1. CORPORATE ORGANIZATION, NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

CORPORATE ORGANIZATION, NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

CORPORATE ORGANIZATION

Envision Solar was incorporated in June 2006 as a limited liability company (“LLC”). Through a series of transactions and mergers, including a series of 2010 transactions where the then existing entity was acquired by an inactive publicly-held company in a transaction treated as a recapitalization of the company, the resulting entity became Envision Solar International, Inc., a Nevada Corporation (along with its subsidiary, hereinafter the “Company”, "us", "we", "our" or "Envision"). The effects of the recapitalization have been retroactively applied to all periods presented in the accompanying consolidated financial statements and footnotes. Additionally, the Company had formed various wholly owned subsidiaries to account for its planned future operations, but these entities were dissolved over the subsequent years. The only remaining subsidiary included in these consolidated financial statements is Envision Solar Construction Company, Inc. which was a non-operational entity officially dissolved in 2017.

NATURE OF OPERATIONS

Envision invents, designs, and manufactures solar powered products and proprietary technology solutions targeting three verticals: electric vehicle charging infrastructure, out of home advertising infrastructure, and energy security and disaster preparedness. The Company focuses on creating renewably energized platforms for EV charging, media and branding, and energy security which are attractively designed, rapidly deployable, and of the highest quality. Management believes that the Company’s chief differentiator is its ability to invent, design, engineer, and manufacture solar products which are a complex integration of our own proprietary technology and other commonly available engineered components. The resulting products are built to have the longest life expectancy in the industry while also delivering valuable amenities and potentially highly attractive revenue opportunities for our customers. Management believes that Envision’s products deliver multiple layers of value such as: impact free renewably energized EV charging; media, branding, and advertising platforms; sustainable and secure energy production; architectural enhancement; reduced carbon footprint; high visibility "green halo" branding; reduction of net operating costs through reduced utility bills; and revenue creation opportunities through the sales of digital out of home (“DOOH”) media.

PRINCIPALS OF CONSOLIDATION

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Envision Solar International, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Envision Solar Construction Company, Inc. All inter-company balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

USE OF ESTIMATES

The preparation of consolidated 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 consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Significant estimates in the accompanying consolidated financial statements include the allowance for doubtful accounts receivable, valuation of inventory, depreciable lives of property and equipment, estimates of loss contingencies, valuation of derivatives, valuation of beneficial conversion features in convertible debt, valuation of share-based payments, and the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets. 

CONCENTRATIONS

Concentration of Credit Risk

The Company maintains its cash in bank and financial institution deposits that at times may exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts through December 31, 2017.  The Company had approximately $150,000 of bank balances in excess of FDIC insured levels as of December 31, 2017 and no such amounts as of December 31, 2016.

Concentration of Accounts Receivable

At December 31, 2017 and 2016, customers that each accounted for more than 10% of our accounts receivable were as follows:

	2017		2016
Customer 1		94%		–
Customer 2		–		71%
Customer 3		–		25%

Concentration of Revenues

For the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, customers that each represented more than 10% of our revenues were as follows:

	2017		2016
Customer A		28%		–
Customer B		12%		14%
Customer C		–		26%
Customer D		–		30%

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

For the purposes of the consolidated statements of cash flows, the Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. There were no cash equivalents at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively.

FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

The Company’s financial instruments, including cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses and short term loans, are carried at historical cost basis. At December 31, 2017 and 2016, the carrying amounts of these instruments approximated their fair values because of the short-term nature of these instruments. See Note 10 for further discussion of fair value measurements.

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE

Accounts receivable are customer obligations due under normal trade terms. Management reviews accounts receivable on a periodic basis to determine if any receivables may become uncollectible. Management’s evaluation includes several factors including the aging of the accounts receivable balances, a review of significant past due accounts, dialogue with the customer, the financial profile of a customer, our historical write-off experience, net of recoveries, and economic conditions. The Company includes any accounts receivable balances that are determined to be uncollectible in its overall allowance for doubtful accounts. Further, the Company may record a general reserve in its allowance for doubtful accounts to account for future changes that may negatively impact our overall collections. After all attempts to collect a receivable have failed, the receivable is written off against the allowance.

