XML 23 R9.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.7.0.1
Accounting Policies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016
Accounting Policies:  
Significant Accounting Policies

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

 

Principles of Consolidation

 

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Astea International Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries and branches. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated upon consolidation.

 

Use of Estimates

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America 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 amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.  Significant assets and liabilities that are subject to estimates include allowances for doubtful accounts, the carrying amount of goodwill and other acquired intangible assets, valuation of deferred tax assets and certain accrued liabilities and share-based awards.

 

        Revenue Recognition

 

Astea’s revenue is principally recognized from three sources: (i) licensing arrangements, (ii) subscription services and (iii) services and maintenance.

 

The Company markets its products primarily through its direct sales force and resellers.  License agreements do not provide for a right of return, and historically, product returns have not been significant.

 

The Company recognizes revenue from license sales when all of the following criteria are met: persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred, the license fee is fixed and determinable and the collection of the fee is probable.  The Company utilizes written contracts as a means to establish the terms and conditions by which its product support and services are sold to customers.  Delivery is considered to have occurred when title and risk of loss have been transferred to the customer, which generally occurs after a license key has been delivered electronically to the customer.  Revenue for arrangements with extended payment terms in excess of one year is recognized when the payments become due, provided all other recognition criteria are satisfied.  If collectability is not considered probable, revenue is recognized when the fee is collected.  The Company’s typical end user license agreements do not contain acceptance clauses.  However, if acceptance criteria are required, revenues are deferred until customer acceptance has occurred.

 

If these criteria are not met, then revenue is deferred until such criteria are met or until the period(s) over which the last undelivered element is delivered. If there is objective and reliable evidence of fair value for all units of accounting in an arrangement, the arrangement consideration is allocated to the separate units of accounting based on each unit’s relative fair value. There may be cases, however, in which there is objective and reliable evidence of fair value of the undelivered item(s) but no such evidence for the delivered item(s). In those cases, the residual method is used to allocate the arrangement consideration. Under the residual method, the amount of consideration allocated to the delivered item(s) equals the total arrangement consideration less the aggregate fair value of the undelivered item(s). The Company applies the revenue recognition policies discussed below to each separate unit of accounting.

 

Astea allocates revenue to each element in a multiple-element arrangement based on the elements’ respective fair value, determined by the price charged when the element is sold separately.  Specifically, Astea determines the fair value of the maintenance portion of the arrangement based on the price, at the date of sale, if sold separately, which is generally a fixed percentage of the software license selling price.  The professional services portion of the arrangement is based on hourly rates which the Company charges for those services when sold separately from software.  If evidence of fair value of all undelivered elements exists, but evidence does not exist for one or more delivered elements, then revenue is recognized using the residual method.  If an undelivered element for which evidence of fair value does not exist, all revenue in an arrangement is deferred until the undelivered element is delivered or fair value can be determined.  Under the residual method, the fair value of the undelivered elements is deferred and the remaining portion of the arrangement fee is recognized as revenue.  The proportion of the revenue recognized upon delivery can vary from quarter-to-quarter depending upon the determination of vendor-specific objective evidence (“VSOE”) of fair value of undelivered elements.  The residual value, after allocation of the fee to the undelivered elements based on VSOE of fair value, is then allocated to the perpetual software license for the software products being sold.

 

When appropriate, the Company may allocate a portion of its software revenue to post-contract support activities or to other services or products provided to the customer free of charge or at non-standard rates when provided in conjunction with the licensing arrangement.  Amounts allocated are based upon standard prices charged for those services or products which, in the Company’s opinion, approximate fair value.  Software license fees for resellers or other members of the indirect sales channel are based on a fixed percentage of the Company’s standard prices.  The Company recognizes software license revenue for such contracts based upon the terms and conditions provided by the reseller to its customer. The Company regularly communicates with its resellers and recognizes revenue based on information from its resellers regarding possible returns and collectability. However, the Company does not have a history of returns from the resellers.

