| Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block] | COMPANY AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Nature of Business IZEA Worldwide, Inc. (together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries, “we,” “us,” “our,” “IZEA” or the “Company”) is a Nevada corporation that was founded in February 2006 under the name PayPerPost, Inc. and became a public company in May 2011. In January 2015, IZEA purchased all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of Ebyline, Inc. (“Ebyline”). In March 2016, the Company formed IZEA Canada, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary, incorporated in Ontario, Canada, to operate as a sales and support office for IZEA’s Canadian customers. In July 2016, IZEA purchased all the outstanding shares of capital stock of ZenContent, Inc. (“ZenContent”) and in July 2018, a subsidiary of the Company merged with TapInfluence, Inc. (“TapInfluence”). ZenContent, Ebyline, and TapInfluence were merged into IZEA and the legal entities were dissolved in December 2017, December 2019, and December 2020, respectively. The Company helps power the creator economy, allowing everyone from college students to stay-at-home individuals to celebrities and accredited journalists the opportunity to monetize their content, creativity and influence through global brands and marketers. IZEA compensates these creators for producing unique content, such as long and short-form text, videos, photos, status updates, and illustrations for marketers or distributing such content on behalf of marketers through their websites, blogs, and social media channels. The Company provides value through managing custom content workflow, creator search and targeting, bidding, analytics, and payment processing. While the majority of the marketers engage the Company to perform these services (the “Managed Services”) on their behalf, they may also access IZEA’s marketplaces to engage creators for influencer marketing campaigns or to produce custom content on a self-service basis by licensing the Company’s technology. The Company’s primary technology platform, IZEA Exchange (“ IZEAx ”), is designed to provide a unified ecosystem that enables the creation and publication of multiple types of custom content through its creators’ websites, blogs, and social media channels, including, among others, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and Instagram. The Company extensively uses this platform to manage influencer marketing campaigns on behalf of the Company’s marketers. This platform is also available directly to the Company’s marketers as a self-service tool and a licensed white label product. During 2022, we re-engineered our influencer marketing platform to align more closely with user requirements, announcing the initial rollout of IZEA Flex (“ Flex ”) in September, and we announced the commercial launch of Flex in January 2023. Flex , which introduces end-to-end tracking of social commerce, enabling influencer impact at scale, includes eight modules allowing pricing plans that meet a range of users, will replace IZEAx as our primary platform. IZEAx will be sunset in 2023. In 2020, the Company launched two platforms, BrandGraph and Shake . BrandGraph is a social media intelligence platform that is heavily integrated with IZEAx and now Flex, which relies heavily on data from the other platforms but is also available as a stand-alone platform. The platform maps and classifies the complex hierarchy of corporation-to-brand relationships by category and associates social content with brands through a proprietary content analysis engine. Shake was a new online marketplace where buyers can quickly and easily hire creators of all types for influencer marketing, photography, design, and other digital services. The Shake platform was aimed at digital creatives seeking freelance “gig” work. Creator’s list available “Shakes” on their accounts in the platform and marketers select and purchase creative packages from them through a streamlined chat experience, assisted by ShakeBot - a proprietary, artificial intelligence assistant. Shake was sunset in 2022 in conjunction with the launch of The Creator Marketplace , which replaces and improves upon Shake’s functionality. In October 2022, we launched The Creator Marketplace (“ Marketplace ”) on IZEA.com, which provides powerful tools for creators to showcase their social handles and the brands and topics they post about, and marketers to easily search and filter creator listing that meet requirements of their influencer marketing campaigns, including creator specific predictive audience demographics. Marketplace features include Casting Calls which gives marketers and creators a two-way marketplace to connect and collaborate; marketers use Casting Calls to solicit creators for everything from influencing campaigns to full time employment; creators respond directly to Casting Calls with video and text responses. The Company’s next generation technology platform, IZEA Flex (“ Flex ”), was launched in December 2022. It is designed with flexibility as a core tenet, allowing marketers to use any combination of independent applications as they see fit. The result is a comprehensive suite of tools that, individually, supercharge influencer marketing efforts and become even more powerful when combined. Flex offers eight core modules: Discover, ContentMine, ShareMonitor, Integrations, Tracking Links, Contacts, Transactions, and Campaigns . Flex introduces end-to-end tracking of social commerce, allowing marketers to easily measure the impact of individual influencers on e-commerce revenue at scale, and integrates key functions of The Creator Marketplace on IZEA.com. Modules in Flex included Discover , which allows marketers to search through content from millions of influencer social profiles while filtering across channels, demographics, and interests; ContentMine , a content management tool that collects and measures influencer content, providing real-time insights and A.I. content analysis from BrandGraph ; ShareMonitor , a multi-platform social monitoring tool that allows marketers to monitor hashtags, keywords and brand mentions across leading social platforms; Integrations provides deep integrations such as with Google Analytics and Shopify, providing marketers the capability to track influencer campaign metrics such as time on site, engagement and revenue; and, Tracking Links provides real-time tracking metrics for influencer marketing and can track customer conversions, spend, and purchases when used with other Flex modules. Principles of Consolidation The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of IZEA Worldwide, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, subsequent to the subsidiaries’ individual acquisition, merger, or formation dates, as applicable. