Organization, basis of presentation and summary of accounting policies (Policies)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2022
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of presentation	Basis of presentation The Company’s unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for interim financial information. As permitted under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”), certain notes and other information have been omitted from the interim unaudited consolidated financial statements presented in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Therefore, these financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, as filed with the SEC. In management’s opinion, the consolidated financial statements include all normal and recurring adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the Company’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows. The results of operations for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the operating results that may be expected for the full fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 or any future period.
Use of estimates	Use of estimates The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates. These estimates are based on management’s best knowledge of current events and actions that the Company may undertake in the future. The more significant estimates made by management relate to the determination of the fair value of intangible assets acquired in a business combination, allowance for credit losses, income taxes, tax receivable agreement liability, and impairment of intangibles and long-lived assets.
Principles of Consolidation	Principles of Consolidation These consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiary companies. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Upon acquisition of a company, we determine if the transaction is a business combination defined by ASC 805, which is accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting. Under the acquisition method, once control is obtained of a business, the assets acquired, and liabilities assumed, including amounts attributed to noncontrolling interests, are recorded at fair value. We use our best estimates and assumptions to assign fair value to the tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date. One of the most significant estimates relates to the determination of the fair value of these assets and liabilities, specifically intangible assets such as internal use software, tradenames and trademarks, and customer relationships. The determination of the fair values is based on estimates and judgments made by management with the assistance of a third-party valuation firm. Significant assumptions for intangible assets include the discount rate, projected revenue growth rates and margin, customer retention factors, obsolescence rates and royalty rate used to calculate the expected future cash flows. Our estimates of fair value are based upon assumptions we believe to be reasonable, but which are inherently uncertain and unpredictable. Measurement period adjustments are reflected at the time identified, up through the conclusion of the measurement period, which is the time at which all information for determination of the values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed is received and is not to exceed one year from the acquisition date. We may record adjustments to the fair value of these tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed, with the corresponding offset to goodwill. Qualitative factors that contribute to the recognition of goodwill include certain intangible assets that are not recognized as separate identifiable intangible assets. Additionally, uncertain tax positions and tax-related valuation allowances are initially recorded in connection with a business combination as of the acquisition date. We continue to collect information and reevaluate these estimates and assumptions periodically and record any adjustments to preliminary estimates to goodwill, provided we are within the measurement period. If outside of the measurement period, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to the consolidated statement of income and other comprehensive income.
Cash and cash equivalents	Cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents are short-term, highly liquid investments with a maturity of ninety days or less at the time of purchase. The fair value of our cash and cash equivalents approximates carrying value. At times, cash and cash equivalents exceed the amount insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Concentration of credit risk	Concentration of credit risk Our cash, cash equivalents, trade receivables, funds receivable and customer accounts are potentially subject to concentration of credit risk. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers’ financial condition and generally requires no collateral from its customers. No individual customers represented more than 10% of the Company’s revenue. Generally, these deposits may be redeemed upon demand, and therefore, bear minimal default risk.
Trade receivables, net	Trade receivables, netTrade receivables are recorded at net realizable value, which includes allowances for credit losses. The Company estimates an allowance for credit losses related to balances that it estimates it cannot collect from merchants. These uncollectible amounts relate to chargebacks, uncollectible merchant fees, and ACH transactions that have been rejected subsequent to the payout date. The Company uses a loss-rate method, which utilizes historical write-off data, to estimate expected credit losses relating to uncollectible accounts.
Prepaid expenses	Prepaid expenses Prepaid expenses primarily consist of insurance, software licenses and other prepaid supplier invoices.
Other current assets	Other current assets Other current assets primarily consist of current deferred debt issuance costs related to the line of credit, other receivables, and equipment inventory.
Funds held for clients and client funds obligation	Funds held for clients and client funds obligation Funds held for clients and client funds obligations result from the Company’s processing services and associated settlement activities, including settlement of payment transactions. Funds held for clients represent assets that are restricted for use solely for the purposes of satisfying the obligations to remit funds relating to the Company’s processing services, which are classified as client funds obligations on our consolidated balance sheets. Funds held for clients are generated principally from merchant services transactions and are comprised of both settlements’ receivable and cash as of period end. Certain merchant settlement assets that relate to settlement obligations accrued by the Company are held by partner banks. The Company classified funds held for clients as a current asset since these funds are held solely for the purpose of satisfying the client funds obligations. The Company records corresponding settlement obligations for amounts payable to merchants and for payment instruments not yet presented for settlement as client funds obligations. Client funds obligations represent the Company's contractual obligations to remit funds to satisfy clients' settlement obligations. The client funds obligations represent liabilities that will be repaid within one year of the balance sheet date. Differences in the funds held for clients and client funds obligation are due to timing differences between when transactions are settled and when payment instruments are presented for settlement and are considered to be immaterial. The changes in settlement assets and obligations are presented on a net basis within financing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows.