 

In subscription based arrangements, even though customers use the software element, they generally do not have a contractual right to take possession of the software at any time during the hosting period without significant penalty to either run the software on its own hardware or contract with an unrelated third party to host the software. Accordingly, software as a service (SaaS) arrangements, including the software license fees within the arrangements, are accounted for as subscription services provided all other revenue recognition criteria have been met.  The revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lifetime of the contract. A SaaS contract is generally 1 to 3 years in duration. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, the Company may not recognize any SaaS revenue before the services go live, to ensure that the revenue will match the use of services. The implementation period is typically between 8 and 10 months. When upfront implementation, consulting and training services are bundled with the subscription based arrangement, the services are recognized over the remaining life of the initial contract, once the project goes live.

 

The post-contract support on perpetual licenses provides for technical support and unspecified updates to the Company's software products. Post-contract support is charged separately for renewals of annual maintenance in subsequent years. Fair value for maintenance is based upon either renewal rates stated in the contracts or separate sales of renewals to customers. Revenue is recognized ratably, or monthly, over the term of the maintenance period, which is typically one year.

 

Consulting revenue and training service revenue are generally unbundled and recognized at the time the services are performed, except as noted above, when these services are bundled with subscription revenues. If the Company enters into a fixed-price arrangement for services, the revenue is recognized using the proportional performance method based on direct labor hours incurred to date as a percentage of total estimated direct labor hours required to complete the project.  Fees from licenses sold together with consulting services are generally recognized upon shipment, provided that the contract has been executed, delivery of the software has occurred, fees are fixed and determinable and collection is probable. The Company offers a variety of consulting services that include project management, implementation, data conversion, integration, custom report writing and training. Our professional services are generally billed on a time and materials basis using hourly rates together with reimbursement for travel and accommodation expenses. We recognize revenue as these professional services are performed. On rare occasions these consulting service arrangements involve acceptance criteria. In these cases, revenue is recognized upon acceptance.

 

We present taxes assessed by a governmental authority including sales, use, value added and excise taxes on a net basis. Therefore, the presentation of these taxes is excluded from our revenues and is included in accrued expenses in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets until such amounts are remitted to the taxing authority.

 

 

        Reimbursable Expenses

 

The Company charges customers for out-of-pocket expenses incurred by its employees during the performance of professional services in the normal course of business.  Billings for out-of-pocket expenses that are reimbursed by the customer are included in revenues with the corresponding expense included in cost of services and maintenance.  During the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company billed $449,000 and $360,000, respectively, of reimbursable expenses to customers.

 

        Cash and Cash Equivalents

 

The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents.

 

        Fair Value of Financial Instruments    

 

The Company defines the fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.

 

The Company accounts for certain assets and liabilities at fair value.  The hierarchy below lists three levels of fair value based on the extent to which inputs in measuring fair value are observable in the market.  We categorize each of our fair value measurements in one of these three levels based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety.  These levels are:

 

1.     Level 1 - Valuations based on quoted prices in active markets for identical assets that the Company has the ability to access.

2.     Level 2 - Valuations based on inputs on other than quoted prices included within Level 1, for which all significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly.

3.     Level 3 - Valuations based on inputs that are unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement. The inputs reflect the Company’s assumptions about the assumptions a market participant would use in pricing the assets.

 

The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses and the line of credit approximate fair value because of the short-term nature of these instruments.

 

Investments classified as available for sale are measured using quoted market prices multiplied by the quantity held where quoted market prices were available. In 2015, the Company was invested in mutual funds. The aggregate fair value of mutual funds as of December 31, 2015 was $13,000. The mutual funds were valued using Level 1 inputs and contain investments that seek high level of current income. There were no impairments of investments as of December 31, 2015. These investments were sold during the year ended December 31, 2016.

 

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

 

The Company records an allowance for doubtful accounts based on specifically identified amounts that management believes to be uncollectible.  The Company also records an additional allowance based on certain percentages of aged accounts receivables, which are determined based on historical experience and management’s assessment of the general financial conditions affecting the Company’s customer base. Once management determines that an account will not be collected, the account is written off against the allowance for doubtful accounts.  If actual collections experience changes, revisions to the allowance may be required.