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP 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 financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Cash and Cash Equivalents The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less from the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. Deposits made to Company bank accounts are insured by the FDIC up to a maximum amount of $250,000. Deposit balances exceeding this limit were approximately $24.4 million and $74.9 million as of December 31, 2022, and 2021, respectively. Accounts Receivable and Concentration of Credit Risk The Company’s accounts receivable balance consists of trade receivables, contract assets, and a reserve for doubtful accounts. Trade receivables are customer obligations due under normal trade terms. Contract assets represent amounts owed for work that has been performed, but not yet billed. The Company had net trade receivables of $5.7 million and contract assets of $39,095 at December 31, 2022. The Company had net trade receivables of $7.6 million and contract assets of $21,926 at December 31, 2021. Management determines the collectability of accounts by regularly evaluating individual customer receivables and considering a customer’s financial condition, credit history, and current economic conditions. An account is deemed delinquent when the customer has not paid an amount due by its associated due date. If a portion of the account balance is deemed uncollectible, the Company will either write off the amount owed or provide a reserve based on its best estimate of the uncollectible portion of the account. The Company had a reserve for doubtful accounts of $155,000 as of December 31, 2022, and 2021. Management believes that this estimate is reasonable, but there can be no assurance that the estimate will not change due to a change in economic conditions or business conditions within the industry, the individual customers, or the Company. Any adjustments to this account are reflected in the consolidated statements of operations as a general and administrative expense. The Company did not recognize any bad debt expense for each of the twelve months ended December 31, 2022 and 2021. Concentrations of credit risk with respect to accounts receivable have been typically limited because a large number of geographically diverse customers make up the Company’s customer base, thus spreading the trade credit risk. However, with the Company’s addition of SaaS customers, it has increased credit exposure on certain customers who carry significant credit balances related to their marketplace spend. The Company controls credit risk through credit approvals, credit limits, and monitoring procedures. The Company performs credit evaluations of its customers but generally does not require collateral to support accounts receivable. The Company had three customers that accounted for 64% of total accounts receivable at December 31, 2022 and three customers that accounted for 38% of total accounts receivable at December 31, 2021. The Company had one customer that accounted for 29% of its revenue during the twelve months ended December 31, 2022 and one customer that accounted for 14% of its revenue during the twelve months ended December 31, 2021. Property and Equipment Property and equipment are recorded at cost, or if acquired in a business combination, at the acquisition date fair value. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets as follows: Computer Equipment 3 years Office Equipment 3 - 10 years Furniture and Fixtures 5 - 10 years The carrying amounts of assets sold or retired and the related accumulated depreciation are eliminated in the year of disposal, with resulting gains or losses included in general and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of operations. Goodwill Goodwill represents the excess of the consideration transferred for an acquired business over the fair value of the underlying identifiable net assets. The Company has goodwill in connection with its acquisitions of Ebyline, ZenContent, and TapInfluence. Goodwill is not amortized but instead, it is tested for impairment at least annually. In the event that management determines that the value of goodwill has become impaired, the Company will record a charge in an amount equal to the excess of the reporting unit’s carrying amount over its fair value, not to exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit during the fiscal quarter in which the determination is made. Goodwill is required to be tested for impairment at the reporting unit level. A reporting unit is an operating segment or one level below the operating segment level, which is referred to as a component. Management identifies its reporting units by assessing whether components (i) have discrete financial information available, (ii) engage in business activities, and (iii) whether a segment manager regularly reviews the component’s operating results. The Company had one reporting unit as of December 31, 2022. The Company performs its annual impairment tests of goodwill as of October 1 each year, or more frequently, if certain indicators are present. As described in Note 4, the assessments performed in 2021 and 2022 both concluded that the fair value of our reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, including goodwill. The Company concluded in each year that no impairment existed. Intangible Assets The Company acquired the majority of its intangible assets through its acquisitions of Ebyline, ZenContent, and TapInfluence. The Company amortized the identifiable intangible assets over periods of 12 to 60 months. See Note 4 for further details. The Company accounts for its digital assets held as indefinite-lived intangible assets in accordance