Property and equipment, net	Property and equipment, net Property and equipment, is stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation of property and equipment is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. These lives are 3 years for computers and equipment, 5 years for furniture, fixtures, and office equipment, and the lesser of the asset useful life or remaining lease term for leasehold improvements. Also, the Company capitalizes software development costs and website development costs incurred in accordance with ASC 350-40, Internal Use Software. The useful lives are 3 to 5 years for internal-use software. Repair and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred and included in selling, general and administrative expenses on the consolidated statements of income and other comprehensive income.
Leases	Leases On January 1, 2021, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) using the modified retrospective transition approach. We applied the new standard to all material leases existing at the date of initial application. Refer to the discussion under Note 11 Commitments and Contingencies. We determine if a contract is a leasing arrangement at inception. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet. Right-of-use (ROU) assets and lease liabilities are recognized at the commencement date based on the present value of remaining lease payments over the lease term. For this purpose, the Company considers only payments that are fixed and determinable at the time of commencement. The Company calculates the present value of future payments by using an estimated incremental borrowing rate, which approximates the rate at which the Company would borrow, on a secured basis and over a similar term. ROU assets represent our right to control the use of an identified asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. We use the incremental borrowing rate on the commencement date in determining the present value of our lease payments. We recognize operating lease expense for our operating leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The Company’s lease agreements may contain variable costs such as common area maintenance, insurance, real estate taxes, or other costs. Variable lease costs are expensed as incurred on the consolidated statements of income and other comprehensive income.
Impairment of long-lived assets	Impairment of long-lived assets The Company evaluates the recoverability of its long-lived assets in accordance with the provisions of ASC 360, Property, Plant and Equipment (“ASC 360”). ASC 360 requires that long-lived assets and certain identifiable intangibles be reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets is measured by comparing the carrying amount of an asset to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. There was no impairment of long-lived assets recognized in any period presented in the consolidated financial statements.
Goodwill and other intangible assets, net	Goodwill and other intangible assets, net Goodwill represents the premium paid over the fair value of the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired in the Company’s business combinations. The Company evaluates goodwill and intangible assets in accordance with ASC 350, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (“ASC 350”). ASC 350 requires goodwill to be either qualitatively or quantitatively assessed for impairment annually (or more frequently if impairment indicators arise) for each reporting unit. The Company tests goodwill and intangible assets annually for impairment, and at interim periods, using a qualitative approach. Our annual evaluation assesses qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not the fair value is less than the carrying value of the asset. If the Company is unable to conclude that goodwill and intangible assets, net are not impaired during its qualitative assessment, the Company will perform a quantitative assessment by estimating the fair value of the assets and comparing the fair value to the carrying value. As of September 30, 2022 and 2021, it was more likely than not that the fair value of goodwill and intangible assets, net exceeded their carrying value and as such, there was no goodwill impairment recognized in either period presented in the consolidated financial statements. Intangible assets with finite lives consist of internal use software, trade names, customer lists and customer relationships and are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. From time to time, the Company acquires customer lists from sales agents in exchange for an upfront cash payment. The purchase of customer lists are treated as asset acquisitions, resulting in recording an intangible asset at cost on the date of acquisition. The acquired customer lists intangible assets have a useful life of 5 years. Factors that could trigger an impairment review include significant under-performance relative to expected historical or projected future operating results, significant changes in the manner of our use of the acquired assets or the strategy for our overall business or significant negative industry or economic trends. If this evaluation indicates that the value of the intangible asset may be impaired, the Company makes an assessment of the recoverability of the net book value of the asset over its remaining useful life. If this assessment indicates that the intangible asset is not recoverable, based on the estimated undiscounted future cash flows of the asset over the remaining amortization period, the Company reduces the net book value of the related intangible asset to fair value and may adjust the remaining amortization period. The Company evaluates its intangible assets with finite lives for indications of impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the net book value may not be recoverable. There were no indicators of impairment identified nor was impairment recognized in intangible assets in any period presented in the consolidated financial statements.
Long-term debt and issuance costs	Long-term debt and issuance costs Eligible debt issuance costs associated with the Company's credit facilities are deferred and amortized to interest expense over the term of the related debt using the effective interest method. Debt issuance costs associated with Company's term debt are presented on the Company's consolidated balance sheets as a direct reduction in the carrying value of the associated debt liability.
Revenue	RevenueThe Company’s business model provides payment services, card processing, and ACH, to merchants through enterprise or vertically focused software partners, direct sales, reseller partners, other referral partners, and a limited number of financial institutions. The Company recognizes processing revenues on bankcard merchant accounts and ACH merchant accounts at the time merchant transactions are processed, and periodic fees over the period the service is performed.