INVENTORY

Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is determined using the first-in, first-out method of accounting. Inventory costs primarily relate to purchased raw materials and components used in the manufacturing of our products, work in process for products being manufactured, and finished goods. Included in these costs are direct labor and certain manufacturing overhead costs associated with the manufacturing process. The Company regularly reviews inventory components and quantities on hand, and performs annual physical inventory counts. A reserve is established if this review process determines the market value of such inventory may be below the carrying value.

PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT AND DEPRECIATION

Property and equipment is recorded at cost. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method based on the estimated useful lives of the related assets of 3 to 7 years. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs, along with fixed assets below our capitalization threshold, are expensed as incurred.

PATENTS

The Company believes it will achieve future economic value for its various patents and patent ideas. All administrative costs for obtaining patents are accumulated on the balance sheet as a Patent asset until such time as a patent is issued. The costs of these intangible assets are classified as a long term asset and amortized on a straight line basis over the legal life of such asset, which is typically 20 years. In the event a patent is denied, all accumulated administrative costs will be expensed in that period. For the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 respectively, patent amortization expense was $561 and $561.

IMPAIRMENT OF LONG-LIVED ASSETS

The Company accounts for long-lived assets in accordance with the provisions of ASC 360-10-35-15 “Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets.” This guidance requires that long-lived assets and certain identifiable intangibles be reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets. Assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell.

ACCOUNTING FOR DERIVATIVES

The Company evaluates its convertible instruments, options, warrants or other contracts to determine if those contracts or embedded components of those contracts qualify as derivatives to be separately accounted for under ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging.” The result of this accounting treatment is that the fair value of the derivative is marked-to-market each balance sheet date and recorded as a liability. In the event that the fair value is recorded as a liability, the change in fair value is recorded in the statement of operations as other income (expense). Upon conversion of a note where the embedded conversion option has been bifurcated and accounted for as a derivative liability, the Company records the shares at fair value, relieves all related notes, derivatives and debt discounts and recognizes a net gain or loss on extinguishment. Equity instruments that are initially classified as equity that become subject to reclassification under ASC Topic 815 are reclassified to liabilities at the fair value of the instrument on the reclassification date.

REVENUE AND COST RECOGNITION

Revenues are primarily derived from the direct sales of products. Revenues may also consist of maintenance fees for previously sold products, design fees for the design of solar systems and arrays, and revenues from sales of professional services.

Revenues from leases, maintenance fees, design services, and professional services are recognized as earned.

Revenues from inventoried product sales are recognized upon the final delivery of such product to the customer or when legal transfer of ownership takes place. Any deposits received from a customer prior to such delivery are accounted for as deferred revenue on the balance sheet. At December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, deferred revenue amounted to $77,514 and $75,323 respectively. At December 31, 2017, the Company has received partial deposits for two undelivered Solar Tree® units, an undelivered EVARC® unit and a multi-year maintenance contract.

The Company includes shipping and handling fees billed to customers as revenues, and shipping and handling costs as cost of revenues. Sales tax is recorded on a net basis and excluded from revenue. The Company generally provides a one year warranty on its products for materials and workmanship and will pass on the warranties from its vendors, if any, which generally covers this one year period. In accordance with ASC 450-20-25, the Company accrues for product warranties when the loss is probable and can be reasonably estimated.  At December 31, 2017, the Company has no product warranty accrual given the Company’s de minimis historical financial warranty experience.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

In accordance with ASC 730-10, “Research and Development,” expenditures for research and development of the Company’s products are expensed when incurred, and are included in operating expenses. The Company recognized research and development costs, not including the minimal amounts of labor associated with research and development projects, of $1,772 for the year ending December 31, 2017 and $3,459 for the year ending December 31, 2016.

ADVERTISING

The Company conducts advertising for the promotion of its products and services. In accordance with ASC 720-35, “Advertising Costs,” advertising costs are charged to operations when incurred. Such amounts aggregated $81,278 in 2017 and $58,149 in 2016.

