms of the purchase agreement.

Other considerations of Topic 606 include the following:

● Warranties - the Company does not offer customers to purchase a warranty separately. Therefore there is not a separate performance obligation. The Company does account for warranties as a cost accrual and the warranties do not include any additional distinct services other than the assurance that the goods comply with agreed-upon specifications. Warranties are variable and under Topic 606, must be estimated and recognized as a reduction of revenue as performance obligations are satisfied (e.g. upon shipment of goods). The estimates due to warranties are historically not material.

● Returned Goods - analyses of actual returned product are compared to that of the product return estimates and historically have resulted in no material difference between the two. The Company has concluded that the current process of estimating the return reserve represents a fair measure with which to adjust revenue. Returned goods are variable and under Topic 606, must be estimated and recognized as a reduction of revenue as performance obligations are satisfied (e.g. upon shipment of goods). Under implementation of Topic 606, the Company will monitor pending authorized returns of goods and, if deemed appropriate, record the right of return asset accordingly.

● Price protection - price protection provides that if the Company reduces the price on any products sold to the customer, the Company will guarantee an account credit for the price difference for all quantities of that product that the customer still holds. Price protection is variable and under Topic 606, must be estimated and recognized as a reduction of revenue as performance obligations are satisfied (e.g. upon shipment of goods). The estimates due to price protection are historically not material.

● Volume Rebates and Promotion Programs - volume rebates are variable dependent upon the volume of goods sold-through the Company’s customers to end-users variable and under Topic 606, must be estimated and recognized as a reduction of revenue as performance obligations are satisfied (e.g. upon shipment of goods). The estimates due to rebates and promotions are historically not material. 

Reclassification of accounts receivable allowances to accrued other expenses:

Accounts receivable, net:

	March 31, 2018			December 31, 2017
Gross accounts receivable	$	2,851,026		$	2,811,638
Allowance for doubtful accounts		(14,908)			(15,094)
Allowance for marketing distribution funds *		––			(127,821	)
Allowance for returns *		––			(439,211)
Allowance for price protection, promotions *		––			––
Total allowances		(14,908	)		(582,126)
Total accounts receivable, net	$	2,836,118		$	2,229,512

Accrued other expenses:

	March 31, 2018		December 31, 2017
Audit, legal, payroll	$	176,104	$	193,394
Royalty costs		875,000		750,000
Sales allowances *		492,565		––
Other		199,192		229,590
Total accrued other expenses	$	1,742,861	$	1,172,984

* Upon adoption of ASC 606 on January 1, 2018, certain accounts receivable allowances totaling $492,565 as of March 31, 2018 were reclassified to accrued other expenses as payable to the Company's customers and settled in cash or by credit on account.

Company revenues are primarily from the selling of products that are shipped and billed. Consistent with the revenue recognition accounting standard, revenues are recognized when control is transferred to customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods and services. Sales are earned at a point in time through ship-and- bill performance obligations.

The impact of adopting this standard on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements required no cumulative transition adjustment.

Regarding disaggregated revenue disclosures, as previously noted, the Company’s business is controlled as a single operating segment that consists of the manufacture and sale of Internet access and other communications-related products. Most of the Company’s transactions are very similar in nature, contract, terms, timing, and transfer of control of goods.

Disaggregated revenue by distribution channel for three months ended:

Through :	March 31, 2018		March 31, 2017
Retailers	$	7,933,218	$	4,771,351
Distributors		185,066		161,317
Other		218,583		213,221
Total	$	8,336,867	$	5,145,889

Disaggregated revenue by product for three months ended:

	March 31, 2018		March 31, 2017
Cable Modems & gateways	$	7,826,164	$	4,831,761
Other		510,703		314,128
Total	$	8,336,867	$	5,145,889

Revenue is recognized when obligations under the terms of a contract with customers are satisfied. Revenue is measured as the amount of consideration the Company expects to receive in exchange for transferring the products. Based on the nature of the Company’s products and customer contracts, the Company has not recorded any deferred revenue. Any agreements with customers that could impact revenue such as rebates or promotions are recognized in the period of agreement.

In March 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-05, Income Taxes (Topic 740) – Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118.  ASU 2018-05 amends Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 740 to provide guidance on accounting for the tax effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) pursuant to Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118.  ASU 2018-05 addresses situations where the accounting under ASC Topic 740 is incomplete for certain income tax effects of the Tax Act upon issuance of the entity’s financial statements for the reporting period in which the Tax Act was enacted.  The adoption of ASU 2018-05 in March 2018 did not have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842).” ASU 2016-02 requires that a lessee recognize the assets and liabilities that arise from operating leases. A lessee should recognize in the balance sheets, a liability to make lease payments (the lease liability) and a right-of-use asset representing its right to use the underlying asset for the lease term (the lease asset). For leases with a term of 12 months or less, a lessee is permitted to make an accounting policy election by class of underlying asset not to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities. In transition, lessees and lessors are required to recognize and measure leases at the beginning of the earliest period presented using a modified retrospective approach. Public business entities should apply the amendments in ASU 2016-02 for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact that the adoption of ASU 2016-02 may have on its consolidated financial statements.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, "Financial Instruments Credit Losses —Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments." ASU 2016-13 requires a financial asset (or group of financial assets) measured at amortized cost basis to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. ASU 2016-13 is effective for public business entities that are SEC filers for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted in any interim or annual period for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. An entity should apply the amendments in ASU 2016-13 through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is effective (modified-retrospective approach). The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact that the adoption of ASU 2016-13 may have on its consolidated financial statements.