with ASC 350, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other. The Company maintains ownership of and control over its digital assets and may use third-party custodial services to secure them. The digital assets are initially recorded at cost and are subsequently evaluated for any impairment losses incurred since acquisition. The Company recognized an impairment of $148,310 on digital assets held as indefinite-lived intangible assets in the twelve months ended December 31, 2022. The Company recognized an impairment of $3,412 on digital assets held as indefinite-lived intangible assets in the twelve months ended December 31, 2021. The Company reviews long-lived assets, including software development costs and other intangible assets, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying amounts may not be recoverable. If an evaluation is required, the estimated future undiscounted cash flows associated with the asset are compared with the asset's carrying amount to determine if there has been an impairment, which is calculated as the difference between the fair value of the asset and the carrying value. Estimates of future undiscounted cash flows are based on expected growth rates for the business, anticipated future economic conditions, and estimates of residual values. Fair values take into consideration management estimates of risk-adjusted discount rates, which are believed to be consistent with assumptions that marketplace participants would use in their estimates of fair value. The Company did not recognize any impairment charges associated with the Company’s acquired intangible assets in the twelve months ended December 31, 2022 and 2021. Software Development Costs In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 350-40, Internal Use Software, the Company capitalizes certain internal-use software development costs associated with creating and enhancing internally developed software related to its platforms. Software development activities generally consist of three stages (i) the research and planning stage, (ii) the application and development stage, and (iii) the post-implementation stage. Costs incurred in the research and planning stage and in the post-implementation stage of software development, or other maintenance and development expenses that do not meet the qualification for capitalization, are expensed as incurred. Costs incurred in the application and development stage, including significant enhancements and upgrades, are capitalized. These costs include personnel and related employee benefits expenses for employees or consultants who are directly associated with and who devote time to software projects and external direct costs of materials obtained in developing the software. The Company also capitalizes certain costs associated with cloud computing arrangements ("CCAs"). These software developments, acquired technology, and CCA costs are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of five years upon initial release of the software or additional features. The Company reviews the software development costs for impairment when circumstances indicate that their carrying amounts may not be recoverable. If the carrying value of an asset group is not recoverable, the Company recognizes an impairment loss for the excess of carrying value over the fair value in its consolidated statements of operations. See Note 5 for further details. Leases Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) , established a right-of-use model that requires a lessee to record a right-of-use asset and a right-of-use liability on the balance sheet for all leases with terms longer than 12 months. Leases are classified as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement. The Company does not record leases on the balance sheet that have a lease term of 12 months or less at the commencement date. Revenue Recognition The Company generates revenue from four primary sources: (1) revenue from its managed services when a marketer (typically a brand, agency, or partner) pays the Company to provide custom content, influencer marketing, amplification, or other campaign management services (“Managed Services”); (2) revenue from fees charged to software customers on their marketplace spend within the Company's platforms (“Marketplace Spend Fees”); (3) revenue from license and subscription fees charged to access our platforms (“License Fees”); and, (4) revenue derived from other fees such as inactivity fees, early cash-out fees, and other miscellaneous fees charged to users of the Company's platforms (“Other Fees”). The Company recognizes revenue in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”). Under ASC 606, revenue is recognized based on a five-step model as follows: (i) identify the contract with the customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) performance obligations are satisfied. The core principle of ASC 606 is that revenue is recognized when the transfer of promised goods or services to customers is made in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The Company applies the five-step model to contracts when it is probable that it will collect the consideration it is entitled to in exchange for the goods or services it transfers to the customer. At contract inception, once the contract is determined to be within the scope of ASC 606, the Company assesses the goods or services promised within each contract and determines those that are distinct performance obligations. The Company also determines whether it acts as an agent or a principal for each identified performance obligation. The determination of whether the Company acts as principal or agent is highly subjective and requires the Company to evaluate a number of indicators individually and as a whole in order to make its determination. For transactions in which the Company acts as a principal, revenue is reported on a gross basis as the amount paid by the marketer for the purchase of content or sponsorship, promotion, and other related services and the Company records the amounts it pays to third-party creators as cost of revenue. For transactions in which the Company acts as an agent, revenue is reported on a net basis as the amount the Company charged to the self-service marketer using the Company’s platforms, less