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

The Company follows ASC 718, “Compensation – Stock Compensation.” ASC 718 requires companies to estimate and recognize the fair value of stock-based awards to employees and directors. The fair value of the portion of an award that is ultimately expected to vest is recognized as an expense over the requisite service periods using the straight-line attribution method.

The Company accounts for non-employee share-based awards in accordance with the measurement and recognition criteria of ASC 505-50 “Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees”.

The Company estimates the fair value of each stock option at the grant date by using the Black-Scholes option pricing model.

INCOME TAXES

The Company accounts for income taxes pursuant to the provisions of ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes,” which requires, among other things, an asset and liability approach to calculating deferred income taxes. The asset and liability approach requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the carrying amounts and the tax bases of assets and liabilities. A valuation allowance is provided to offset any net deferred tax assets for which management believes it is more likely than not that the net deferred asset will not be realized.

The Company follows the provisions of ASC 740-10-25-5, “Basic Recognition Threshold.” When tax returns are filed, it is highly certain that some positions taken would be sustained upon examination by the taxing authorities, while others are subject to uncertainty about the merits of the position taken or the amount of the position that would be ultimately sustained. In accordance with the guidance of ASC 740-10-25-6, the benefit of a tax position is recognized in the consolidated financial statements in the period during which, based on all available evidence, management believes it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained upon examination, including the resolution of appeals or litigation processes, if any. Tax positions taken are not offset or aggregated with other positions. Tax positions that meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold are measured as the largest amount of tax benefit that is more than 50 percent likely of being realized upon settlement with the applicable taxing authority. The portion of the benefits associated with tax positions taken that exceeds the amount measured as described above should be reflected as a liability for unrecognized tax benefits in the accompanying balance sheets along with any associated interest and penalties that would be payable to the taxing authorities upon examination. The Company believes its tax positions are all highly certain of being upheld upon examination. As such, the Company has not recorded a liability for unrecognized tax benefits. As of December 31, 2017, tax years 2014 through 2017 remain open for IRS audit. The Company has received no notice of audit from the IRS for any of the open tax years.

The Company recognizes the benefit of a tax position when it is effectively settled. ASC 740-10-25-10, “Basic Recognition Threshold” provides guidance on how an entity should determine whether a tax position is effectively settled for the purpose of recognizing previously unrecognized tax benefits. ASC 740-10-25-10 clarifies that a tax position can be effectively settled upon the completion of an examination by a taxing authority. For tax positions considered effectively settled, the Company recognizes the full amount of the tax benefit.

BASIC AND DILUTED NET LOSS PER COMMON SHARE

Basic net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net loss per common share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period and, if dilutive, potential common shares outstanding during the period. Potential common shares consist of the incremental common shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options, stock warrants, convertible debt instruments or other common stock equivalents. Potentially dilutive securities are excluded from the computation if their effect is anti-dilutive.

Convertible debt convertible into 19,846,181 common shares, options to purchase 15,216,664 common shares and warrants to purchase 5,781,900 common shares were outstanding at December 31, 2017. Convertible debt convertible into 6,123,370 common shares, options to purchase 19,917,007 common shares and warrants to purchase 28,196,822 common shares were outstanding at December 31, 2016. Dilutive common stock equivalents were not included in the computation of diluted net loss per share in 2017 and 2016 because the effects would have been anti-dilutive due to the net losses. Due to the net losses in 2017 and 2016, basic and diluted net loss per share amounts are the same. These potential common shares may dilute future earnings per share.

CONTINGENCIES

Certain conditions may exist as of the date the consolidated financial statements are issued which may result in a loss to the Company, but which will only be resolved when one or more future events occur or fail to occur. Company management and its legal counsel assess such contingent liabilities, and such assessment inherently involves an exercise of judgment. In assessing loss contingencies related to legal proceedings that are pending against the Company or unasserted claims that may result in such proceedings, the Company's legal counsel evaluates the perceived merits of any legal proceedings or unasserted claims as well as the perceived merits of the amount of relief sought or expected to be sought therein. If the assessment of a contingency indicates that it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the liability can be reasonably estimated, then the estimated liability would be accrued in the Company's consolidated financial statements. If the assessment indicates that a potentially material loss contingency is not probable but is reasonably possible, or is probable but cannot be reasonably estimated, then the nature of the contingent liability, together with an estimate of the range of possible loss if determinable would be disclosed. The Company does not include legal costs in its estimates of amounts to accrue.

