Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | 1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Nature of Operations Avalara, Inc. (the “Company”) provides software solutions that help businesses of all types and sizes comply with transaction tax requirements worldwide. The Company offers a broad and growing suite of compliance solutions for transaction taxes and other product-related taxes such as sales and use tax, value-added tax (“VAT”), fuel excise tax, beverage alcohol, cross-border taxes (including tariffs and duties), lodging tax, communications tax, and insurance premium The Company has wholly owned subsidiaries outside of the U.S. in Brazil, Canada, Europe, and India, which conduct sales and operations and provide business development, software development, and support services. Interim Financial Information The accompanying consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information. Certain information and disclosures normally included in consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP have been condensed or omitted. Accordingly, these consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes for the year ended December 31, 2021, included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, as amended by the Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on May 5, 2022 (the “Amended 2021 Annual Report”). The accompanying interim consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2022, the consolidated interim statements of operations, consolidated statements of comprehensive loss, and the consolidated statements of cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2022, are unaudited. The unaudited interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a basis consistent with that used to prepare the audited annual consolidated financial statements and include, in the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting of normal and recurring items, necessary for the fair presentation of the consolidated financial statements. The operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2022, are not necessarily indicative of the results expected for the full year ending December 31, 2022. Prior Period Restatements and Adjustments While preparing the financial statements for the first quarter of 2022, the Company discovered an error in its recognition of stock-based compensation expense for restricted stock units (“RSUs”) impacting previously reported interim and annual consolidated financial statements. In the previously presented consolidated financial statements, the correction resulted in an increase of $0.1 million to stock-based compensation and an increase of $0.1 million to net loss on the consolidated statement of operations and the consolidated statement of cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2021. The correction increased net loss and total comprehensive loss by $0.1 million on the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss for the three months ended March 31, 2021. The correction did not change total net cash used in operating activities on the consolidated statement of cashflows for the three months ended March 31, 2021. The correction increased additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit by $0.1 million, with no change to total shareholders’ equity, on the consolidated statement of shareholders’ equity as of March 31, 2021. An explanation of the impact on the consolidated financial statements is contained in “Note 15—Correction of Previously Issued Consolidated Financial Statements” to the accompanying consolidated financial statements included in the Amended 2021 Annual Reclassifications Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to current period presentation. Principles of Consolidation The accompanying consolidated financial statements include those of the Company, its subsidiaries, and a variable interest entity for which the Company is the primary beneficiary, after elimination of all intercompany accounts and transactions. Segments The Company operates its business as one operating segment. Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise about which separate financial information is evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision maker, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, in deciding how to allocate resources and assess performance. The Company’s chief operating decision maker allocates resources and assesses performance based upon discrete financial information at the consolidated level. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Significant estimates and judgments related to revenue are described below in the Revenue Recognition Accounting Policy. Significant estimates impacting expenses include: expected credit losses associated with the allowance for doubtful accounts; the measurement of fair values of stock-based compensation award grants; the expected payout level of performance share unit grants; the expected earnout obligations in connection with acquisitions; the expected term of the customer relationship for capitalized contract cost amortization; the valuation and useful lives of acquired intangible assets; the valuation of the fair value of reporting units for analyzing goodwill; and the capitalization and useful life of capitalized software development costs. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. Fair Value of Financial Instruments Fair value 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. A three-level fair value hierarchy prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value. The hierarchy requires entities to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. The three levels of inputs used to measure fair value are as follows: Level 1 : Inputs are unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. Level 2 : Inputs are quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active and model-derived valuations in which all significant inputs and significant value drivers are observable in active markets. Level 3 : Inputs are unobservable inputs based on the Company’s assumptions and valuation techniques used to measure assets and liabilities at fair value. The inputs require significant management judgment or estimation. The Company’s assessment of the significance of an input to the fair value measurement requires judgment, which may affect the valuation of fair value assets and liabilities and their placement within the fair value hierarchy levels. The carrying amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements approximate the fair value for cash equivalents, restricted cash equivalents, trade accounts receivable, trade payables, and accrued expenses, due to their short-term nature. The Company has measured the fair value of money market funds and available-for-sale securities based on quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities. T he Company carries its Convertible Senior Notes at par value less unamortized debt issuance costs on its consolidated balance sheets and presents the fair value for disclosure purposes only. Customer Funds Assets and Obligations The Company has established a Delaware