the amounts paid to the third-party creators providing the service. The Company maintains separate arrangements with each marketer and content creator either in the form of a master agreement or terms of service, which specify the terms of the relationship and access to its platforms or by statement of work, which specifies the price and the services to be performed, along with other terms. The transaction price is determined based on the fixed fee stated in the statement of work and does not contain variable consideration. Marketers who contract with the Company to manage their advertising campaigns or custom content requests may prepay for services or request credit terms. Payment terms are typically 30 days from the invoice date. The agreement typically provides for either a non-refundable deposit or a cancellation fee if the agreement is canceled by the customer prior to completion of services. Billings in advance of completed services are recorded as a contract liability until earned. The Company assesses collectability based on several factors, including the creditworthiness of the customer and payment and transaction history. Managed Services Revenue For Managed Services Revenue, the Company enters into an agreement to provide services that may include multiple distinct performance obligations in the form of (i) an integrated marketing campaign to provide influencer marketing services, which may include the provision of blogs, tweets, photos, or videos shared through social network offerings and content promotion, such as click-through advertisements appearing in websites and social media channels, and (ii) custom content items, such as a research or news article, informational material or videos. Marketers typically purchase influencer marketing services to provide public awareness or advertising buzz regarding the marketer’s brand and purchase custom content for internal and external use. The Company views its obligation to deliver influencer marketing services, including management services, as a single performance obligation that is satisfied over time as the customer receives the benefits from the services. Revenue is recognized using an input method of costs incurred compared to total expected costs to measure the progress towards satisfying the overall performance obligation of the marketing campaign. The Company may provide one type or a combination of all types of these influencer marketing services on a statement of work for a lump sum fee. When multiple types of performance obligations exist in a contract, the Company allocates revenue to each distinct performance obligation at contract inception based on its relative standalone selling price. These performance obligations are to be provided over a period that generally ranges from one day to one year. The delivery of custom content represents a distinct performance obligation that is satisfied at a point in time when each piece of content is delivered to the customer. Based on the Company’s evaluations, revenue from Managed Services is reported on a gross basis because the Company has the primary obligation to fulfill the performance obligations, and it creates, reviews, and controls the services. The Company takes on the risk of payment to any third-party creators, and it establishes the contract price directly with its customers based on the services requested in the statement of work. Marketplace Spend Fees Revenue For Marketplace Spend Fees Revenue, the self-service customers instruct creators found through the Company’s platforms to provide and/or distribute custom content for an agreed-upon transaction price. The Company’s platforms control the contracting, description of services, acceptance of, and payment for the requested content. This service is used primarily by news agencies or marketers to control the outsourcing of their content and advertising needs. The Company charges the self-service customer the transaction price plus a fee based on the contract. Revenue is recognized when the transaction is completed by the creator and accepted by the marketer or verified as posted by the system. Based on the Company’s evaluations, this revenue is reported on a net basis since the Company is acting as an agent through its platform for the third-party creator to provide the services or content directly to the self-service customer or to post approved content through one or more social media platforms. License Fees Revenue License Fees Revenue is generated by granting customers limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable access to the Company’s technology platforms for an agreed-upon subscription period. Customers access the platforms to manage their influencer marketing campaigns. Fees for subscription or licensing services are recognized straight-line over the term of the service. Other Fees Revenue Other Fees Revenue is generated when fees are charged to the Company’s platform users primarily related to monthly plan fees, inactivity fees, and early cash-out fees. Plan fees are recognized within the month they relate to, inactivity fees are recognized at a point in time when the account is deemed inactive, and early cash-out fees are recognized when a cash-out is either below certain minimum thresholds or when accelerated payout timing is requested. The Company does not typically engage in contracts that are longer than one Advertising Costs Advertising costs are charged to expense as they are incurred, including payments to content creators to promote the Company. Advertising costs charged to operations for the twelve months ended December 31, 2022, and 2021 were approximately $2.0 million and $2.0 million, respectively. Advertising costs are included in sales and marketing expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. Income Taxes The Company has not recorded federal income tax expense due to its history of net operating losses. Deferred income taxes are accounted for using the balance sheet approach, which requires recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future consequences of temporary differences between the financial reporting basis and the tax basis of assets and liabilities. A valuation allowance is provided when it is more likely than not that a deferred tax asset will not be realized. The