Basis of Presentation (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include our accounts and those of our majority-owned and controlled subsidiaries after elimination of intercompany accounts and transactions.

These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or GAAP, for interim financial information and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. Accordingly, they do not include all the information and footnotes required by GAAP for annual financial statements. They should be read together with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2016 appearing in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 16, 2017, or the 2016 Annual Report. The condensed consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2016 was derived from our audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP for annual financial statements.

In the opinion of management, these condensed consolidated financial statements include all normal recurring adjustments necessary for a fair statement of the results of operations, financial position and cash flows. The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results that can be expected for our entire fiscal year ending December 31, 2017.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Our estimates, judgments and assumptions are continually evaluated based on available information and experience. Because the use of estimates is inherent in the financial reporting process, actual results could differ from those estimates. Estimates are used when accounting for revenue recognition, allowances for doubtful accounts receivable, allowance for hardware returns, estimates of obsolete inventory, long-term incentive compensation, stock-based compensation, income taxes, legal reserves, contingent consideration and goodwill and intangible assets.

Internal-Use Software

We capitalize the costs directly related to the design of internal-use software for development of our Alarm.com and other SaaS platforms during the application development stage of the projects. The costs are primarily comprised of salaries, benefits and stock-based compensation expense of the project engineers and product development teams. Our internally developed software is reported at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation begins once the project is ready for its intended use, which is usually when the code goes into production in weekly software builds on our platform. We depreciate the asset on a straight-line basis over a period of three years, which is the estimated useful life. We utilize continuous agile development methods to update our software for our SaaS multi-tenant platform on a weekly basis, which primarily consists of bug-fixes and user interface changes. We evaluate whether a project should be capitalized if it adds significant functionality to our platform. Maintenance activities or minor upgrades are expensed in the period performed.

External Software

Costs incurred in researching and developing a computer software product that will be marketed and sold are charged to expense when incurred until technological feasibility is established. Technological feasibility is established upon completion of a detailed program design or, in its absence, completion of a working model (a beta version). After technological feasibility is established, the salaries, benefits and stock-based compensation expense of the project engineers and product development teams performing coding and testing are capitalized. Cost capitalization ceases when the product is available for general release. The Connect software is typically developed in an agile environment with frequent revisions to product release features and functions. Agile development results in a short duration between completion of the product specifications and general release of the product. Accordingly, as of March 31, 2017, we do not have any capitalized external software due to the shorter development cycle associated with agile development.

Revenue Recognition and Deferred Revenue, SaaS and License Revenue, and Hardware and Other Revenue

Revenue Recognition and Deferred Revenue

We derive our revenue from three primary sources: the sale of cloud-based SaaS services on our integrated Alarm.com platform, the sale of licenses and services on the newly-acquired Connect software platform and the sale of hardware products. We sell our platform and hardware solutions to service provider partners that resell our solutions and hardware to home and business owners, who are the service provider partners’ customers, and whom we refer to as our subscribers. We also sell our hardware to distributors who resell the hardware to service provider partners. We enter into contracts with our service provider partners that establish pricing for access to our platform solutions and for the sale of hardware. These contracts typically have an initial term of one year, with subsequent renewal terms of one year. Our service provider partners typically enter into contracts with our subscribers, which our service provider partners have indicated range from three to five years in length.

Our hardware includes cellular radio modules that enable access to our cloud-based platform, as well as video cameras, image sensors and other peripherals. Our service provider partners may purchase our hardware in anticipation of installing the hardware in a home or business when they create a new subscriber account, or for use in an existing subscriber’s property. The purchase of hardware occurs in a transaction that is separate and typically in advance of the purchase of our platform services. Service provider partners transact with us to purchase our platform solutions and resell our solutions to a new subscriber, or to upgrade or downgrade the solutions of an existing subscriber, at which time the subscriber’s access to our platform solutions is enabled and the delivery of the services commences. The purchase of platform solutions and the purchase of hardware are separate transactions because at the time of sale of the hardware, the service provider partner is not obligated to and may not purchase a platform solution for the hardware sold, and the level and duration of platform solutions, if any, to be provided through the hardware sold cannot be determined.

