Annual report pursuant to section 13 and 15(d)

Note 2: Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

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Note 2: Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2013
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Note 2: Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Principles of Consolidation

 

The accompanying consolidated financial statements represent the consolidated financial position and results of operations of the Company and include the accounts and results of operations of the Company, LiveDeal, Local Marketing Experts, Inc., Velocity Marketing Concepts, Inc., 247 Marketing Inc., Telco Billing, Inc. Telco of Canada, Inc., and Velocity Local Inc. ,the Company’s wholly owned subsidiaries, for the years ended September 30, 2013 and 2012, as applicable. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

 

Use of Estimates

 

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. 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 consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

Significant estimates made in connection with the accompanying consolidated financial statements include the estimate of dilution and fees associated with LEC billings, the estimated reserve for doubtful accounts receivable, estimated forfeiture rates for stock-based compensation, fair values in connection with the analysis of goodwill and long-lived assets for impairment, valuation allowances against net deferred tax assets and estimated useful lives for intangible assets and property and equipment.

 

Financial Instruments

 

Financial instruments consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents, accounts receivable, advances to affiliates and obligations under accounts payable, accrued expenses and notes payable. The carrying amounts of cash, cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses and notes payable approximate fair value because of the short maturity of those instruments.

 

Cash and Cash Equivalents

 

This includes all short-term highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and have original maturities of three months or less. At times, cash deposits may exceed FDIC-insured limits.

 

Property and Equipment

 

Property and equipment is stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is recorded on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets ranging from three to five years. Depreciation expense was $29,357 and $132,899 for the years ended September 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

 

Revenue Recognition

 

Directory Services

 

Revenue is billed and recognized monthly for services subscribed in that specific month. The Company has historically utilized outside billing companies to perform billing services through two primary channels:

 

  · direct ACH withdrawals; and
     
  · inclusion on the customer’s local telephone bill provided by their Local Exchange Carriers, or LECs.

 

For billings via ACH withdrawals, revenue is recognized when such billings are accepted. For billings via LECs, the Company recognizes revenue based on net billings accepted by the LECs. Due to the periods of time for which adjustments may be reported by the LECs and the billing companies, the Company estimates and accrues for dilution and fees reported subsequent to year-end for initial billings related to services provided for periods within the fiscal year. Such dilution and fees are reported in cost of services in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. Customer refunds are recorded as an offset to gross revenue.

 

Revenue for billings to certain customers that are billed directly by the Company and not through the outside billing companies is recognized based on estimated future collections. The Company continuously reviews this estimate for reasonableness based on its collection experience.

 

Deals Revenue

 

The Company recognizes revenue from its sales through its strategic publishing partners of discounted goods and services offered by its merchant clients (“Deals”) when the following criteria are met: persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists; delivery has occurred; the selling price is fixed or determinable; and collectability is reasonably assured. These criteria are met when the number of customers who purchase the daily deal exceeds the predetermined threshold, where, if applicable, the Deal has been electronically delivered to the purchaser and a listing of Deals sold has been made available to the merchant. At that time, the Company's obligations to the merchant, for which it is serving as an agent, are substantially complete. The Company's remaining obligations, which are limited to remitting payment to the merchant, are inconsequential or perfunctory. The Company records as revenue an amount equal to the net amount it retains from the sale of Deals after paying an agreed upon percentage of the purchase price to the featured merchant excluding any applicable taxes. Revenue is recorded on a net basis because the Company is acting as an agent of the merchant in the transaction.

 

Deferred Revenue

 

In some instances, the Company receives payments in advance of rendering services, whereupon such revenues are deferred until the related services are rendered. Deferred revenue was $2,829 and $2,310 at September 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

 

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

 

The Company maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts, which includes allowances for customer refunds, dilution and fees from LEC billing aggregators and other uncollectible accounts. The Company has increased its allowances for doubtful accounts to 82.8% of gross accounts receivable at September 30, 2013 as compared to 65.7% of gross accounts receivable at September 30, 2012. The determination of the allowance for doubtful accounts is dependent on many factors, including regulatory activity, changes in fee schedules by LEC service providers and recent historical trends.

 

As of September 30, 2013, approximately 57% of the Company’s allowance for doubtful accounts is an allowance against an outstanding receivable balance that is in dispute. After excluding these reserves from the related accounts receivable balances the allowance for doubtful accounts as a percentage of gross accounts receivable increases to 68%. As of September 30, 2012, approximately 93% of the Company’s allowance for doubtful accounts is an allowance against accounts receivable balances and reserves held by a LEC that is in bankruptcy and an allowance against an outstanding receivable balance that is in dispute. After excluding these reserves from the related accounts receivable balances, the allowance for doubtful accounts as a percentage of gross accounts receivable decreases to 12.6%. See Note 17.

 

Legal Costs

 

The Company expenses legal costs associated with loss contingencies as they are incurred.

 

Income Taxes

 

Income taxes are accounted for using the asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred income tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which these temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance would be provided for those deferred tax assets for which if it is more likely than not that the related benefit will not be realized. The Company classifies tax-related penalties and interest as a component of income tax expense for financial statement presentation.

 

Stock-Based Compensation

 

The Company from time to time grants restricted stock awards and options to employees and executives. Such awards are valued based on the grant date fair-value of the instruments, net of estimated forfeitures. The value of each award is amortized on a straight-line basis over the vesting period.

 

Net Loss Per Share

 

Net loss per share is calculated in accordance with FASB ASC 260, “Earnings Per Share”. Under ASC 260 basic net loss per share is computed using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period except that it does not include unvested restricted stock subject to cancellation. Diluted net loss per share is computed using the weighted average number of common shares and, if dilutive, potential common shares outstanding during the period. Potential common shares consist of the incremental common shares issuable upon the exercise of warrants, restricted shares and convertible preferred stock. The dilutive effect of outstanding restricted shares and warrants is reflected in diluted earnings per share by application of the treasury stock method. Convertible preferred stock is reflected on an if-converted basis.

 

Internally Developed Software and Website Development Costs

 

The Company incurs internal and external costs to develop software and websites to support its core business functions. The Company capitalizes internally generated software and website development costs in accordance with the provisions of the FASB ASC 350, “Intangibles – Goodwill and Other”.

 

Impairment of Long-lived Assets

 

The Company assesses long-lived assets for impairment in accordance with the provisions of FASB ASC 360 “Property, Plant and Equipment”. A long-lived asset (or group of assets) shall be tested for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that its carrying amount may not be recoverable. The carrying amount of a long lived asset is not recoverable if it exceeds the sum of the undiscounted net cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of the asset. The amount of impairment loss, if any, is measured as the difference between the net book value of the asset and its estimated fair value. For purposes of these tests, long-lived assets must be grouped with other assets and liabilities for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets and liabilities.

 

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

 

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 FASB 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 has not had a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

 

In October 2012, the FASB issued ASU No. 2012-04, “Technical Corrections and Improvements, (“ASU 2012-04”).” This update includes source literature amendments, guidance clarification, reference corrections and relocated guidance affecting a variety of topics in the Codification. The update also includes conforming amendments to the Codification to reflect ASC 820’s fair value measurement and disclosure requirements. The amendments in this update that will not have transition guidance are effective upon issuance. The amendments in this update that are subject to the transition guidance will be effective for fiscal periods beginning after December 15, 2012. This ASU is effective for reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2013. Our adoption of ASU 2011-11 on January 1, 2013, did not have a material impact our financial statement.