Basis of Presentation	6 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2021
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	1. Basis of Presentation General The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of PTC Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries and have been prepared by management in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP) and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding interim financial reporting. Accordingly, they do not include all the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. While we believe that the disclosures presented are adequate in order to make the information not misleading, these unaudited quarterly financial statements should be read in conjunction with our annual consolidated financial statements and related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020. In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments, consisting only of those of a normal recurring nature, necessary for a fair statement of our financial position, results of operations and cash flows at the dates and for the periods indicated. The September 30, 2020 Consolidated Balance Sheet included herein is derived from our audited consolidated financial statements. Unless otherwise indicated, all references to a year mean our fiscal year, which ends on September 30. In the first quarter of 2021, we changed our fiscal calendar from thirteen-week quarters ending on a Saturday to three-month quarters ending on the last calendar day of the third month. There was no change to our fiscal year-end. We do not expect that this change will materially impact comparability of our financial results for fiscal years 2021 and 2020. Because our fiscal year-end did not change, we were not required to file a transition report. The second quarter of 2021 ended on March 31, 2021 and the second quarter of 2020 ended on March 28, 2020. The results of operations for the six months ended March 31, 2021 are not necessarily indicative of the results expected for the remainder of the fiscal year. Risks and Uncertainties - COVID-19 Pandemic In December 2019, the virus that causes COVID-19 surfaced. The virus has spread worldwide, including in the United States, and has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted global economic activity and has created macroeconomic uncertainty. We assessed certain accounting matters that generally require consideration of forecasted financial information in context with the information reasonably available to us and the unknown future impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic as of March 31, 2021 and through the date of this report. The accounting matters assessed included, but were not limited to, our allowance for doubtful accounts, stock-based compensation, the carrying value of our goodwill and other long-lived assets, financial assets, valuation allowances for tax assets and revenue recognition. While our assessment did not result in a material impact to our consolidated financial statements as of and for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, our future assessment could result in material impacts to our consolidated financial statements in future reporting periods. Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Internal-Use Software In August 2018, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2018-15, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer's Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That is a Service Contract, which aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs in cloud computing arrangements with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. We adopted the new standard prospectively effective October 1, 2020. As a result of the adoption, we are required to capitalize certain costs related to the implementation of cloud computing arrangements. Capitalized costs related to cloud computing arrangements, which are included in other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets, were not material as of March 31, 2020. Financial Instruments—Credit Losses In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (ASC 326), which, along with subsequent amendments, replaces the incurred loss impairment methodology in current U.S. GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information when recording credit loss estimates. We adopted the new standard effective October 1, 2020, with no impact on our consolidated financial statements. Pending Accounting Pronouncements Reference Rate Reform In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting. The ASU provides optional guidance for contract modifications and certain hedging relationships associated with the transition from reference rates that are expected to be discontinued. ASU 2020-04 is effective for all entities upon issuance through December 31, 2022. We are still evaluating the impact, but do not expect the standard to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. Income Taxes In December 2019, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740) on Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes. The decisions reflected in ASU 2019-12 update specific areas of ASC 740, Income Taxes, to reduce complexity while maintaining or improving the usefulness of the information provided to users of financial statements. The new standard will be effective for us in the first quarter of 2022, though early adoption of the amendments is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact the standard will have on our consolidated financial statements, but at this time we do not expect it to be material.

Basis of Presentation

6 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2021

Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]

1. Basis of Presentation

General

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of PTC Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries and have been prepared by management in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP) and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding interim financial reporting. Accordingly, they do not include all the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. While we believe that the disclosures presented are adequate in order to make the information not misleading, these unaudited quarterly financial statements should be read in conjunction with our annual consolidated financial statements and related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020. In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments, consisting only of those of a normal recurring nature, necessary for a fair statement of our financial position, results of operations and cash flows at the dates and for the periods indicated. The September 30, 2020 Consolidated Balance Sheet included herein is derived from our audited consolidated financial statements.

Unless otherwise indicated, all references to a year mean our fiscal year, which ends on September 30. In the first quarter of 2021, we changed our fiscal calendar from thirteen-week quarters ending on a Saturday to three-month quarters ending on the last calendar day of the third month. There was no change to our fiscal year-end. We do not expect that this change will materially impact comparability of our financial results for fiscal years 2021 and 2020. Because our fiscal year-end did not change, we were not required to file a transition report. The second quarter of 2021 ended on March 31, 2021 and the second quarter of 2020 ended on March 28, 2020. The results of operations for the six months ended March 31, 2021 are not necessarily indicative of the results expected for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Risks and Uncertainties - COVID-19 Pandemic

In December 2019, the virus that causes COVID-19 surfaced. The virus has spread worldwide, including in the United States, and has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted global economic activity and has created macroeconomic uncertainty.

We assessed certain accounting matters that generally require consideration of forecasted financial information in context with the information reasonably available to us and the unknown future impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic as of March 31, 2021 and through the date of this report. The accounting matters assessed included, but were not limited to, our allowance for doubtful accounts, stock-based compensation, the carrying value of our goodwill and other long-lived assets, financial assets, valuation allowances for tax assets and revenue recognition. While our assessment did not result in a material impact to our consolidated financial statements as of and for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, our future assessment could result in material impacts to our consolidated financial statements in future reporting periods.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Internal-Use Software

In August 2018, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2018-15, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer's Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That is a Service Contract, which aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs in cloud computing arrangements with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. We adopted the new standard prospectively effective October 1, 2020. As a result of the adoption, we are required to capitalize certain costs related to the implementation of cloud computing arrangements. Capitalized costs related to cloud computing arrangements, which are included in other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets, were not material as of March 31, 2020.

Financial Instruments—Credit Losses

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (ASC 326), which, along with subsequent amendments, replaces the incurred loss impairment methodology in current U.S. GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information when recording credit loss estimates. We adopted the new standard effective October 1, 2020, with no impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Pending Accounting Pronouncements

Reference Rate Reform

In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting. The ASU provides optional guidance for contract modifications and certain hedging relationships associated with the transition from reference rates that are expected to be discontinued. ASU 2020-04 is effective for all entities upon issuance through December 31, 2022. We are still evaluating the impact, but do not expect the standard to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Income Taxes

In December 2019, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740) on Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes. The decisions reflected in ASU 2019-12 update specific areas of ASC 740, Income Taxes, to reduce complexity while maintaining or improving the usefulness of the information provided to users of financial statements. The new standard will be effective for us in the first quarter of 2022, though early adoption of the amendments is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact the standard will have on our consolidated financial statements, but at this time we do not expect it to be material.