Note 1: Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

These unaudited financial statements represent the condensed consolidated financial statements of The Joint Corp. (“The Joint”) and its wholly owned subsidiary The Joint Corporate Unit No. 1, LLC (collectively, the “Company”). These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with The Joint Corp. and Subsidiary consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto as set forth in The Joint Corp.’s Form 10-K, which included all disclosures required by generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). In the opinion of management, these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments necessary to present fairly the Company’s financial position on a consolidated basis and the consolidated results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods presented. The results of operations for the periods ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 are not necessarily indicative of expected operating results for the full year. The information presented throughout the document as of and for the periods ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 is unaudited.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amount of assets, liabilities, revenue, costs, expenses and other (expenses) income that are reported in the condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying disclosures. These estimates are based on management’s best knowledge of current events, historical experience, actions that the Company may undertake in the future and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. As a result, actual results may be different from these estimates. For a discussion of significant estimates and judgments made in recognizing revenue under the new revenue standard, see Note 2, Revenue Disclosures. Certain balances were reclassified from general and administrative expenses to other expense, net, as well as certain balances from other revenues to revenues and management fees from company clinics for the period ended March 31, 2017 to conform to the current year presentation and align with the segment footnote presentation.

Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of The Joint Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiary, The Joint Corporate Unit No. 1, LLC, which was dormant for all periods presented.

All significant intercompany accounts and transactions between The Joint Corp. and its subsidiary have been eliminated in consolidation.

Comprehensive Loss

Net loss and comprehensive loss are the same for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017.

Nature of Operations

The Joint, a Delaware corporation, was formed on March 10, 2010 for the principal purpose of franchising, developing and managing chiropractic clinics, selling regional developer rights and supporting the operations of franchised chiropractic clinics at locations throughout the United States of America. The franchising of chiropractic clinics is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission and various state authorities.  

The following table summarizes the number of clinics in operation under franchise agreements and as company-owned or managed clinics for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017:

Variable Interest Entities

An entity deemed to hold the controlling interest in a voting interest entity or deemed to be the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity (“VIE”) is required to consolidate the VIE in its financial statements. An entity is deemed to be the primary beneficiary of a VIE if it has both of the following characteristics: (a) the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance and (b) the obligation to absorb the majority of losses of the VIE or the right to receive the majority of benefits from the VIE. Investments where the Company does not hold the controlling interest and is not the primary beneficiary are accounted for under the equity method.

Certain states in which the Company manages clinics regulate the practice of chiropractic care and require that chiropractic services be provided by legal entities organized under state laws as professional corporations or PCs. Such PCs are VIEs. In these states, the Company has entered into management services agreements with such PCs under which the Company provides, on an exclusive basis, all non-clinical services of the chiropractic practice.  The Company has analyzed its relationship with the PCs and has determined that the Company does not have the power to direct the activities of the PCs. As such, the activities of the PCs are not included in the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements. 

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid instruments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. The Company continually monitors its positions with, and credit quality of, the financial institutions with which it invests. As of the balance sheet date and periodically throughout the period, the Company has maintained balances in various operating accounts in excess of federally insured limits. The Company has invested substantially all its cash in short-term bank deposits. The Company had no cash equivalents as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash relates to cash that franchisees and company-owned or managed clinics contribute to the Company’s National Marketing Fund and cash that franchisees provide to various voluntary regional Co-Op Marketing Funds. Cash contributed by franchisees to the National Marketing Fund is to be used in accordance with the Company’s Franchise Disclosure Document with a focus on regional and national marketing and advertising. 

Concentrations of Credit Risk

From time to time, the Company grants credit in the normal course of business to franchisees and PCs related to the collection of royalties and other operating revenues. The Company periodically performs credit analysis and monitors the financial condition of the franchisees and PCs to reduce credit risk. As of March 31, 2018, one PC entity and one franchise represented 7% of outstanding accounts receivable. As of December 31, 2017, one PC entity and six franchisees represented 13% of outstanding accounts receivable. The Company did not have any customers that represented greater than 10% of its revenues during the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable represent amounts due from franchisees for initial franchise fees and royalty fees. The Company considers a reserve for doubtful accounts based on the creditworthiness of the entity. The provision for uncollectible amounts is continually reviewed and adjusted to maintain the allowance at a level considered adequate to cover future losses. The allowance is management’s best estimate of uncollectible amounts and is determined based on specific identification and historical performance that the Company tracks on an ongoing basis. Actual losses ultimately could differ materially in the near term from the amounts estimated in determining the allowance. As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company had an allowance for doubtful accounts of $0.