We recognize revenue with respect to our solutions when all of the following conditions are met:


•	Persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists;


•	Delivery to the customer, which may be either a service provider partner, distributor or a subscriber, has occurred or service has been rendered;


•	Fees are fixed or determinable; and


•	Collection of the fees is reasonably assured.

We consider a signed contract with a service provider partner to be persuasive evidence that an agreement exists, and the fees to be fixed or determinable if the fees are contractually agreed to with our service provider partners. Collectibility is evaluated based on a number of factors, including a credit review of new service provider partners, and the payment history of existing service provider partners. If collectibility is not reasonably assured, revenue is deferred until collection becomes reasonably assured, which is generally upon the receipt of payment.

SaaS and License Revenue

We generate the majority of our SaaS and license revenue primarily from monthly fees charged to our service provider partners sold on a per subscriber basis for access to our cloud-based intelligently connected property platform and related solutions. Our fees per subscriber vary based upon the service plan and features utilized.

Under terms in our contractual arrangements with our service provider partners, we are entitled to payment and recognize revenue based on a monthly fee that is billed in advance of the month of service. We have demonstrated that we can sell our SaaS offering on a stand-alone basis, as it can be sold separately from hardware and activation services. As there is neither a minimum required initial service term nor a stated renewal term in our contractual arrangements, we recognize revenue over the period of service, which is monthly. Our service provider partners typically incur and pay the same monthly fee per subscriber account for the entire period a subscriber account is active.

We also generate SaaS and license revenue from monthly fees charged to service providers sold on a per subscriber basis for access to our newly-acquired Connect software platform. The Connect software for interactive security, automation and related solutions is typically deployed and operated by the service provider in its own network operations center. Our agreements for the Connect platform solution typically include software and services, such as post-contract customer support, or PCS. Software sales that include multiple elements are typically allocated to the various elements based on vendor-specific objective evidence of fair value, or VSOE. There have been no separate sales of PCS, as PCS is always bundled with the software license for the Connect platform solution. Therefore, the VSOE of fair value for PCS cannot be established. The entire Connect arrangement fee is recognized ratably over the period during which the services are expected to be performed or the PCS period, whichever is longer, once the software is delivered and services have commenced, if all the other basic revenue recognition criteria have been met. Under terms in our contractual arrangements with our service provider partners, we are entitled to payment of a monthly fee for Connect that is billed per subscriber for the month of service. We recognize revenue over the period of service, which is monthly. Our service provider partners typically incur and pay the same monthly fee per subscriber account for the entire period a subscriber account is active.

We offer multiple service level packages for our platform solutions including a range of solutions and a range of a la carte add-ons for additional features. The fee paid by our service provider partners each month for the delivery of our solutions is based on the combination of packages and add-ons enabled for each subscriber. We utilize tiered pricing plans where our service provider partners may receive prospective pricing discounts driven by volume.

We also generate SaaS and license revenue from the fees paid to us when we license our intellectual property to service provider partners on a per customer basis for use of our patents. In addition, in certain markets our EnergyHub subsidiary sells its demand response software with an annual service fee, with pricing based on the number of subscribers or amount of aggregate electricity demand made available for a utility’s or market’s control.

Hardware and Other Revenue

We generate hardware and other revenue from the sale of cellular radio modules that provide access to our cloud-based platform, from the sale of video cameras and from the sale of other devices, including image sensors and peripherals. We recognize hardware and other revenue when the hardware is received by our service provider partner or distributor, net of a reserve for estimated returns. Amounts due from the sale of hardware are payable in accordance with the terms of our agreements with our service provider partners or distributors, and are not contingent on resale to end-users, or to service provider partners in the case of sales of hardware to distributors. Our terms for hardware sales sold directly to either service provider partners or distributors typically allow for the return of hardware up to one year past the date of sale. Our distributors sell directly to our service provider partners under terms between the two parties. We record a percentage of hardware and other revenue of approximately 2 to 5%, based on historical returns, as a reserve against revenue for hardware returns. We evaluate our hardware reserve on a quarterly basis or if there is an indication of significant changes in return experience. Historically, our returns of hardware have not significantly differed from our estimated reserve.