statutory trust (the “Customer Trust”) and appointed a federally insured bank as trustee, and the Customer Trust holds certain funds provided by its customers pending remittance to tax authorities. The Company is the sole beneficial owner of the Customer Trust. The Customer Trust is intended to be a bankruptcy-remote legal entity and meets the criteria in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 810, Consolidation In 2021, certain customers began to remit tax payments to the Customer Trust with almost all customer funds remitted to and held by the Customer Trust as of December 31, 2021. Funds held from customers represent restricted cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities that, based upon the Company’s intent, are restricted solely for satisfying the obligations to remit funds relating to the Company’s tax remittance services. Customer fund obligations represent the Company’s contractual obligations to remit funds to satisfy customers’ tax obligations and are recorded on the consolidated balance sheets at the time that the Company or the Customer Trust collects funds from customers. The following table details funds held from customers and customer fund obligations held by the Company and by the Customer Trust as of March 31, 2022 March 31, December 31, 2022 2021 Funds held from customers (current assets): Restricted cash equivalents – Company $ 647 $ 13 Restricted cash equivalents – Customer Trust 63,353 62,126 Available-for-sale securities – Customer Trust 359 370 Funds held from customers $ 64,359 $ 62,509 Customer fund obligations (current liabilities): Customer fund obligations – Company 66,368 64,302 Customer fund obligations $ 66,368 $ 64,302 Receivable from customers, net was $1.6 million and $1.5 million as of March 31, 2022, and December 31, 2021, respectively. Business Combinations and Goodwill The Company’s identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination are recorded at their acquisition date fair values, which may be considered preliminary and subject to adjustment during the measurement period, which is up to one year from the acquisition date. The valuation requires management to make significant estimates and assumptions, especially with respect to intangible assets. Critical estimates in valuing intangible assets include, but are not limited to: • future expected cash flows from customer agreements, customer lists, distribution agreements, non-compete agreements, and proprietary content and technology; • assumptions about the length of time the brand will continue to be used in the Company’s suite of solutions; • royalty rates used to estimate the fees that could be charged to license the proprietary content and technology; and • discount rates used to determine the present value of recognized assets and liabilities. The Company’s estimates of fair value are based upon assumptions it believes to be reasonable, but that are inherently uncertain and unpredictable. Assumptions may be incomplete or inaccurate, and unanticipated events and circumstances may occur. Goodwill is calculated as the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of net assets acquired, including the amount assigned to identifiable intangible assets. Acquisition-related costs, including advisory, legal, accounting, valuation, and other costs, are expensed in the periods in which these costs are incurred. The results of operations of an acquired business are included in the consolidated financial statements beginning at the acquisition date. Goodwill is tested for impairment annually on October 31, or in the event of certain occurrences. There was no goodwill impairment recorded for the three months ended March 31, 2022 or 2021. The Company estimates the fair value of the earnout liabilities related to business combinations using various valuation approaches, as well as significant unobservable inputs, reflecting the Company’s assessment of the assumptions market participants would use to value these liabilities. Following final determination of the acquisition date fair value, the fair value of the earnout is remeasured each reporting period, with any change in the value recorded as fair value changes in earnout liabilities in the consolidated statements of operation. Acquired Intangible Assets Acquired intangible assets consist of developed technology, including in-process research and development (“IPR&D”), customer relationships, backlog, database content, noncompetition agreements, and tradenames and trademarks, resulting from the Company’s acquisitions. Acquired intangible assets are recorded at fair value on the date of acquisition and amortized over their estimated useful lives. IPR&D is initially capitalized at fair value as a developed technology intangible asset with an indefinite life and assessed for impairment thereafter. When an IPR&D project is completed, it is amortized over the asset’s estimated useful life. The Company recognizes an earnout liability for acquisitions of intangible assets that are accounted for as an asset acquisition when the liability is earned and the amount is known. The earnout liability is capitalized as part of the cost of the assets acquired and amortized over the remaining useful life of the asset. Asset acquisition-related costs, primarily legal fees, are capitalized and included in the cost basis of the intangible asset when incurred. Capitalized Software Software development costs for internal-use software (i.e., cloud-based software solutions) are capitalized once the project is in the application development stage in accordance with the accounting guidance for internal-use software. These capitalized costs include external direct costs of services consumed in developing or obtaining the software and personnel expenses for employees who are directly associated with the development. Capitalization of these costs concludes once the project is substantially complete, and the software is ready for its intended purpose. Post-configuration training and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred. For the , $5.4 million and $2.5 million of software development costs were capitalized, respectively. Capitalized software development costs are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life, generally 3 to 6 years. Software development costs are tested for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances occur that could impact the recoverability of these assets In circumstances where software is developed for both cloud-based software solutions and for the purpose of being sold, leased, or otherwise marketed (i.e., customer hosted software), capitalization of development costs occurs after technological feasibility of the software is established and continues until the product is available for general release to customers. Since the Company’s developed software is available for general release concurrent with the establishment of technological feasibility, development costs are not capitalized in these circumstances. Long-Lived Assets The Company evaluates long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of these assets may not be recoverable. An impairment