Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

NOTE 1 - NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

v3.7.0.1
NOTE 1 - NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
NOTE 1 - NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

NOTE 1 – NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES


Nature of Operations


Duos Technologies Group, Inc. (“Company”), through its operating subsidiary “Duos Technologies, Inc. (“duostech”) is primarily engaged in the design and deployment of state-of-the-art, artificial intelligence driven intelligent technologies systems. duostech converges traditional security measures with information technologies to create “actionable intelligence.” duostech’s IP is built upon two of its core technology platforms (praesidium® and centraco™), both distributed as licensed software suites, and natively embedded within engineered turnkey systems. praesidium® is a modular suite of analytics applications which process and simultaneously analyze data streams from a virtually unlimited number of conventional sensors and/or data points. Native algorithms compare analyzed data against user-defined criteria and rules in real time and automatically report any exceptions, deviations and/or anomalies. This application suite also includes a broad range of conventional operational system components and sub-systems, including an embedded feature-rich video management engine and a proprietary Alarm Management Service (AMS). This unique service provides continuous monitoring of all connected devices, processes, equipment and sub-systems, and automatically communicates to the front end-user interface, if and when an issue, event or performance anomalies are detected. centraco™ is a comprehensive user interface that includes the functionalities of a Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) system as well as those of an Enterprise Information System (EIS). This multi-layered interface can be securely installed as a stand-alone application suite inside a local area network or pushed outside a wide area network using the same browser-based interface. It leverages industry standards for data security, access, and encryption as appropriate. The platform also operates as a cloud-hosted solution.


The Company’s strategy includes expansion of its technology base through organic development efforts, strategic partnerships, and growth through strategic acquisitions. duostech’s primary target industry sectors include transportation, with emphasis on freight and transit railroad owners/operators, petro-chemical, utilities and healthcare.


As reported previously, Duos Technologies Group, Inc. is the result of the reverse merger between duostech and a wholly owned subsidiary of Information Systems Associates, Inc., a Florida corporation (“ISA”), which became effective as of April 1, 2015 and as a result of which duostech became a wholly owned subsidiary of the merged entity. The merger was followed by a corporate name change to Duos Technologies Group, Inc., a symbol change from IOSA to DUOT and up-listing from OTC Pink to OTCQB.


ISA’s original business of IT Asset Management (ITAM) services for large data centers is now operated as a division of the Company that continues its sales efforts through large strategic partners. ISA developed a methodology for the efficient data collection of assets contained within large data centers and was awarded a patent in 2010 for specific methods to collect and audit data.


Principles of Consolidation


The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, duostech and TrueVue 360, Inc. All inter-company transactions and balances are eliminated in consolidation.


Use of Estimates


The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures 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 may differ from these estimates. The most significant estimates in the accompanying consolidated financial statements include the allowance on accounts receivable, valuation of deferred tax assets, valuation of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in business combinations, valuation of intangible and other long-lived assets, estimates of percentage completion on projects and related revenues, valuation of stock-based compensation, valuation of derivatives, valuation of warrants issued with debt, valuation of beneficial conversion features in convertible debt, valuation of stock-based awards and valuation of loss contingencies. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

 

Cash and Cash Equivalents


For the purposes of the Statement of Cash Flows, the Company considers liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less to be a cash equivalent. There were no cash equivalents at December 31, 2016 or 2015.


Concentrations


Cash Concentrations


Cash is maintained at financial institutions and at times, balances may exceed federally insured limits. We have not experienced any losses related to these balances. There were no amounts on deposit in excess of federally insured limits at December 31, 2016 and 2015.


Significant Customers and Concentration of Credit Risk


Major Customers and Accounts Receivable


The Company had certain customers whose revenue individually represented 10% or more of the Company’s total revenue, or whose accounts receivable balances individually represented 10% or more of the Company’s total accounts receivable, as follows:


For the year ended December 31, 2016, four customers accounted for 21%, 19%, 16% and 11% of revenues.  For the year ended December 31, 2015, four customers accounted for 22%, 21%, 20% and 14% of revenues.


At December 31, 2016, three customers accounted for 50%, 26% and 14% of accounts receivable.  At December 31, 2015, three customers accounted for 33%, 27% and 24% of accounts receivable.


