Contract Balances and Performance Obligations Contract Balances and Performance Obligation

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]

Revenue from Contract with Customer [Text Block]

16. Contract Balances and Performance Obligations

Contract Balances

We record a receivable when we satisfy a performance obligation prior to invoicing if only the passage of time is required before payment is due or if we have an unconditional right to consideration before we satisfy a performance obligation. We record a contract asset when we satisfy a performance obligation prior to invoicing but our right to consideration is conditional. We record deferred revenue when the payment is made or due before we satisfy a performance obligation.

Receivables at September 30, 2019 and 2018 consisted of the following: 

	September 30,
	2019			2018
				As Adjusted
	(In thousands)
Billed	$	206,714		$	196,960
Unbilled	127,651			73,221
	334,365			270,181
Less: allowance for doubtful accounts	(2,568		)	(3,439		)
Net receivables (*)	$	331,797		$	266,742

(*) Included short-term receivables of $297.4 million and long-term receivables of $34.4 million that were recorded in accounts receivable, net and other assets, respectively, within the accompanying consolidated balance sheets at September 30, 2019. Long-term receivables were not material at September 30, 2018.

Activity in the allowance for doubtful accounts was as follows: 

	Year Ended September 30,
	2019			2018
	(In thousands)
Balance, beginning of year	$	3,439		$	2,941
Add: expense	518			623
Less: write-offs (net of recoveries)	(1,389		)	(125		)
Balance, end of year	$	2,568		$	3,439

Contract assets balance at September 30, 2019 and 2018 was immaterial.

Deferred revenue primarily relates to our maintenance and SaaS contracts billed annually in advance and generally recognized ratably over the term of the service period. Significant changes in the deferred revenues balances are as follows:

	Year Ended September 30,
	2019			2018
				As Adjusted
	(In thousands)
Deferred revenues, beginning balance	$	108,118		$	114,729
Revenue recognized that was included in the deferred revenues balance at the beginning of the period	(93,265		)	(83,125		)
Increases due to billings, excluding amounts recognized as revenue during the period	101,467			76,514
Deferred revenues, ending balance (*)	$	116,320		$	108,118

(*) Ending balance at September 30, 2019 included current portion of $111.0 million and long-term portion of $5.3 million that were recorded in deferred revenue and other liabilities, respectively, within the consolidated balance sheets. Ending balance at September 30, 2018 included current portion of $103.3 million and long-term portion of $4.8 million that were recorded in deferred revenue and other liabilities, respectively, within the consolidated balance sheets.

Payment terms and conditions vary by contract type, although terms generally include a requirement of payment within 30 to 60 days. In instances where the timing of revenue recognition differs from the timing of invoicing, we have determined our contracts generally do not include a significant financing component. The primary purpose of our invoicing terms is to provide customers with simplified and predictable ways of purchasing our products and services, not to provide customers with financing or to receive financing from our customers. Examples include multi-year on-premises licenses that are invoiced annually with revenue recognized upfront, and invoicing at the beginning of a subscription term with revenue recognized ratably over the contract period.

Performance Obligations

The following table includes estimated revenue expected to be recognized in the future related to performance obligations that are unsatisfied (or partially unsatisfied) at the end of the reporting period:

Year Ending September 30,	Performance Obligations
	(In thousands)
2020	$	84,022
2021	66,809
2022	39,960
2023	26,188
2024	16,512
Thereafter	4,879
Total	$	238,370

We apply the optional exemption that permits the omission of information about remaining performance obligations that have original expected durations of one year or less. We also applied the transition practical expedient that permits the omission of prior-period information about our performance obligations.