is recognized in the event the carrying value of such assets is not recoverable. If the carrying value is not recoverable, the fair value is determined, and an impairment is recognized for the amount by which the carrying value exceeds the fair value. No impairment of long-lived assets occurred in the three months ended March 31, 2022 or 2021. L eases Leases arise from contracts which convey the right to control the use of identified property or equipment for a period of time in exchange for consideration. The Company’s leasing arrangements are primarily for office space used to conduct operations. The Company determines whether an arrangement is or contains a lease at the inception date, based on whether there is an identified asset and whether the Company controls the use of the identified asset throughout the period of use. Leases commence when the lessor makes the asset available for use. Leases are classified at commencement as either operating or finance leases. All the Company’s leases are classified as operating leases. Rent expense for operating leases is recognized on the straight-line method over the term of the agreement beginning on the lease commencement date. Lease-related costs, which are variable rather than fixed, are expensed in the period incurred. Variable lease costs consist primarily of common area maintenance and utilities costs for the Company’s office spaces that are due based on the actual costs incurred by the landlord. Lease payments that depend on an index or a rate are measured using the index or rate at the commencement date and are included in operating lease costs. Subsequent increases to lease payments due to a change in the index or rate are expensed as a variable lease cost. Convertible Senior Notes In August 2021, the Company completed a private offering of $977.5 million principal amount of 0.25% convertible senior notes due 2026 (the “2026 Notes”). The 2026 Notes are accounted for as debt, with no bifurcation of the embedded conversion feature. Debt issuance costs related to the Company’s issuance of the 2026 Notes consist primarily of purchaser’s discounts, commissions, and related costs. The debt issuance costs were recorded as a direct deduction from the liability associated with the 2026 Notes on the consolidated balance sheet and are amortized to interest expense over the term of the 2026 Notes. In connection with the offering of the 2026 Notes, the Company purchased capped calls from certain financial institutions with respect to its common stock. As the capped calls are both legally detachable and separately exercisable from the 2026 Notes, the Company accounts for the capped calls separately from the 2026 Notes. The capped calls are indexed to the Company’s own common stock and classified in stockholder’s equity. As such, the premiums paid for the capped calls have been included as a net reduction to additional paid-in capital in the consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2022, and December 31, 2021. Income Taxes The Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on temporary differences between the financial reporting and income tax basis of assets and liabilities and are measured using the tax rates that will be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is recorded when it is more likely than not that some of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company assesses its income tax positions and records a tax benefit or expense based upon management’s evaluation of the facts, circumstances, and information available at the reporting date. The objectives of accounting for income taxes are to recognize the amount of taxes payable or refundable for the current period and deferred tax liabilities and assets for the future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in an entity’s financial statements or tax returns. The Company will recognize the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the financial statements from such a position are measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. Judgment is required in assessing the future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the Company’s consolidated financial statements or tax returns. Variations in the actual outcome of these future tax consequences could materially impact the consolidated financial statements. Revenue Recognition The Company primarily generates revenue from fees paid for subscriptions to tax compliance solutions and fees paid for services performed in preparing and filing tax returns on behalf of its customers. Amounts that have been invoiced are recorded in trade accounts receivable and deferred revenue, contract liabilities, or revenue, depending upon whether the revenue recognition criteria have been met. Revenue is recognized once the customer is provisioned and as services are provided in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those services. The Company determines revenue recognition through the following five-step framework: • Identification of the contract, or contracts, with a customer; • Identification of the performance obligations in the contract; • Determination of the transaction price; • Allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and • Recognition of revenue when, or as, the Company satisfies a performance obligation. The Company identifies performance obligations in its contracts with customers, which primarily include subscription services and professional services. The transaction price is determined based on the amount which the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for providing the promised services to the customer. The transaction price in the contract is allocated to each distinct performance obligation on a relative standalone selling price basis. Revenue is recognized when performance obligations are satisfied. Contract payment terms are typically net 30 days. Collectability is assessed based on a number of factors including collection history and creditworthiness of the customer, and the Company may mitigate exposure to credit risk by requiring payments in advance. If collectability of substantially all consideration to which the Company is entitled under the contract is determined to be not probable, revenue is not recorded until collectability becomes probable at a later date. Revenue is recorded based on the transaction price excluding amounts collected on behalf of third parties, such as sales taxes collected and remitted to governmental authorities. Subscription and Returns Revenue Subscription and returns revenue primarily consist of contractually agreed upon fees paid for using the Company’s cloud-based solutions, which include tax calculation, preparing and filing transaction tax returns, compliance document management, and tax content subscription services. Under the Company’s subscription agreements, customers select a price plan that includes an allotted maximum number of transactions or number of jurisdictions over the subscription term. Unused transactions are not carried over to the customer’s next subscription term, and customers are not entitled to refunds of fees paid or relief from fees due in