Deferred Franchise Costs

Deferred franchise costs represent commissions that are paid in conjunction with the sale of a franchise and are recognized as an expense when the respective revenue is recognized, which is generally over the term of the related franchise agreement.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost or for property acquired as part of franchise acquisitions at fair value at the date of closing. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over estimated useful lives of three to seven years. Leasehold improvements are amortized using the straight-line method over the shorter of the lease term or the estimated useful life of the assets.

Maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred; major renewals and improvements are capitalized. When items of property or equipment are sold or retired, the related cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any gain or loss is included in income.

Software Developed

The Company capitalizes certain software development costs. These capitalized costs are primarily related to proprietary software used by clinics for operations and by the Company for the management of operations. Costs incurred in the preliminary stages of development are expensed as incurred. Once an application has reached the development stage, internal and external costs, if direct, are capitalized as assets in progress until the software is substantially complete and ready for its intended use. Capitalization ceases upon completion of all substantial testing. The Company also capitalizes costs related to specific upgrades and enhancements when it is probable the expenditures will result in additional functionality. Software developed is recorded as part of property and equipment. Maintenance and training costs are expensed as incurred. Internal use software is amortized on a straight-line basis over its estimated useful life, generally five years. 

Intangible Assets

Intangible assets consist primarily of re-acquired franchise and regional developer rights and customer relationships.  The Company amortizes the fair value of re-acquired franchise rights over the remaining contractual terms of the re-acquired franchise rights at the time of the acquisition, which range from six to eight years. In the case of regional developer rights, the Company amortizes the acquired regional developer rights over seven years. The fair value of customer relationships is amortized over their estimated useful life of two years. 

Goodwill

Goodwill consists of the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired in the acquisitions completed in the years ended December 31, 2014 through December 31, 2016.  Goodwill and intangible assets deemed to have indefinite lives are not amortized but are subject to annual impairment tests. As required, the Company performs an annual impairment test of goodwill as of the first day of the fourth quarter or more frequently if events or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value. No impairments of goodwill were recorded for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017.

Long-Lived Assets

The Company reviews its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recovered. The Company looks primarily to estimated undiscounted future cash flows in its assessment of whether or not long-lived assets have been impaired. No impairments of long-lived assets were recorded for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017.

Advertising Fund

The Company has established an advertising fund for national/regional marketing and advertising of services offered by its clinics. The monthly marketing fee is 2% of clinic sales. The Company segregates the marketing funds collected which are included in restricted cash on its condensed consolidated balance sheets. As amounts are expended from the fund, the Company recognizes a related expense.

Co-Op Marketing Funds

Some franchises have established regional Co-Ops for advertising within their local and regional markets. The Company maintains a custodial relationship under which the marketing funds collected are segregated and used for the purposes specified by the Co-Ops’ officers. The marketing funds are included in restricted cash on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets.

Accounting for Costs Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities

The Company recognizes a liability for the cost associated with an exit or disposal activity that is measured initially at its fair value in the period in which the liability is incurred.

Costs to terminate an operating lease or other contracts are (a) costs to terminate the contract before the end of its term or (b) costs that will continue to be incurred under the contract for its remaining term without economic benefit to the entity. A liability for costs that will continue to be incurred under a contract for its remaining term without economic benefit to the entity shall be recognized at the cease-use date. In periods subsequent to initial measurement, changes to the liability are measured using the credit adjusted risk-free rate that was used to measure the liability initially. The cumulative effect of a change resulting from a revision to either the timing or the amount of estimated cash flows shall be recognized as an adjustment to the liability in the period of the change.

Deferred Rent

The Company leases office space for its corporate offices and company-owned or managed clinics under operating leases, which may include rent holidays and rent escalation clauses.  It recognizes rent holiday periods and scheduled rent increases on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.  The Company records tenant improvement allowances as deferred rent and amortizes the allowance over the term of the lease, as a reduction to rent expense.

Revenue Recognition

The Company generates revenue primarily through its company-owned and managed clinics, royalties, franchise fees, advertising fund, and through IT related income and computer software fees.

Revenues and Management Fees from Company Clinics.  The Company earns revenues from clinics that it owns and operates or manages throughout the United States.  In those states where the Company owns and operates the clinic, revenues are recognized when services are performed. The Company offers a variety of membership and wellness packages which feature discounted pricing as compared with its single-visit pricing.  Amounts collected in advance for membership and wellness packages are recorded as deferred revenue and recognized when the service is performed.  In other states where state law requires the chiropractic practice to be owned by a licensed chiropractor, the Company enters into a management agreement with the doctor’s PC.  Under the management agreement, the Company provides administrative and business management services to the doctor’s PC in return for a monthly management fee.  Due to certain implicit variable consideration in these management agreement contracts, and based on past practices between the parties, the Company determined that it cannot meet the probable threshold if it includes all of the variable consideration in the transaction price. Therefore, the Company recognizes revenue under these contracts only when it has a high degree of confidence that revenue will not be reversed in a subsequent reporting period.