 

Activity in the allowance for doubtful accounts is as follows:

 

 

Year Ended December 31

Balance at

beginning of year

 

Reductions

 

Write offs

Balance at

 end of year

2016

$

68,000         

$

(2,000)

$

-

   $      

66,000            

2015

$

73,000

$                     

(5,000)

$

-

   $         

68,000

 

The Company reviews accounts receivable on a monthly basis to determine if any accounts receivables will potentially be uncollectible.  Based on a review and assessment of the information available at December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company believes its allowance for doubtful accounts as of December 31, 2016 and 2015 is adequate.  However, actual write-offs might exceed the recorded allowance. 

 

        Property and Equipment

 

Property and equipment are recorded at cost.  Depreciation and amortization are provided using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets or the lease term, whichever is shorter.  When property and equipment are sold or otherwise disposed of, the fixed asset account and related accumulated depreciation account are relieved and any gain or loss is included in operations.  Expenditures for repairs and maintenance are charged to expense as incurred and significant renewals and betterments are capitalized.

       

        Capitalized Software Development Costs

 

The Company capitalizes software development costs incurred during the period from the establishment of technological feasibility through the product’s availability for general release.  Costs incurred prior to the establishment of technological feasibility are charged to product development expense.  Product development expense includes payroll, employee benefits, allocation of indirect costs such as rent, other headcount-related costs associated with product development and any related costs to third parties under sub-contracting or net of any collaborative arrangements.

 

Software development costs are amortized on a product-by-product basis over the greater of the ratio of current revenues to total anticipated revenues (current and future revenues) or on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the products beginning with the initial release to customers.  The Company’s estimated life for its capitalized software products is two years based on current sales trends and the rate of product release. The Company continually evaluates whether events or circumstances had occurred that indicate that the remaining useful life of the capitalized software development costs should be revised or that the remaining balance of such assets may not be recoverable.  The Company evaluates the recoverability of capitalized software based on the net realizable value of each product, which includes the estimated future gross revenues from that product reduced by the estimated future costs of completing and disposing of that product, including the costs of performing maintenance and customer support required to satisfy the Company’s responsibility set forth at the time of sale.  As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, management believes that no revisions to the remaining useful lives or write-downs of capitalized software development costs were required.

 

        Goodwill

 

Part of the purchase price for the FieldCentrix assets, acquired September 21, 2005, included the acquisition of goodwill.   Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of net assets acquired in connection with business combinations accounted for using the purchase method of accounting. Goodwill was not amortized, but instead goodwill was required to be tested for impairment annually and more frequently if impairment indicators are present. The Company performed such testing of goodwill on October 1 of each year, or as events occur or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying amount.

 

The Company conducted a two-step test for impairment of goodwill during the fourth quarter of 2015.  The Company evaluated business factors, including macroeconomic conditions, the current business environment and changes in the operations of the business unit. As a result, a goodwill impairment charge of $1,538,000 was recorded in operating expenses in the fourth quarter of 2015.  There was no remaining goodwill as of December 31, 2015.

 

        Research and Development Costs

 

The Company reports research and development costs as Product Development expense in its consolidated statement of operations.  These costs include the costs incurred prior to the establishment of technological feasibility for new product development.  In addition, research and development costs also include costs related to improving the quality of the Company’s released software products and any costs incurred by third party companies that may be engaged from time to time, to assist the Company in its product development efforts that are not considered to be significant enhancements to the software products.

       

        Concentration of Credit Risk                  

 

Financial instruments, which potentially subject the Company to credit risk, consist of cash equivalents and accounts receivable.  The Company’s policy is to limit the amount of credit exposure to any one financial institution.  The Company places cash and cash equivalents with financial institutions evaluated as being creditworthy, or investing in short-term money market which are exposed to minimal interest rate and credit risk.  Cash balances are maintained with several banks.  Certain operating accounts may exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation limits.

 

The Company sells its products to customers involved in a variety of industries including information technology, medical devices and diagnostic systems, industrial controls and instrumentation and retail systems throughout the world.  While the Company does not require collateral from its customers, it does perform continuing credit evaluations of its customers’ financial condition.