Geographic Concentration


Approximately 20.89% and 1.73% of revenue in 2016 and 2015, respectively, is generated from customers outside of the United States.


Derivative Instruments


ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC Topic 815”), establishes accounting and reporting standards for derivative instruments and for hedging activities by requiring that all derivatives be recognized in the balance sheet and measured at fair value. Gains or losses resulting from changes in the fair value of derivatives are recognized in earnings or recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) depending on the purpose of the derivatives and whether they qualify and have been designated for hedge accounting treatment.  The Company uses a Monte Carlo based simulation model to compute the fair value of its embedded derivative instruments. Some of the more significant inputs to our fair value model that, if changed, might produce a significantly higher or lower fair value measurement of the Company’s derivative liabilities include the expected volatility, expected term and the stock price on the valuation date.


Fair Value of Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements


We measure our financial assets and liabilities in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. For certain of our financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities, the carrying amounts approximate fair value due to their short maturities. Amounts recorded for notes payable, net of discount, and loans payable also approximate fair value because current interest rates available to us for debt with similar terms and maturities are substantially the same.


We follow accounting guidance for financial assets and liabilities. This standard defines fair value, provides guidance for measuring fair value and requires certain disclosures. This standard does not require any new fair value measurements, but rather applies to all other accounting pronouncements that require or permit fair value measurements. This guidance does not apply to measurements related to share-based payments. This guidance discusses valuation techniques, such as the market approach (comparable market prices), the income approach (present value of future income or cash flow), and the cost approach (cost to replace the service capacity of an asset or replacement cost).

 

The guidance utilizes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three broad levels. The following is a brief description of those three levels:


Level 1: Observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.


Level 2: Inputs, other than quoted prices that are observable, either directly or indirectly. These include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets and quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active.


Level 3: Unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore developed using estimates and assumptions developed by us, which reflect those that a market participant would use.


Accounts Receivable


Accounts receivable are stated at estimated net realizable value. Accounts receivable are comprised of balances due from customers net of estimated allowances for uncollectible accounts. In determining the collections on the account, historical trends are evaluated and specific customer issues are reviewed to arrive at appropriate allowances. The Company reviews its accounts to estimate losses resulting from the inability of its customers to make required payments. Any required allowance is based on specific analysis of past due accounts and also considers historical trends of write-offs. Past due status is based on how recently payments have been received from customers.


Property and Equipment


Property and equipment is stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is provided by the straight-line method over the estimated economic life of the property and equipment (three to five years). When assets are sold or retired, their costs and accumulated depreciation are eliminated from the accounts and any gain or loss resulting from their disposal is included in the statement of operations. Leasehold improvements are expensed over the shorter of the term of our lease or their useful lives.


Software Development Costs


The Company accounts for costs incurred to develop or purchase computer software for internal use in accordance with FASB ASC 350-40 “Internal-Use Software” or ASC 350-50 "Website Costs". Costs incurred during the preliminary project stage along with post-implementation stages of internal use computer software are expensed as incurred. Costs incurred to maintain existing product offerings are expensed as incurred.


Patents and Trademarks


Patents and trademarks which are stated at amortized cost, relate to the development of video surveillance security system technology and are being amortized over 17 years.


Long-Lived Assets


The Company evaluates the recoverability of its property, equipment, and other long-lived assets in accordance with FASB ASC 360-10-35-15 “Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets”, which requires recognition of impairment of long-lived assets in the event the net book value of such assets exceed the estimated future undiscounted cash flows attributable to such assets or the business to which such intangible assets relate. This guidance 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 to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets. Assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell.


Accrual of Legal Costs Associated with Loss Contingencies


The Company expenses legal costs associated with loss contingencies, as incurred.


Product Warranties


The Company has a 90 day warranty period for materials and labor after final acceptance of all projects. If any parts are defective they are replaced under our vendor warranty which is usually 12-36 months. Final acceptance terms vary by customer. Some customers have a cure period for any material deviation and if the Company fails or is unable to correct any deviations, a full refund of all payments made by the customer will be arranged by the Company. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, management considers all final acceptance terms have been met; therefore no accrual of warranty reserves has been  made.


Loan Costs


Loan costs paid to lenders or third-parties are recorded as debt discounts to the related loans and amortized to interest expense over the loan term.


