CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2023	Sep. 30, 2022
Operating activities
Net income	$ 5,204	$ 1,889
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation	343	350
Amortization of intangibles	15	9
Loss on disposal of fixed assets, net	4	0
Foreign exchange loss (gain)	581	(1,692)
Provision for losses (recoveries) on accounts receivable	26	(50)
Provision for obsolete inventory	274	130
Amortization of lease right-of-use assets	573	576
Stock-based compensation expense on stock options and restricted stock awards	1,127	979
Deferred income taxes	(2,346)	0
Decrease in cash surrender value of life insurance	(130)	(1,221)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Decrease (increase) in accounts receivable	2,852	(4,264)
Decrease (increase) in inventories	1,557	(517)
Decrease in refundable income taxes	1,050	605
Increase in operating lease right-of-use assets	(379)	(377)
Decrease (increase) in other assets	4,581	(2,491)
Decrease in investment in lease	5	63
Decrease in long-term receivable	3,188	111
(Decrease) increase in accounts payable and accrued expenses	(11,596)	8,714
Decrease in interest payable	(50)	(8)
Decrease in operating lease liabilities	(190)	(330)
(Decrease) increase in deferred revenue	(2,161)	2,165
Decrease in pension and retirement plans liabilities	(391)	(167)
Increase (decrease) in income taxes payable	965	(62)
Decrease in other long-term liabilities	(1,195)	(1,737)
Net cash provided by operating activities	3,907	2,675
Investing activities
Life insurance premiums paid	(64)	(70)
Purchase of held-to-maturity investments	(3,533)	0
Proceeds from maturities of held-to-maturity investments	3,533	0
Proceeds from corporate life insurance owned policy	0	322
Proceeds from sales of property, equipment, and improvements	0	2
Additions of intangible assets	(51)	0
Purchases of property, equipment and improvements	(226)	(234)
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities	(341)	20
Financing activities
Dividends paid	(656)	(137)
Net borrowing under line-of-credit agreement	(1,609)	2,183
Repayments on notes payable	(406)	(736)
Principal payments on finance leases	(4)	(47)
Purchase of common stock	(6)	(174)
Proceeds from issuance of shares under equity compensation plans	280	239
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities	(2,401)	1,328
Effects of exchange rate on cash, net	70	(48)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents	1,235	3,975
Cash and cash equivalents beginning of year	23,982	20,007
Cash and cash equivalents end of year	25,217	23,982
Supplementary cash flow information:
Cash paid (received) for income taxes	246	(233)
Cash paid for interest	313	184
Supplementary non-cash financing activities:
Obtaining a right-of-use asset in exchange for a lease liability	392	352
Customer financing for inventory sold (see Note 2 Accounts and Long-Term Receivable for details)	6,032	1,232
Vendor financing for inventory purchased (see Note 8 Accounts payable and accrued expenses, and Other noncurrent liabilities for details)	$ 2,321	$ 0