Revenue from Contracts with Customers

Adoption of ASC 606

We adopted ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (ASC 606) using the modified retrospective approach. Prior period information was not restated and continues to be reported under the accounting standards in effect for those periods. We recognized a cumulative effect adjustment from the adoption of this standard that reduced opening retained earnings by $9 million. Significant components of the cumulative effect adjustment include:


•	The write-off of previously capitalized deferred marketing costs that did not meet the criteria for capitalization under ASC 606.


•	The capitalization of certain costs to obtain a contract, primarily sales commissions, that are permitted to be capitalized under ASC 606.


•	The establishment of deferred revenue related to the early renewal of software and data license contracts with terms beginning in 2018, as ASC 606 requires revenue recognition at the commencement of the license term.


•	The write-off of deferred revenues and related costs for certain software licenses bundled with a lease that are recognized at time of delivery under ASC 606.


•	The write-off of advance billings related to certain software data products that are recognized upon delivery under ASC 606.

The impact on our consolidated financial statements as if they were presented under the prior guidance is as follows:



	Three Months Ended September 30, 2018									Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018
	As reported			Prior guidance			Increase (decrease)			As reported		Prior guidance		Increase (decrease)
Income Statement
Total revenue	$	832,856		$	828,999		$	3,857		$	2,575,240	$	2,553,059	$	22,181
Equipment sales	$	100,937		$	101,632		$	(695	)	$	317,058	$	319,165	$	(2,107	)
Software	$	76,026		$	71,081		$	4,945		$	244,022	$	218,410	$	25,612
Business services	$	363,528		$	363,921		$	(393	)	$	1,117,942	$	1,119,266	$	(1,324	)

Total costs and expenses	$	787,727		$	790,565		$	(2,838	)	$	2,415,358	$	2,420,406	$	(5,048	)
Cost of equipment sales	$	39,353		$	39,409		$	(56	)	$	132,513	$	132,628	$	(115	)
Cost of software	$	24,743		$	23,957		$	786		$	75,257	$	72,499	$	2,758
Selling, general and administrative	$	269,387		$	272,955		$	(3,568	)	$	847,281	$	854,972	$	(7,691	)

Income from continuing operations before taxes	$	45,129		$	38,434		$	6,695		$	159,882	$	132,653	$	27,229
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	$	(1,976	)	$	(3,768	)	$	1,792		$	20,745	$	13,666	$	7,079
Net income from continuing operations	$	47,105		$	42,202		$	4,903		$	139,137	$	118,987	$	20,150

Basic earnings - continuing operations	$	0.25		$	0.22		$	0.03		$	0.74	$	0.63	$	0.11
Diluted earnings per share - continuing operations	$	0.25		$	0.22		$	0.03		$	0.74	$	0.63	$	0.11

The most significant change to the Consolidated Statements of Income under ASC 606 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, was higher software revenue of $5 million and $26 million, respectively, and higher net income from continuing operations before taxes of $4 million and $23 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, respectively.



	September 30, 2018
	As reported			Prior guidance			Increase (decrease)
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	$	5,913,935		$	5,911,188		$	2,747
Accounts receivable	$	378,036		$	377,484		$	552
Current income taxes	$	11,395		$	11,593		$	(198	)
Other current assets and prepayments	$	92,916		$	92,174		$	742
Noncurrent income taxes	$	54,114		$	54,117		$	(3	)
Other assets	$	526,937		$	525,283		$	1,654

Total Liabilities	$	5,662,269		$	5,671,251		$	(8,982	)
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$	1,342,097		$	1,339,257		$	2,840
Current income taxes	$	40,018		$	32,960		$	7,058
Advance billings	$	224,141		$	237,546		$	(13,405	)
Liabilities of discontinued operations	$	10,446		$	10,359		$	87
Deferred taxes on income	$	230,663		$	234,365		$	(3,702	)
Other noncurrent liabilities	$	443,925		$	445,785		$	(1,860	)

Total Stockholders' equity	$	251,666		$	239,256		$	12,410
Retained earnings	$	5,290,761		$	5,278,691		$	12,070
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	$	(804,609	)	$	(804,949	)	$	340

The most significant change to the Consolidated Balance Sheet at September 30, 2018 was lower advance billings due to the write-off of deferred revenue from software licenses bundled with leases and data products, which are now recognized at time of delivery rather than ratably under previous guidance.

Cash Flow Statement

The adoption of ASC 606 had no impact on our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

Significant Accounting Policies

The most significant impact of ASC 606 on our consolidated financial statements will be in the timing of recognizing certain revenues and costs to obtain a contract related to software and software related products. We will continue to recognize revenue from equipment sales under sales-type leases and related financing income and rental of postage meters and mailing equipment in accordance with ASC 840, Leases.