Sales Returns Liabilities


Our systems are sold as integrated systems and there are no sales returns allowed.


Revenue Recognition


Project Revenue


The Company constructs intelligent technology systems consisting of materials and labor under customer contracts. Revenues and related costs on project revenue are recognized using the “percentage of completion method” of accounting in accordance with ASC 605-35, “Construction-Type and Production-Type Contracts”. Under this method, contract revenues are recognized over the performance period of the contract in direct proportion to the costs incurred as a percentage of total estimated costs for the entirety of the contract. Costs include direct material, direct labor, subcontract labor and other allocable indirect costs. All un-allocable indirect costs and corporate general and administrative costs are also charged to the periods as incurred. Any recognized revenues that have not been billed to a customer are recorded as an asset in “costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts”. Any billings of customers in excess of recognized revenues are recorded as a liability in “billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings on uncompleted contracts”. However, in the event a loss on a contract is foreseen, the Company will recognize the loss when such loss is determined.

 

A contract is considered complete when all costs except insignificant items have been incurred and the installation is operating according to specifications or has been accepted by the customer.

 

The Company has contracts in various stages of completion. Such contracts require estimates to determine the appropriate cost and revenue recognition. Costs estimates are reviewed periodically on a contract-by-contract basis throughout the life of the contract such that adjustments to the profit resulting from revisions are made cumulative to the date of the revision. Significant management judgments and estimates, including the estimated costs to complete projects, must be made and used in connection with the revenue recognized in the accounting period. Current estimates may be revised as additional information becomes available.

 

Maintenance and Technical Support


Maintenance and technical support services are provided on both an as-needed and extended-term basis and may include providing both parts and labor. Maintenance and technical support provided outside of a maintenance contract are on an as-requested basis, and revenue is recognized as the services are provided. Revenue for maintenance and technical support provided on an extended-term basis is recognized ratably over the term of the contract.


For sales arrangements that do not involve multiple elements such as professional services, which are of short-term duration, revenues are recognized when services are completed.


IT Asset Management Services


The Company recognizes revenue from its IT asset management business in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 104, "Revenue Recognition" and Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 985-605-25 which addresses Revenue Recognition for the software industry. The general criteria for revenue recognition under ASC 985-605 for our Company, which sells software licenses, which do not require any significant modification or customization, is that revenue is recognized when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred, the fee is fixed or determinable and collectability is probable.


The Company’s IT asset management business generates revenues from three sources: (1) Professional Services (consulting and auditing); (2) Software licensing with optional hardware sales and (3) Customer Service (training and maintenance support).


For sales arrangements that do not involve multiple elements: 


(1)

Revenues for professional services, which are of short-term duration, are recognized when services are completed;

 

(2)

For all periods reflected in this report, software license sales have been one time sales of a perpetual license to use our software product and the customer also has the option to purchase third party manufactured handheld devices from us if they purchase our software license. Accordingly, the revenue is recognized upon delivery of the software and delivery of the hardware, as applicable, to the customer;


(3)

Training sales are one-time upfront short term training sessions and are recognized after the service has been performed; and

 

(4)

Maintenance/support is an optional product sold to our software license customers under one year contracts. Accordingly, maintenance payments received upfront are deferred and recognized over the contract term.


Multiple Elements


Arrangements with customers may involve multiple elements including project revenue and maintenance services in our Intelligent Technology Systems business. Maintenance will occur after the project is completed and may be provided on an extended-term basis or on an as-needed basis. In our IT Asset Management business, multiple elements may include any of the above four sources. Training and maintenance on software products may occur after the software product sale while other services may occur before or after the software product sale and may not relate to the software product. Revenue recognition for multiple element arrangement is as follows:

 

Each element is accounted for separately when each element has value to the customer on a standalone basis and there is Company specific objective evidence of selling price of each deliverable. For revenue arrangements with multiple deliverables, the Company allocates the total customer arrangement to the separate units of accounting based on their relative selling prices as determined by the price of the items when sold separately. Once the selling price is allocated, the revenue for each element is recognized using the applicable criteria under GAAP as discussed above for elements sold in non-multiple element arrangements. A delivered item or items that do not qualify as a separate unit of accounting within the arrangement are combined with the other applicable undelivered items within the arrangement. The allocation of arrangement consideration and the recognition of revenue is then determined for those combined deliverables as a single unit of accounting. The Company sells its various services and software and hardware products at established prices on a standalone basis which provides Company specific objective evidence of selling price for purposes of multiple element relative selling price allocation. The Company only sells maintenance services or spare parts based on its established rates after it has completed a system integration project for a customer. The customer is not required to purchase maintenance services. All elements in multiple element arrangements with Company customers qualify as separate units of account for revenue recognition purposes. 