Company incurs minimal state franchise tax in four states, which is included in general and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. The Company identifies and evaluates uncertain tax positions, if any, and recognizes the impact of uncertain tax positions for which there is a less than more-likely-than-not probability of the position being upheld when reviewed by the relevant taxing authority. Such positions are deemed to be unrecognized tax benefits and a corresponding liability is established on the balance sheet. The Company has not recognized a liability for uncertain tax positions. If there were an unrecognized tax benefit, the Company would recognize interest accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits in interest expense and penalties in operating expenses. The Company’s tax years subject to examination based on the statute of limitations by the IRS is generally three years; however, the IRS may examine records and other evidence from the year the net operating loss was generated when the Company utilizes net operating loss carryforwards in future periods. The Company’s tax years subject to examination by the Canadian Revenue Agency is generally four years. Fair Value of Financial Instruments The Company’s financial instruments are recorded at fair value. Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The valuation techniques are based on observable and unobservable inputs. Observable inputs reflect readily obtainable data from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect certain market assumptions. There are three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value: • Level 1 – Valuation based on quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities. • Level 2 – Valuation based on quoted market prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets. • Level 3 – Valuation based on unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity, therefore requiring management’s best estimate of what market participants would use as fair value. Fair value estimates discussed herein are based upon certain market assumptions and pertinent information available to management. As of December 31, 2022, the Company holds Level 1 and Level 2 financial assets; this is discussed further in Note 2 - Financial Instruments of Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Stock-Based Compensation Stock-based compensation cost related to stock options granted under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, and the 2011 B Equity Incentive Plan (together, the “2011 Equity Incentive Plans”) (see Note 9) is measured at the grant date, based on the fair value of the award, and is recognized as expense over the employee’s requisite service period on a straight-line basis. The Company estimates the fair value of each option award on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model that uses the assumptions noted in the table below. The Company uses the simplified method to estimate the expected term of employee stock options because it does not believe historical exercise data will provide a reasonable basis for estimating the expected term for the current share options granted. The simplified method assumes that employees will exercise share options evenly between the period when the share options are vested and ending on the date when the options would expire. The Company uses the closing stock price of its common stock on the date of the grant as the associated fair value of its common stock. For issuances after June 30, 2019, the Company estimates the volatility of its common stock at the date of grant based on the volatility of its stock during the period. The Company uses the risk-free interest rate on the implied yield currently available on U.S. Treasury issues with an equivalent remaining term approximately equal to the expected life of the award. The Company has never paid any cash dividends on its common stock and does not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. The Company used the following assumptions for stock options granted under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plans during the twelve months ended December 31, 2022, and 2021: Twelve Months Ended 2011 Equity Incentive Plans Assumptions December 31, December 31, Expected term 5 years 6 years Weighted average volatility 120.48% 120.18% Weighted average risk-free interest rate 1.70% 0.98% Expected dividends — — Weighted average expected forfeiture rate 37.00% 11.74% The Company estimates forfeitures when recognizing compensation expense and this estimate of forfeitures is adjusted over the requisite service period based on the extent to which actual forfeitures differ, or are expected to differ, from such estimates. Changes in estimated forfeitures are recognized through a cumulative catch-up adjustment, which is recognized in the period of change, and a revised amount of unamortized compensation expense to be recognized in future periods. The Company may issue shares of restricted stock or restricted stock units that vest over future periods. The value of shares is recorded as the fair value of the stock or units upon the issuance date and is expensed on a straight-line basis over the vesting period. See Note 9 for additional information related to these shares. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements Income Taxes: In December 2019, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No. 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes (“ASU 2019-12”), which is intended to simplify various aspects related to accounting for income taxes. ASU 2019-12 removes certain exceptions to the general principles in Topic 740 and also clarifies and amends existing guidance to improve consistent application. The Company adopted ASU 2019-12 on January 1, 2021 with no material impact on its current reporting in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Reference Rate Reform: In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting (“ASU 2020-04”) , and further issued ASU No. 2021-01, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Scope (“ASU 2021-01”), in January 2021 to provide optional guidance for a limited time to ease the potential burden in accounting for (or recognizing the effects of) reference rate reform on financial report |
