Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies (Policy)

9 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2012

Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis Of Presentation And Principals Of Consolidation

Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Datawatch Corporation (the “Company”) and its wholly-owned subsidiaries and have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) regarding interim financial reporting.Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for complete financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2011 filed with the SEC. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

In the opinion of management, the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2011, and include all adjustments necessary for fair presentation of the results of the interim periods presented. The operating results for the interim periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the results expected for the full year. The Company considers events or transactions that occur after the balance sheet date but before the financial statements are issued to provide additional evidence relative to certain estimates or to identify matters that require additional disclosure. Certain amounts in the prior year financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation with no impact on net income or earnings per share.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and judgments, which are evaluated on an on-going basis, that affect the amounts reported in the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Management bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that it believes are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results could differ from those estimates and judgments. In particular, significant estimates and judgments include those related to revenue recognition, the allowance for doubtful accounts, sales returns reserve, useful lives of property and equipment, and the valuation of net deferred tax assets, acquired intellectual property, other intangible assets and share-based awards.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition

Revenue allocated to software products, specified upgrades and enhancements is recognized upon delivery of the related product, upgrades or enhancements. Revenue is allocated by vendor specific objective evidence (“VSOE”) of fair value to post-contract customer support (primarily maintenance) and is recognized ratably over the term of the support, and revenue allocated using VSOE to service elements (primarily training and consulting) is recognized as the services are performed. The residual method of revenue recognition is used for multi-element arrangements when the VSOE of the fair value does not exist for one of the delivered elements. Under the residual method, the arrangement fee is recognized as follows: (1) the total fair value of the undelivered elements, as supported by VSOE, is deferred and subsequently recognized as such items are delivered or completed and (2) the difference between the total arrangement fee and the amount allocated to the undelivered elements is recognized as revenue related to the delivered elements.

The Company licenses its software products directly to end-users, through value added resellers and through distributors. Sales to distributors and resellers accounted for approximately 34% and 44%, respectively, of total sales for the three months ended June 30, 2012 and 2011, and 31% and 42%, respectively, of total sales for the nine months ended June 30, 2012 and 2011. Revenue from the sale of all software products (when separately sold) is generally recognized at the time of shipment, provided there are no uncertainties surrounding product acceptance, the fee is fixed or determinable, collectability is reasonably assured, persuasive evidence of the arrangement exists and there are no significant obligations remaining. Both types of the Company’s software product offerings are “off-the-shelf” as such term is customarily defined. The Company’s software products can be installed and used by customers on their own with little or no configuration required. Multi-user licenses marketed by the Company are sold as a right to use the number of licenses, and the license fee revenue is recognized upon delivery of all software required to satisfy the number of licenses sold. Upon delivery, the licensing fee is payable without further delivery obligations by the Company.

Datawatch software products are generally sold in multiple element arrangements which may include software licenses, professional services and post-contract customer support. In such multiple element arrangements, the Company applies the residual method in determining revenue to be allocated to the software license. In applying the residual method, the Company deducts from the sale proceeds the VSOE of fair value of the professional services and post-contract customer support in determining the residual fair value of the software license. The VSOE of fair value of the services and post-contract customer support is based on the amounts charged for these elements when sold separately. Professional services include implementation, integration, training and consulting services with revenue recognized as the services are performed. These services are generally delivered on a time and materials basis, are billed on a current basis as the work is performed, and do not involve modification or customization of the software or any other unusual acceptance clauses or terms. Post-contract customer support is typically provided under a maintenance agreement which provides technical support and rights to unspecified software maintenance updates and bug fixes on a when-and-if available basis. Revenue from post-contract customer support services is deferred and recognized ratably over the period of support (generally one year). Such deferred amounts are recorded as part of deferred revenue in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets.

The Company’s software products are sold under warranty against certain defects in material and workmanship for a period of 30 days from the date of purchase. The Company also offers a 30 day money-back guarantee on its Monarch product sold directly to end-users. Additionally, the Company provides its distributors with stock-balancing rights. Revenue from the sale of software products to distributors and resellers is recognized at the time of shipment providing all other criteria for revenue recognition as stated above are met and (i) the distributor or reseller is unconditionally obligated to pay for the products, including no contingency as to product resale, (ii) the distributor or reseller has independent economic substance apart from the Company, (iii) the Company is not obligated for future performance to bring about product resale, and (iv) the amount of future returns can be reasonably estimated. The Company’s experience and history with its distributors and resellers allows for reasonable estimates of future returns. Among other things, estimates of potential future returns are made based on the inventory levels at, and the returns history with, the various distributors and resellers, which the Company monitors frequently.

Share-Based Compensation

Share-Based Compensation

All share-based awards, including grants of employee stock options and restricted stock units, are recognized in the financial statements based on their fair value at date of grant.