Deferred Revenue


Deferred revenues represent billings or cash received in excess of revenue recognizable on service agreements that are not accounted for under the percentage of completion method.


Advertising


The Company expenses the cost of advertising. During the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, there were no advertising costs.


Share-Based Compensation


Stock-based compensation is accounted for in accordance with the Share-Based Payment Topic of ASC 718 which requires recognition in the financial statements of the cost of employee and director services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments over the shorter of the period the employee or director is required to perform the services in exchange for the award or the vesting period. The ASC also requires measurement of the cost of employee and director services received in exchange for an award based on the grant-date fair value of the award.

 

Pursuant to ASC Topic 505-50, for share-based payments to consultants and other third-parties, compensation expense is determined at the “measurement date”. The expense is recognized over the service period of the award. Until the measurement date is reached, the total amount of compensation expense remains uncertain. The Company initially records compensation expense based on the fair value of the award at the reporting date. 


Income Taxes


The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 740, Income Taxes, which requires the recognition of deferred income taxes for differences between the basis of assets and liabilities for financial statement and income tax purposes. The deferred tax assets and liabilities represent the future tax return consequences of those differences, which will either be taxable or deductible when the assets and liabilities are recovered or settled. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.


The Company evaluates all significant tax positions as required by ASC 740. As of December 31, 2016, the Company does not believe that it has taken any positions that would require the recording of any additional tax liability nor does it believe that there are any unrealized tax benefits that would either increase or decrease within the next year.


Any penalties and interest assessed by income taxing authorities are included in operating expenses.


The federal and state income tax returns of the Company are subject to examination by the IRS and state taxing authorities, generally for three years after they were filed. Tax years 2013, 2014 and 2015 remain open for potential audit.


Earnings (Loss) Per Share


Basic earnings per share (EPS) are computed by dividing net loss applicable to common stock by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted net loss per common share is computed by dividing the net loss applicable to common stock by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period and, if dilutive, potential common shares outstanding during the period. Potential common shares consist of the incremental common shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options, stock warrants, convertible debt instruments, convertible preferred stock or other common stock equivalents. Potentially dilutive securities are excluded from the computation if their effect is anti-dilutive. At December 31, 2016 and 2015, outstanding warrants to purchase an aggregate of 24,858,346 and 609,340, respectively, shares of common stock and 4,294,730 and 734,047, respectively, shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of convertible debt and at December 31, 2016, 1,677,333 shares issuable upon conversion of Series A preferred stock were excluded from the computation of dilutive earnings per share because the inclusion would have been anti-dilutive.


Segment Information


The Company operates in one reportable segment.


Reclassifications


Certain amounts in the 2015 balance sheet have been reclassified from accounts payable to accrued expenses to conform to the 2016 presentation.  This reclassification increased accrued expenses in 2015 by $47,250 and decreased accounts payable by the same amount.


Recent Issued Accounting Standards


In August 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2015-14 Revenue from Contracts with Customers.  The ASU defers the effective date of previously issued ASU 2014-09 (the new revenue recognition standard) by one year for both public and private companies. The ASU requires public entities to apply the new revenue recognition guidance for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim reporting periods within annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. Both public and nonpublic entities will be permitted to apply the new revenue recognition standard as of the original effective date for public entities (annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016).  The Company plans to adopt this standard for their fiscal year beginning January 1, 2018.  The Company is in the process of analyzing the impacts of this ASU, but does not believe it will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.


In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02: “Leases (Topic 842)” whereby lessees will need to recognize almost all leases on their balance sheet as a right of use asset and a lease liability.  This guidance is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018.  The Company does not expect this ASU to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.


In March 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-09: "Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718)-Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting" which includes multiple provisions intended to simplify various aspects of the accounting for share-based payments. This guidance is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016.  The Company is in the process of analyzing the impacts of this ASU, but does not believe it will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.