We applied the following practical expedients and policy elections when adopting ASC 606:


•	Costs incurred to obtain a contract with a customer are expensed if the amortization period is one year or less.


•	With the exception of certain services contracts, all taxes assessed by government authorities, such as sales and use taxes, value added taxes and excise taxes, are excluded from the transaction price.


•	The transaction price is not adjusted for a significant financing component when a performance obligation is satisfied within one year.


•	Revenue is recognized based on the amount billable to the customer when that amount corresponds to the value transferred to the customer.


•	Shipping and handling activities are accounted for as a fulfillment activity rather than a separate performance obligation.


•	We reflected the aggregate effect of all modifications when identifying performance obligations and allocating transaction price.

Significant changes to accounting policies disclosed in our 2017 Annual Report due to the adoption of ASC 606 are discussed below.

Software Sales and Integration Services

A majority of our software and data license products are considered "right to use" and are generally distinct from other promised goods and services within a contract. Revenue for right to use software and data licenses is recognized at a point in time when control has transferred to the customer, which is generally upon delivery or acceptance for those licenses requiring significant integration or customization. Revenue from renewals are recognized at the beginning of the license term.

We generally invoice customers upon delivery of our software and data licenses. Data contracts that include both data and data updates are invoiced in one or more equal installments. A contract asset is recognized on data licenses for which consideration will be received in future periods.

We allocate the transaction price based on relative standalone selling prices, which are generally based on observable selling prices in standalone transactions for our data products, maintenance and professional services. We estimate the standalone selling prices for our software licenses using the residual approach, as the selling prices are highly variable and when observable standalone selling prices exist for the other goods and services in the contract.

We often bundle software licenses with lease contracts. Revenue is recognized upon delivery of those software licenses considered distinct and functional in nature.

Costs to Obtain a Contract and Marketing Costs

Certain incremental costs to obtain a contract are capitalized if we expect the benefit of those costs to be realized over a period greater than one year. These costs primarily relate to sales commission on multi-year equipment and software support service contracts. These costs are amortized in a manner consistent with the timing of the related revenue over the contract performance period or longer, if renewals are expected and the renewal commission is not commensurate with the initial commission. Amortization expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 was $4 million and $11 million, respectively, and is included in selling, general and administrative expenses. Unamortized contract costs at September 30, 2018 were $28 million and are included in other assets.

Certain marketing costs associated with the acquisition of new customers are expensed as incurred since these costs do not meet the criteria of a cost to obtain a contract.

Revenue from Contracts with Customers

The following tables disaggregate our revenue by major source:



	Three Months Ended September 30, 2018
	Global Ecommerce		Presort Services		North America Mailing		International Mailing		Software Solutions		Total Revenue from sales and services (ASC 606)		Revenue from leasing transactions and financing		Total Consolidated Revenue
Equipment sales	$	—	$	—	$	13,615	$	11,974	$	—	$	25,589	$	75,348	$	100,937
Supplies	—		—		33,854		16,549		—		50,403		—		50,403
Software	—		—		—		284		75,742		76,026		—		76,026
Rentals	—		—		4,357		1,971		—		6,328		84,787		91,115
Financing	—		—		15,478		2,636		—		18,114		58,616		76,730
Support services	—		—		53,987		20,130		—		74,117				74,117
Business services	232,845		125,334		4,022		1,327		—		363,528				363,528
	$	232,845	$	125,334	$	125,313	$	54,871	$	75,742	$	614,105	$	218,751	$	832,856

Revenue from sales and services (ASC 606)	$	232,845	$	125,334	$	125,313	$	54,871	$	75,742	$	614,105	$	—	$	614,105
Revenue from leasing transactions and financing	—		—		188,652		30,099		—		—		218,751		218,751
Total revenue	$	232,845	$	125,334	$	313,965	$	84,970	$	75,742	$	614,105	$	218,751	$	832,856

Timing of revenue recognition (ASC 606)
Products/services transferred at a point in time	$	—	$	—	$	47,467	$	28,809	$	24,262	$	100,538
Products/services transferred over time	232,845		125,334		77,846		26,062		51,480		513,567
Total revenue	$	232,845	$	125,334	$	125,313	$	54,871	$	75,742	$	614,105



	Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018
	Global Ecommerce		Presort Services		North America Mailing		International Mailing		Software Solutions		Total Revenue from sales and services (ASC 606)		Revenue from leasing transactions and financing		Total Consolidated Revenue
Equipment sales	$	—	$	—	$	46,061	$	36,992	$	—	$	83,053	$	234,005	$	317,058
Supplies	—		—		109,077		56,776		—		165,853		—		165,853
Software	—		—		—		284		243,738		244,022		—		244,022
Rentals	—		—		15,189		6,276		—		21,465		256,085		277,550
Financing	—		—		47,768		8,478		—		56,246		177,258		233,504
Support services	—		—		155,635		63,676		—		219,311				219,311
Business services	718,535		382,522		12,278		4,607		—		1,117,942				1,117,942
	$	718,535	$	382,522	$	386,008	$	177,089	$	243,738	$	1,907,892	$	667,348	$	2,575,240

Revenue from sales and services (ASC 606)	$	718,535	$	382,522	$	386,008	$	177,089	$	243,738	$	1,907,892	$	—	$	1,907,892
Revenue from leasing transactions and financing	—		—		568,072		99,276		—		—		667,348		667,348
Total revenue	$	718,535	$	382,522	$	954,080	$	276,365	$	243,738	$	1,907,892	$	667,348	$	2,575,240

Timing of revenue recognition (ASC 606)
Products/services transferred at a point in time	$	—	$	—	$	155,138	$	94,052	$	89,282	$	338,472
Products/services transferred over time	718,535		382,522		230,870		83,037		154,456		1,569,420
Total revenue	$	718,535	$	382,522	$	386,008	$	177,089	$	243,738	$	1,907,892

Our performance obligations are as follows:

Equipment Sales and Supplies: We sell mailing equipment and supplies. We recognize revenue upon delivery for self-install equipment and supplies and upon acceptance or installation for other equipment. We provide a warranty that our equipment is free of defects and meets stated specifications. The warranty is not considered a separate performance obligation.

Software: We sell software licenses, maintenance, data products and professional services. Revenue for licenses is generally recognized upon delivery or over time for those licenses that require critical updates over the term of the contract.

Rentals: We charge our customers fees associated with postage refills for meters.

Financing: We provide services under our equipment replacement program. The fees received for this program are recognized ratably over the contract term.

Support Services: We provide maintenance and professional services for our North America and International mailing equipment. Contract terms range from one year to five years, depending on the term of the lease contract for the related equipment. Maintenance revenue is recognized ratably over the contract period and revenue for professional services is recognized when services are provided.

Business Services: We provide mail processing services and ecommerce solutions. Revenue is recognized over time as the services are provided. The contract terms for these services vary, with the initial contracts ranging from one to five years followed by annual renewal periods.

Revenue from leasing transactions and financing include revenue from sales-type leases, operating leases, finance income and late fees that are not accounted for under ASC 606.

Contract Assets and Advance Billings from Contracts with Customers



	September 30, 2018		January 1, 2018 ⁽¹⁾		Increase (decrease)
Contracts assets, current	$	8,472	$	5,075	$	3,397
Contracts assets, noncurrent	$	7,520	$	648	$	6,872
Advance billings, current	$	171,682	$	209,098	$	(37,416	)
Advance billings, noncurrent	$	14,891	$	17,765	$	(2,874	)

⁽¹⁾Balances adjusted for the cumulative effect of accounting change

Contract assets are recorded in other current assets and prepayments and other assets, respectively. Advance billings are recorded in advance billings and other noncurrent liabilities.

Contract Assets

We record contract assets when performance obligations are satisfied in advance of invoicing the customer when the right to consideration is conditional on the satisfaction of another performance obligation within a contract. The net increase is driven by revenue recognized on data contracts during the third quarter, for which consideration will be invoiced in future periods.

Advance Billings from Contracts with Customers

Advance billings are recorded when cash payments are due in advance of our performance. Items in advance billings primarily relate to support services on equipment and software licenses, subscription services and certain software data products. Revenue is recognized ratably over the contract term.

The net decrease in advance billings at September 30, 2018 is primarily driven by revenues recognized during the period, which includes $162 million of advance billings at the beginning of the period, partially offset by advance billings in the quarter.

Future Performance Obligations

The transaction prices allocated to future performance obligations will be recognized as follows:



	Remainder of 2018		2019		2020-2025		Total
North America Mailing⁽¹⁾	$	39,160	$	136,602	$	209,758	$	385,520
International Mailing⁽¹⁾	12,174		35,227		48,822		96,223
Software Solutions⁽²⁾	22,780		39,503		32,645		94,928
Total	$	74,114	$	211,332	$	291,225	$	576,671

⁽¹⁾Revenue streams bundled with our leasing contracts, primarily maintenance and other services

⁽²⁾Multiple-year software maintenance contracts, certain software and data licenses and data updates

The table above does not include revenue related to performance obligations for contracts with terms less than 12 months and expected consideration for those performance obligations where revenue is recognized based on the amount billable to the customer.