SEGMENTS

The Company follows the guidance of ASC 280-10 for “Disclosures about Segments of an Enterprise and Related Information." During 2017 and 2016, the Company only operated in one segment; therefore, segment information has not been presented.

RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

There are no new accounting pronouncements that became effective during the year ended December 31, 2017 that materially affect the consolidated financial position of the Company or the results of its’ operations. Accounting Standard Updates which are not effective until after December 31, 2017, including the pronouncements discussed below, disclose the potential effects on the Company’s consolidated financial position and/or results of its’ operations and financial statement disclosures.

ASU 2017-05

In February 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2017-05: "Other Income - Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets (Subtopic 610-20)” - to clarify the scope of Subtopic 610-20, “Other Income—Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets”, and to add guidance for partial sales of nonfinancial assets. Subtopic 610-20, which was issued in May 2014 as a part of Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), provides guidance for recognizing gains and losses from the transfer of nonfinancial assets in contracts with noncustomers. This guidance is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. The Company does not expect this ASU to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

ASU 2017-08

In March 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2017-08: “Receivables – Non-Refundable fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20)” to amend the amortization period for certain purchased callable debt securities held at a premium. The Board is shortening the amortization period for the premium to the earliest call date. This guidance is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company does not expect this ASU to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

ASU 2016-15

In August 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. This guidance addresses eight specific cash flow issues with the objective of reducing diversity in practice regarding how certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented in the statement of cash flows. The standard provides guidance on the classification of the following items: (1) debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs, (2) settlement of zero-coupon debt instruments, (3) contingent consideration payments made after a business combination, (4) proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims, (5) proceeds from the settlement of corporate-owned life insurance policies, (6) distributions received from equity method investments, (7) beneficial interests in securitization transactions, and (8) separately identifiable cash flows. The Company is required to adopt ASU 2016-15 for fiscal years, and for interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2017 on a retrospective basis. Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. The Company does not expect the adoption of this ASU to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

ASU 2016-02

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02: “Leases (Topic 842)” whereby lessees will need to recognize almost all leases on their balance sheet as a right of use asset and a lease liability. This guidance is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company expects this ASU will increase its current assets and current liabilities, but have no net material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

ASU 2016-09

In March 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-09: "Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718)- Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting" which includes multiple provisions intended to simplify various aspects of the accounting for share-based payments. This guidance is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

ASU 2014-09

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Update No. 2014-09: “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)” which requires that an entity recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods and services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. Since the issuance of the original standard, the FASB has issued several updates to the standard which i) clarify the application of the principal versus agent guidance; ii) clarify the guidance relating to performance obligations and licensing; iii) clarify assessment of the collectability criterion, presentation of sales taxes, measurement date for non-cash consideration and completed contracts at transaction; and iv) clarify narrow aspects of ASC 606 or corrects unintended application of the guidance. The new revenue recognition standard, amended by the updates, becomes effective in the first quarter of 2018 and is to be applied retrospectively using one of two prescribed methods. Early adoption is permitted. The Company currently plans to adopt the new standard effective January 1, 2018 and does not believe the adoption of this standard will have any impact on the amount or timing of its revenues.

ASU 2015-17

In November 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-17, “Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes,” which requires that an entity classify deferred tax assets and liabilities as noncurrent on the balance sheet. Prior to the issuance of the standard, deferred tax assets and liabilities were required to be separated into current and noncurrent amounts on the basis of the classification of the related asset or liability. This ASU was effective for the Company on April 1, 2017. The adoption of ASU No. 2015-17 did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements or related disclosures.

ASU 2014-15

In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-15, “Presentation of Financial Statements – Going Concern (Topic 205-40)”, which requires management to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern for each annual and interim reporting period. If substantial doubt exists, additional disclosure is required. This new standard was effective for the Company for its annual period beginning December 31, 2016. The Company has reflected the related disclosure requirements associated with the standard in Note 2.