 

        Income Taxes

 

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on differences between financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards and are measured using the enacted tax rates and laws that will be in effect when the difference and carryforwards are expected to be recovered or settled.  A valuation allowance for deferred tax assets is provided when we estimate that it is more likely than not that all or a portion of the deferred tax assets may not be realized through future operations.  This assessment is based upon consideration of available positive and negative evidence which included, among other things, our most recent results of operations and expected future profitability.  We consider our actual historical results to have a stronger weight than other more subjective indicators when considering whether to establish or reduce a valuation allowance on deferred tax assets.

 

The Company prescribes 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.  Estimated interest is recorded as a component of interest expense and penalties are recorded as a component of general and administrative expenses. 

 

        Advertising

 

Advertising costs are expensed when incurred.  Advertising costs for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 were $282,000 and $393,000, respectively, and are included in sales and marketing expenses.

 

Currency Translation        

 

The international subsidiaries and foreign branch operations translate their assets and liabilities from international operations by using the exchange rate in effect at the balance sheet date. The results of operations are translated at average exchange rates during the period. The effects of exchange rate fluctuations in translating assets and liabilities of international operations into U.S. dollars are accumulated and reflected as a currency translation adjustment as a component of other comprehensive loss in the accompanying consolidated statements of changes in stockholders’ deficit.  Foreign exchange transaction gains and losses are included in general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations. General and administrative expenses include exchange gains of $123,000 and losses of $108,000 for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

 

        Loss Per Share

 

Loss per share is computed on the basis of the weighted average number of shares and common stock equivalents outstanding during the period.  In the calculation of diluted earnings per share, shares outstanding are adjusted to assume conversion of the Company’s non-interest bearing convertible stock and exercise of options as if they were dilutive.  In the calculation of basic loss per share, weighted average numbers of shares outstanding are used as the denominator.

 

The Company had net loss allocable to the common stockholders for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015.  All options outstanding at December 31, 2016 and 2015 to purchase shares of common stock and shares of common stock issued on the assumed conversion of the eligible preferred stock were excluded from the diluted loss per common share calculation as the inclusion of these options and shares would have been antidilutive.

 

Years ended December 31,

 

2016

 

 

2015

 

Net income (loss)

$

410,000

 

$

(4,366,000

)

Preferred dividend

 

500,000

 

 

500,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss allocable available to common shareholders

 

(90,000

)

 

(4,866,000

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted weighted average number of common shares outstanding

 

 3,588,000

 

 

3,587,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted loss per common share

$

(0.03

)

$

(1.36

)

 

      

 

 

        Comprehensive Income (Loss)

 

Comprehensive income (loss) consists of net income (loss), foreign currency translation adjustments and unrealized gains (losses) on investments available for sale.  The effects are presented in the accompanying consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss).

 

        Stock Compensation

 

The Company estimates the fair value of stock options granted using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model and amortizes the estimated option value using an accelerated amortization method where each option grant is split into tranches based on vesting periods.  The Company’s expected term represents the period that the Company’s share-based awards are expected to be outstanding and was determined based on historical experience regarding similar awards, giving consideration to the contractual terms of the share-based awards and employee termination data.  Executive level employees who hold a majority of options outstanding, and non-executive level employees each have similar historical option exercise and termination behavior and thus were grouped for valuation purposes.  The Company’s expected volatility is based on the historical volatility of its traded common stock and places exclusive reliance on historical volatilities to estimate our stock volatility over the expected term of its awards.  The Company has historically not paid common stock dividends.  The risk-free interest rate is based on the yield from the U.S. Treasury zero-coupon bonds with an equivalent term.

 

Under the Company’s stock option plans, option awards generally vest over a four-year period of continuous service and have a 10-year contractual term.   The fair value of each option is amortized using an accelerated amortization method over the option’s vesting period.  The fair value of each option is estimated on the date of the grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model using the following assumptions:

 

 

For the year ended

For the year ended

 

December 31, 2016

December 31, 2015

 

Weighted Average

            Weighted Average

Risk-free interest rate

1.43

%

1.49

%

Expected life (in years)

5.71

 

5.59

 

Volatility

84.86

%

90.93

%

Expected dividends

-

 

-

 

Annual forfeiture rate

20.12

%

23.38

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weighted-average fair value of options granted during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 was estimated as $1.33 and $1.06, respectively.

 

        Reclassification

 

Certain reclassifications to the statement of operations related to subscription costs were made to prior financial statements to conform to the current presentation. 

