Business segment information

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Business segment information

Note 13: Business segment information

We operate three reportable business segments: Small Business Services, Financial Services and Direct Checks. Our business segments are generally organized by type of customer served and reflect the way we manage the company. Small Business Services promotes and sells products and services to small businesses via mail and the internet, referrals from financial institutions and telecommunications clients, a network of distributors and dealers, and a direct sales force which focuses on major accounts. These efforts are supplemented by the account development efforts of an outbound telemarketing group. Financial Services' products and services are sold through multiple channels, including a direct sales force, to financial institution clients nationwide, including banks, credit unions and financial services companies. Direct Checks sells products and services directly to consumers using direct response marketing via mail and the internet. All three segments operate primarily in the United States. Small Business Services also has operations in Canada and portions of Europe. Our product and service offerings are comprised of the following:

Checks – We remain one of the largest providers of checks in the United States, both in terms of revenue and the number of checks produced. Checks account for the majority of the revenue in our Financial Services and Direct Checks segments and represented 47.2% of our Small Business Services segment's revenue in 2011.

Forms – Our Small Business Services segment provides printed forms to small businesses, including deposit tickets, billing forms, work orders, job proposals, purchase orders, invoices and personnel forms. This segment also offers computer forms compatible with accounting software packages commonly used by small businesses. Forms produced by our Financial Services and Direct Checks segments include deposit tickets and check registers.

Accessories and other products – Small Business Services produces products designed to provide small business owners with the customized documents necessary to efficiently manage their business including envelopes, office supplies, stamps and labels, as well as retail packaging supplies. Our Financial Services and Direct Checks segments offer checkbook covers and stamps.

Marketing solutions – All three of our segments offer products and services that help small businesses and financial institutions promote their businesses and acquire customers. Our Small Business Services segment offers services such as web design, hosting and other web services, logo design, search engine optimization and marketing, and digital printing services designed to fulfill the sales and marketing needs of small businesses, as well as products such as business cards, greeting cards, brochures and apparel. Financial Services offers various customer acquisition programs and marketing communications services, while Direct Checks provides package insert programs under which companies' marketing materials are included in our check packages.

Other services – All three of our segments provide fraud protection services. In addition, our Small Business Services segment offers payroll services, and Financial Services provides financial institution profitability and regulatory compliance programs.

The accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in the 2011 Form 10-K. We allocate corporate costs for our shared services functions to our business segments, including costs of our executive management, human resources, supply chain, finance, information technology and legal functions. Generally, where costs incurred are directly attributable to a business segment, primarily within the areas of information technology, supply chain and finance, those costs are charged directly to that segment. Because we use a shared services approach for many of our functions, certain costs are not directly attributable to a business segment. These costs are allocated to our business segments based on segment revenue, as revenue is a measure of the relative size and magnitude of each segment and indicates the level of corporate shared services consumed by each segment. Corporate assets are not allocated to the segments and consist of property, plant and equipment, internal-use software, inventories and supplies related to our corporate shared services functions of manufacturing, information technology and real estate, as well as long-term investments.

We are an integrated enterprise, characterized by substantial intersegment cooperation, cost allocations and the sharing of assets. Therefore, we do not represent that these segments, if operated independently, would report the operating income and other financial information shown.

The following is our segment information as of and for the quarters ended September 30, 2012 and 2011:

		Reportable Business Segments
		Small Business Services		Financial Services		Direct Checks		Corporate		Consolidated
Revenue from external customers:	2012	$	244,461	$	82,843	$	51,034	$	—	$	378,338
	2011	214,442		85,194		55,508		—		355,144
Operating income:	2012	39,636		17,693		15,341		—		72,670
	2011	34,650		14,128		16,867		—		65,645
Depreciation and amortization	2012	11,081		2,922		2,235		—		16,238
expense:	2011	11,437		3,292		3,050		—		17,779
Total assets:	2012	863,015		84,286		170,660		349,330		1,467,291
	2011	816,500		104,375		173,118		293,394		1,387,387
Capital asset purchases:	2012	—		—		—		8,228		8,228
	2011	—		—		—		8,930		8,930

The following is our segment information as of and for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011:

		Reportable Business Segments
		Small Business Services		Financial Services		Direct Checks		Corporate		Consolidated
Revenue from external customers:	2012	$	707,144	$	259,101	$	161,089	$	—	$	1,127,334
	2011	617,600		259,865		173,705		—		1,051,170
Operating income:	2012	116,651		59,595		48,025		—		224,271
	2011	104,749		43,039		49,298		—		197,086
Depreciation and amortization	2012	33,485		9,197		6,990		—		49,672
expense:	2011	33,970		9,457		13,035		—		56,462
Total assets:	2012	863,015		84,286		170,660		349,330		1,467,291
	2011	816,500		104,375		173,118		293,394		1,387,387
Capital asset purchases:	2012	—		—		—		25,562		25,562
	2011	—		—		—		28,226		28,226