The Company recognizes the fair value of share-based awards over the requisite service period of the individual awards, which generally equals the vesting period. All of the Company’s share-based awards are accounted for as equity instruments and there have been no liability awards granted. See additional share-based compensation disclosure in Note 6 to the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

Concentration Of Credit Risks And Major Customers

Concentration of Credit Risks and Major Customers

The Company licenses its products and services to U.S. and non-U.S. distributors and other software resellers, as well as to end users, under customary credit terms. Two customers, Ingram Micro, Inc. and Lifeboat Distribution, individually accounted for the following percentages of total revenue and accounts receivable for the periods indicated:

	Percentage of total		Percentage of total
	revenue for the three		revenue for the nine		Percentage of total
	months ended		months ended		accounts receivable at
	June 30,		June 30,		June 30,	September 30,
	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011
Ingram Micro, Inc.	1%	11%	4%	14%	-	14%
Lifeboat Distribution	22%	21%	13%	16%	29%	18%

The Company licenses to Lifeboat Distribution under a distribution agreement which automatically renews for successive one-year terms unless terminated. On December 6, 2011, the Company exercised a 90 day notice provision under a distribution agreement with Ingram Micro, Inc. to terminate its relationship with that distributor. The termination was effective March 6, 2012. Effective March 7, 2012, Lifeboat Distribution became the sole North American distributor for the Company’s Monarch Report Analytics platform. In addition to the customers listed above, one additional customer, United Health Group, individually accounted for approximately 9% of total revenue for the nine months ended June 30, 2012, which included 7% of sales directly to United Health Group and 2% of sales to United Health Group through a reseller. Additionally, one other customer, E&Y Global Services Limited, individually accounted for approximately 13% of total accounts receivable at June 30, 2012. Other than these customers, no other customer constitutes a significant portion (more than 10%) of revenues or accounts receivable for the periods presented. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers and generally does not require collateral. Allowances are provided for anticipated doubtful accounts and sales returns based on management’s review of receivables, inventory held at distributors and historical trends.

Capitalized Software Development Costs

Capitalized Software Development Costs

The Company capitalizes certain software development costs as well as purchased software upon achieving technological feasibility of the related products. Software development costs incurred and software purchased prior to achieving technological feasibility are charged to engineering and product development expense as incurred. Commencing upon initial product release, capitalized costs are amortized to cost of software licenses using the straight-line method over the estimated life of the product (which approximates the ratio that current gross revenues for a product bear to the total of current and anticipated future gross revenues for that product), which is generally 18 to 24 months. The net amount of capitalized software development costs was approximately $39,000 and $14,000 at June 30, 2012 and September 30, 2011, respectively. During the nine months ended June 30, 2012, the Company capitalized approximately $54,000 of software development costs related to products developed in fiscal year 2012. The Company did not capitalize any software development costs during the nine months ended June 30, 2011.

Other Intangible Assets

Other Intangible Assets

Other intangible assets consist of internally developed software, patents and customer lists acquired through business combinations. The values allocated to the majority of these intangible assets are amortized using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of the related asset and are recorded in cost of software licenses. The values allocated to customer relationships are amortized using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of the related asset and are recorded in sales and marketing expenses. Intangible assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable and an impairment loss is recognized when it is probable that the estimated cash flows are less than the carrying amount of the asset.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

Deferred income taxes are provided for the tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes and operating loss carryforwards and credits. Valuation allowances are recorded to reduce the net deferred tax assets to amounts the Company believes are more likely than not to be realized.

The Company follows the accounting guidance for uncertain tax positions. This guidance clarifies the accounting for income taxes by prescribing the minimum threshold a tax position is required to meet before being recognized in the financial statements. It also provides guidance on derecognition, measurement, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure and transition.

Cash And Equivalents

Cash and Equivalents

Cash and equivalents include cash on hand, cash deposited with banks and highly liquid securities consisting of money market investments with original maturities of 90 days or less. The Company’s cash equivalents are carried at fair value, which is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The Company classifies the inputs used to measure fair value into the following hierarchy:

·Level 1 – Observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets;

·Level 2 – Inputs, other than the quoted prices in active markets, that are observable either directly or indirectly; and

·Level 3 – Unobservable inputs in which there is little or no market data, which require the reporting entity to develop its own assumptions.

The following table represents information about the Company’s cash equivalents measured at fair value on a recurring basis at June 30, 2012 (in thousands):

			Quoted Prices
			in Active		Significant
			Markets for		Other		Significant
			Identical		Observable		Unobservable
			Assets		Inputs		Inputs
	Total		(Level 1)		(Level 2)		(Level 3)
Balance at June 30, 2012
Money market funds	$	2,234	$	2,234	$	-	$	-
Balance at September 30, 2011
Money market funds	$	2,233	$	2,233	$	-	$	-