Business Description and Basis of Presentation

1.                   Company Background

Astea International Inc. and Subsidiaries (collectively the “Company” or “Astea”) are a global provider of service management software that addresses the unique needs of companies who manage capital equipment, mission critical assets and human capital.  Clients include Fortune 500 to mid-size companies, which Astea services through Company facilities in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, the Netherlands and Israel.  The Company’s principal products are Astea Alliance, FX Service Center and FX Mobile.  Astea Alliance supports the complete service lifecycle, from lead generation and project quotation to service and billing through asset retirement.  FX Service Center is a service management and dispatch solution system that gives organizations command over their field service operations.   FX Mobile offerings include mobile field service automation (FSA) systems, which include the wireless devices and support of mobile field technicians using portable, hand-held computing devices. Astea Alliance is also offered as a cloud solution.  By leveraging the cloud delivery model, companies can access a solution that has robust and proven functionality at a lower, more predictable cost, with seamless upgrades and a quicker return on investment.   Since its inception in 1979, Astea has licensed applications to companies in a wide range of sectors including information technology, telecommunications, instruments and controls, business systems, and medical devices. The Company’s sales and marketing efforts are primarily focused on new software licensing (on premise and cloud solutions) and support services for its latest generation of Astea Alliance and FieldCentrix products.

Receivables, Policy

3.                   Accounts Receivable

 

Billed accounts receivable represent billings for the Company’s products and services to end users and value added resellers. Unbilled accounts receivable represent contractual amounts due within one year under software licenses that have been delivered or statements of work for professional services, for work performed but not yet invoiced.  Billed accounts receivable

are shown net of reserves for estimated uncollectible amounts.  Accounts receivable net of allowance for doubtful accounts consist of the following:

 

 

December 31,

 

2016

2015

Billed accounts receivable, net

$    5,330,000

  $   5,116,000

Unbilled accounts receivable

266,000

        481,000

 

 

 

 

  $    5,596,000     

  $   5,597,000

 

Property, Plant and Equipment, Policy

Property and Equipment

 

Property and equipment consist of:

 

 

 

December 31,

 

Useful Life (Years)

       2016

       2015

Computers and related equipment

3

$   4,524,000

$  4,471,000

Furniture and fixtures

10

606,000

606,000

Leasehold improvements

The lesser of lease term or 10

476,000

476,000

Software

3

1,083,000

1,077,000

Office equipment

3-7

813,000

811,000

 

 

7,502,000

7,441,000 

Less:  Accumulated depreciation

 

 

 

   and amortization

 

(7,371,000)

(7,268,000)

 

 

          $      131,000

$  173,000

 

Depreciation and amortization expense for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 was $103,000 and $105,000, respectively. 

Commitments and Contingencies, Policy

Commitments and Contingencies

 

Leases

 

The Company leases facilities and equipment under non-cancelable operating leases which may include escalation clauses.  Rent expense for facility leases for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 was $1,006,000 and $935,000, respectively.  Equipment and vehicle lease expense for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 was $115,000 and $163,000, respectively.

 

Future minimum lease payments under the Company’s operating leases as of December 31, 2016 are as follows:

 

 

 

2017

$952,000

2018

803,000

2019

673,000

2020

               619,000

2021 

631,000

thereafter

423,000

 

Litigation

 

From time to time, the Company may be involved in certain legal actions and customer disputes arising in the ordinary course of business. In the Company’s opinion, the outcome of such actions will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Pension and Other Postretirement Plans, Nonpension Benefits, Policy

Profit Sharing Plan/Savings Plan

 

The Company maintains a discretionary profit sharing plan, including a voluntary Section 401(k) feature, covering all qualified and eligible employees. Company contributions to the profit sharing plan are determined at the discretion of the Board of Directors.  The Company may match 25% of eligible employees’ contributions to the 401(k) plan up to a maximum of 1.5% of each employee’s compensation. It was determined by the Board of Directors that there would be a match in 2016 and 2015. The Company elected to match 25% of 6.0% of compensation for each eligible employee’s contributions to the 401(k) plans in 2016 and 2015 for a total match of $88,000 and $78,000, respectively.