the event they do not use the allotted number of transactions. If customers exceed the maximum transaction level within their price plan, the Company will generally upgrade the customer to a higher transaction price plan or, in some cases, charge overage fees on a per transaction basis. Fees paid for subscription services to tax content vary depending on the volume of tax information accessible to the customer. The Company’s subscription arrangements do not provide the customer with the right to take possession of the software supporting the cloud-based application services. The Company’s standard subscription contracts are non-cancelable except where contract terms provide rights to cancel in the first 60 days of the contract term. Cancellations under the Company’s standard subscription contracts are not material, and do not have a significant impact on revenue recognized. Tax returns processing services include collection of tax data and amounts, preparation of compliance forms, and submission to taxing authorities. Returns processing services are primarily charged on a subscription basis for an allotted number of returns to process within a given time period. The Company earns Streamlined Sales Tax (“SST”) revenue from participating state and local governments based on a percentage of the sales tax reported and paid. Revenue is recognized ratably over the contractual term of the arrangement, beginning on the date that the service is made available to the customer. The Company invoices its subscription customers for the initial term at contract signing and at each subscription renewal. Initial terms generally range from 12 to 18 months, and renewal periods are typically one year. Amounts that are contractually billable and have been invoiced, or which have been collected as cash, are initially recorded as deferred revenue or contract liabilities. While historically most of the Company's customers are invoiced once at the beginning of the term, an increasing portion of customers are invoiced semi-annually, quarterly, or monthly. Included in the total subscription fee for cloud-based solutions are non-refundable upfront fees that are typically charged to new customers. These fees are associated with work performed to set up a customer with the Company’s services, and do not represent a distinct good or service. Instead, the fees are included within the transaction price and allocated to the remaining performance obligations in the contract. The Company recognizes revenue for these fees in accordance with the revenue recognition for those performance obligations. Also included in subscription and returns revenue is interest income on funds held from customers. The Company uses trust accounts at FDIC-insured institutions to provide tax remittance services to customers and collect funds from customers in advance of remittance to tax authorities. After collection and prior to remittance, the Company earns interest on these funds. Professional Services Revenue The Company generates professional services revenue from providing tax analysis and services, including business licenses and tax registrations, tax refund claims and recovery assistance, Judgments and Estimates The Company’s contracts with customers often include obligations to provide multiple services to a customer. Determining whether services are considered distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately from one another requires judgment. Subscription services and professional services are both distinct performance obligations that are accounted for separately. Judgment is required to determine the standalone selling price (“SSP”) for each distinct performance obligation. The Company allocates revenue to each performance obligation based on the relative SSP. The Company determines SSP for performance obligations based on overall pricing objectives, which take into consideration observable prices, market conditions and entity-specific factors. This includes a review of historical data related to the services being sold and customer demographics. The Company uses a range of amounts to estimate SSP for performance obligations. There is typically more than one SSP for individual services due to the stratification of those services by information, such as size and type of customer. Assets Recognized from the Costs to Obtain a Contract with a Customer The Company recognizes an asset for the incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer if it expects the benefit of those costs to be longer than one year. The Company has determined that certain costs related to employee sales incentive programs (sales commissions) and partner commission programs represent incremental costs of obtaining a contract and therefore should be capitalized. Capitalized costs are included in deferred commissions on the consolidated balance sheets. These deferred commissions are amortized over an estimated period of benefit, generally six years. The Company determines the period of benefit by taking into consideration past experience with customers, the expected life of acquired technology that generates revenue, industry peers, and other available information. The period of benefit is generally longer than the term of the initial contract because of anticipated renewals. The Company elected to apply the practical expedient to recognize the incremental costs of obtaining a contract as an expense if the amortization period of the asset would have been one year or less. Stock-Based Compensation The Company accounts for stock-based compensation by calculating the fair value of each option, RSU, or performance share unit (“PSU”) issued under the 2018 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2018 Plan”) Recently Adopted Accounting Standards There are no accounting standards that have been recently adopted. New Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted ASU 2021-08 In October 2021, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued ASU 2021-08, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Accounting for Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities from Contracts with Customers, which amends the accounting related to contract assets and liabilities acquired in business combinations. Under current GAAP, an entity generally recognizes assets and liabilities acquired in a business combination, including contract assets and contract liabilities arising from revenue contracts with customers, at fair value on the acquisition date. ASU 2021-08 requires that entities recognize and measure contract assets and contract liabilities acquired in a business combination in accordance with ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. ASU 2021-08 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within those fiscal years, and should be applied prospectively to businesses combinations occurring on or after the effective date of the amendment. Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. The Company currently expects to adopt this new guidance in the first quarter of 2023 and is currently evaluating the impact of this new guidance on the consolidated financial statements. |