Hardware and other revenue also includes activation fees charged to service provider partners for activation of a new subscriber account on our platform, as well as fees paid by service provider partners for our marketing services. Our service provider partners use services on our platform, such as support tools and applications, to assist in the installation of our solutions in a subscriber’s property. This installation marks the beginning of the service period on our platform and on occasion, we earn activation revenue for fees charged for this service. The activation fee is non-refundable, separately negotiated and specified in our contractual arrangements with our service provider partners and is charged to the service provider partner for each subscriber activated on our platform. Activation fees are not offered on a stand-alone basis separate from our SaaS offering and are billed and received at the beginning of the arrangement. We record activation fees initially as deferred revenue and we recognize these fees ratably over the expected term of the subscribers’ account which we estimate is ten years based on our annual attrition rate. The portion of these activation fees included in current and long-term deferred revenue as of our balance sheet date represents the amounts that will be recognized ratably as revenue over the following twelve months, or longer as appropriate, until the ten-year expected term is complete.

Cost of Revenue

Our cost of SaaS and license revenue primarily includes the amounts paid to wireless network providers and, to a lesser extent, the costs of running our network operation centers. We record the salaries and benefits of the department dedicated to providing service exclusively to a specific service provider for the Connect platform to cost of SaaS and license revenue.

Our cost of hardware and other revenue primarily includes cost of raw materials and amounts paid to our third-party manufacturer for production and fulfillment of our cellular radio modules and image sensors, and procurement costs for our video cameras, which we purchase from an original equipment manufacturer, and other devices. Our cost of revenue excludes amortization and depreciation.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Adopted

On March 30, 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, “Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting” which simplifies several aspects of the accounting for employee share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. The update is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those fiscal years, and we adopted ASU 2016-09 during the first quarter of 2017.

The adoption of this standard had the following impact on our financial statements:


•	Tax windfall benefits or deficiencies from stock-based awards are now recorded in provision for income taxes in the period incurred, whereas previous guidance required the tax windfall benefits to be recorded in accumulated paid-in-capital. This change has been applied prospectively.

•

Tax windfall benefits from stock-based awards after adoption will be reported in cash flows from operating activities in the statement of cash flows. For comparability, we elected to retrospectively apply this guidance which resulted in a reclassification of $366 thousand from tax windfall benefit from stock options (a financing activity) to deferred income taxes (an operating activity) for the three months ended March 31, 2016.

•

We elected to record forfeitures as they occur in our calculation of stock-based compensation expense. In prior periods, we estimated forfeitures for the calculation of stock-based compensation expense. We adopted this change using the modified retrospective method, which resulted in an increase to accumulated deficit of $19 thousand; an increase to additional paid-in capital of $31 thousand; and an increase to deferred tax assets of $12 thousand as of January 1, 2017.


•	Cash flows from tax windfall benefits from stock-based awards will no longer factor into the calculation of the number of shares for diluted earnings per share. This change was applied prospectively and did not have a material impact on diluted earnings per share for the three months ended March 31, 2017.

On July 22, 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-11, “Simplifying the Measurement of Inventory,” which requires entities to measure most inventory "at the lower of cost and net realizable value," thereby simplifying the current guidance under which an entity must measure inventory at the lower of cost or market (market in this context is defined as one of three different measures). The guidance does not apply to inventories that are measured by using either the last-in, first-out method or the retail inventory method. Under current guidance, an entity subsequently measures inventory at the lower of cost or market, with market defined as replacement cost provided that it is not above the ceiling (net realizable value) or below the floor (net realizable value less an approximately normal profit margin) which is unnecessarily complex. The amendment does not change other guidance on measuring inventory. The amendment is effective for annual periods, including periods within those annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016 with early adoption permitted. We adopted this pronouncement prospectively in the first quarter of 2017, and the adoption of this pronouncement did not have a material effect on our financial statements.

On January 26, 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, "Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350) - Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment," which removes step two of the goodwill impairment test, which requires a hypothetical purchase price allocation. A goodwill impairment amount will now be the amount by which a reporting unit's carrying value exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill. The amendment is effective for annual or interim goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 with early adoption permitted for goodwill impairment tests performed after January 1, 2017. We adopted this guidance prospectively during the three months ended March 31, 2017. Our goodwill impairment test is performed annually as of October 1st, therefore the adoption had no impact to our financial statements.