Cost of services exclusive of depreciation and amortization	Cost of services exclusive of depreciation and amortization Cost of services includes card processing costs, ACH costs, and other fees paid to card networks, and equipment expenses directly attributable to payment processing and related services to merchants. These costs are recognized as incurred. Cost of services also includes revenue share amounts paid to reseller and referral partners. These expenses are recognized as transactions are processed. Accrued revenue share represent amounts earned during the period but not yet paid at the end of the period.
Selling, general and administrative expenses	Selling, general and administrative expenses Selling, general and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, wages, commissions, marketing costs, professional services costs, technology costs, occupancy costs of leased space, and bad debt expense. Stock-based compensation expense is also included in this category.
Depreciation & Amortization	Depreciation & Amortization Depreciation and amortization consist primarily of amortization of intangible assets, mainly including customer relationships, internal-use software, customer lists, trade names and to a lesser extent depreciation on our investments in property, equipment, and software. We depreciate and amortize our assets on a straight-line basis in accordance with our accounting policies. These lives are 3 years for computers and equipment and acquired internal-use software, 5 years for furniture, fixtures, and office equipment, and the lesser of the asset useful life or remaining lease term for leasehold improvements. Repair and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred and included in selling, general and administrative expenses on the consolidated statements of income and other comprehensive income. Customer lists and customer relationships are amortized over a period of 5-15 years, developed technology 5-10 years, and trade names 5-25 years.
Derivative financial instruments	Derivative financial instruments The Company accounts for its derivative instruments in accordance with ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging. ASC 815 establishes accounting and reporting standards for derivative instruments requiring the recognition of all derivative instruments as assets or liabilities in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets at fair value. The Company records its derivative instruments as assets or liabilities, depending on its rights or obligations under the applicable derivative contract. Changes in fair value are recognized in earnings in the affected period. The Company uses an interest rate cap contract to manage risk from fluctuations in interest rates on its Term Loan. Interest rate caps involve the receipt of variable-rate amounts beyond a specified strike price over the life of the agreement without exchange of the underlying principal amount. The interest rate cap is not designated as a hedging instrument. Changes in the fair value of the interest rate cap are recorded through other income (expense) in the consolidated statement of income and other comprehensive income, other current assets and other current liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets, and in changes in other current assets in the consolidated statement of cash flows.
Income taxes	Income taxes The Company utilizes the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized principally for the expected tax consequences of temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts, using currently enacted tax rates. The measurement of a deferred tax asset is reduced, if necessary, by a valuation allowance if it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax asset will not be realized. The Company recognizes a tax benefit for uncertain tax positions if the Company believes it is more likely than not that the position will be upheld on audit based solely on the technical merits of the tax position. The Company evaluates uncertain tax positions after the consideration of all available information. Such tax positions must initially and subsequently be estimated as the largest amount of tax benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement with the tax authorities, assuming full knowledge of the position and relevant facts. The Company's policy is to recognize any interest and penalties related to income taxes as income tax expense in the relevant period.
Fair-Value Measurements	Fair-Value Measurements The Company follows ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements, which defines fair value 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 determination of fair value is based on the principal or most advantageous market in which the Company could participate and considers assumptions that market participants would use when pricing the asset or liability, such as inherent risk, transfer restrictions, and risk of nonperformance. Also, determination of fair value assumes that market participants will consider the highest and best use of the asset. The Company uses the hierarchy prescribed in ASC 820 for fair value measurements, based on the available inputs to the valuation and the degree to which they are observable or not observable in the market. The three levels of the hierarchy are as follows: Level 1 Inputs—Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities accessible to the reporting entity at the measurement date; Level 2 Inputs—Inputs are quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in markets that are not active; inputs other than quoted prices, but that are observable for the asset or liability (e.g., interest rates; yield curves); and inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or by other means (i.e., market corroborated inputs); and Level 3 Inputs—Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability used to measure fair value. These inputs reflect the Company’s own assumptions about what other market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. These are based on the best information available and can include the Company's own data.
Recently Issued Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted	Recently Issued Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted In March 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting which provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying U.S. GAAP to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions affected by reference rate reform if certain criteria are met. The amendments in this ASU are effective for all entities as of March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2022. An entity may elect to apply the amendments for contract modifications by Topic or Industry Subtopic as of any date from the beginning an interim period that includes or is subsequent to March 12, 2020, or prospectively from the date that the financial statements are available to be issued. Once elected for a Topic or an Industry Subtopic, the amendments must be applied prospectively for all eligible contract modifications for that Topic or Industry Subtopic. The Company may apply ASU 2020-04 as its contracts referenced in London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) are impacted by reference rate reform. The Company is currently evaluating the effect of ASU 2020-04 on its consolidated financial statements.

Paya Holdings Inc. 10-Q