Not yet adopted

Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606):

We are required to adopt ASU 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)" and its updates and amendments in the first quarter of 2018. We have developed a project plan for adoption focused first on the largest volume of contracts, our standard service provider partner agreement, in an effort to determine the impact of adoption on our revenue recognition policies, processes and systems. We expect to complete our evaluation of this standard service provider partner agreement in the second quarter of 2017. During the first quarter of 2017, we began to evaluate our non-standard service provider partner agreements including our 10 largest revenue service provider partners which account for approximately 60% of our revenue. The next stages of our adoption plan will focus on assessing the impact of adopting this standard on our subsidiaries' service provider partner agreements and sales commissions. The new standard requires significantly more disclosures and we anticipate putting processes in place to collect the data required for these additional disclosures. A summary of these standards and requirements are as follows:

On May 9, 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-12, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients," and on April 14, 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-10, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing”. ASU 2016-12 and 2016-10 both amend the guidance in ASU 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)," which is not yet effective. ASU 2016-12 clarifies guidance on assessing collectibility, presentation of sales taxes, noncash consideration, and completed contracts and contract modification within Topic 606. ASU 2016-10 clarifies guidance related to identifying performance obligations and licensing implementation guidance. These updates are effective with the same transition requirements as ASU 2014-09, as amended.

On March 17, 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-08, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Principal Versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross Versus Net)” which amends the guidance in ASU 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)," which is not yet effective. The update clarifies the implementation guidance on principal versus agent considerations. The update is effective with the same transition requirements as ASU 2014-09, as amended.

On August 12, 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-14, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Deferral of the Effective Date," which defers the effective date for all entities for one year of ASU 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606),” issued on May 28, 2014. ASU 2014-09 affects any entity that either enters into contracts with customers to transfer goods or services or enters into contracts for the transfer of nonfinancial assets unless those contracts are within the scope of other standards. The guidance supersedes the revenue recognition guidance in Topic 605, “Revenue Recognition,” and most industry-specific guidance throughout the Industry Topics of the FASB Accounting Standards Codification. The guidance also supersedes some cost guidance included in Subtopic 605-35, “Revenue Recognition - Contract-Type and Production-Type Contracts." ASU 2014-09, as amended, is effective for annual periods, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 31, 2017. An entity is required to apply the amendments using one of the following two methods: (1) retrospectively to each prior period presented with three possible expedients: (a) for completed contracts that begin and end in the same reporting period no restatement is required; (b) for completed contract with variable consideration an entity may use the transaction price at completion rather than restating estimated variable consideration amounts in comparable reporting periods; and (c) for comparable reporting periods before date of initial application reduced disclosure requirements related to transaction price; (2) retrospectively with the cumulative effect of initially applying the amendment recognized at the date of initial application with additional disclosures for the differences of the prior guidance to the reporting periods compared to the new guidance and an explanation of the reasons for significant changes.

Other accounting standards:

On January 5, 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-01, "Business Combinations (Topic 805) - Clarifying the Definition of a Business," which provides guidance to assist entities in evaluating when a set of transferred assets and activities is a business. To be considered a business, an acquisition would have to include an input and a substantive process that together significantly contribute to the ability to create outputs. The amendment is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. We are required to adopt ASU 2017-01 no later than the first quarter of 2018.

On February 25, 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842),” which requires lessees to recognize operating and financing lease liabilities and corresponding right-of-use assets on the balance sheet. The update also requires improved disclosures to help users of financial statements better understand the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. The update is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. We are required to adopt ASU 2016-02 no later than the first quarter of 2019, and we are currently assessing the impact of this pronouncement on our financial statements. We have begun to evaluate our existing leases which all have been classified as operating leases under Topic 840. We anticipate using some of the available practical expedients upon adoption. We have not yet determined the amount of operating and financing lease liabilities and corresponding right-of-use assets we will record on our balance sheet, however, we anticipate that assets and liabilities will increase materially when our leases are recorded under the new standard.

- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy for its research and development and computer software activities including the accounting treatment for costs incurred for (1) research and development activities, (2) development of computer software for internal use, (3) computer software to be sold, leased or otherwise marketed as a separate product or as part of a product or process and (4) in-process research and development acquired in a purchase business combination.

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