Royalties and Advertising Fund Revenue. The Company collects royalties, as stipulated in the franchise agreement, equal to 7% of gross sales, and a marketing and advertising fee currently equal to 2% of gross sales. Royalties, including franchisee contributions to advertising funds, are calculated as a percentage of clinic sales over the term of the franchise agreement. The franchise agreement royalties, inclusive of advertising fund contributions, represent sales-based royalties that are related entirely to our performance obligation under the franchise agreement and are recognized as franchisee clinic level sales occur. Royalties are collected bi-monthly two working days after each sales period has ended.

Franchise Fees. The Company requires the entire non-refundable initial franchise fee to be paid upon execution of a franchise agreement, which typically has an initial term of ten years. Initial franchise fees are recognized ratably on a straight-line basis over the term of the franchise agreement.  The Company’s services under the franchise agreement include: training of franchisees and staff, site selection, construction/vendor management and ongoing operations support. The Company provides no financing to franchisees and offers no guarantees on their behalf. The services provided by the Company are highly interrelated with the franchise license and as such are considered to represent a single performance obligation.

Regional Developer Fees. During 2011, the Company established a regional developer program to engage independent contractors to assist in developing specified geographical regions. Under the historical program, regional developers paid a license fee for each franchise they received the right to develop within the region. In 2017, the program was revised to grant exclusive geographical territory and establish a minimum development obligation within that defined territory. Regional developers receive fees which are collected from franchisees upon the sale of franchises within their region and a royalty of 3% of sales generated by franchised clinics in their region. Regional developer fees paid to the Company are nonrefundable and are recognized as revenue ratably on a straight-line basis over the term of the regional developer agreement, which is considered to be upon the execution of the agreement. The franchisor’s services under regional developer agreements include site selection, grand opening support for the clinics, sales support for identification of qualified franchisees, general operational support and marketing support to advertise for ownership opportunities. The services provided by the Company are highly interrelated with the franchise license and as such are considered to represent a single performance obligation.

 Software Fees.  The Company collects a monthly fee for use of its proprietary chiropractic software, computer support, and internet services support. These fees are recognized ratably on a straight-line basis over the term of the respective franchise agreement.

Advertising Costs

Advertising costs are expensed as incurred. Advertising expenses were $410,637 and $286,415 for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.    

Income Taxes

The Company uses an estimated annual effective tax rate method in computing its interim tax provision. This effective tax rate is based on forecasted annual pre-tax income, permanent tax differences and statutory tax rates.

The Company accounts for uncertainty in income taxes by recognizing the tax benefit or expense from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained upon examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The Company measures the tax benefits and expenses recognized in the condensed consolidated financial statements from such a position based on the largest benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate resolution. The Company has not identified any material uncertain tax positions as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017. Interest and penalties associated with tax positions are recorded in the period assessed as general and administrative expenses.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “2017 Tax”) Act was signed into law on December 22, 2017. The 2017 Tax Act significantly revises the U.S. corporate income tax by, among other things, lowering the statutory corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, eliminating certain deductions, imposing a mandatory one-time tax on accumulated earnings of foreign subsidiaries, introducing new tax regimes, and changing how foreign earnings are subject to U.S. tax. The Company has not completed its determination of the accounting implications of the 2017 Tax Act on its accruals. However, it has reasonably estimated the effects of the 2017 Tax Act and recorded provisional amounts in its financial statements as of March 31, 2018. As the Company completes its analysis of the 2017 Tax Act, collects and prepares necessary data, and interprets any additional guidance issued by the U.S. Treasury Department, the IRS, and other standard-setting bodies, it may make adjustments to the provisional amounts.

Loss per Common Share

Basic loss per common share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted loss per common share is computed by giving effect to all potentially dilutive common shares including preferred stock, restricted stock and stock options.

The following table summarizes the potential shares of common stock that were excluded from diluted net loss per share, because the effect of including these potential shares was anti-dilutive:

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company accounts for share-based payments by recognizing compensation expense based upon the estimated fair value of the awards on the date of grant. The Company determines the estimated grant-date fair value of restricted shares using quoted market prices and the grant-date fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. In order to calculate the fair value of the options, certain assumptions are made regarding the components of the model, including the estimated fair value of underlying common stock, risk-free interest rate, volatility, expected dividend yield and expected option life. Changes to the assumptions could cause significant adjustments to the valuation. The Company recognizes compensation costs ratably over the period of service using the straight-line method.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Items subject to significant estimates and assumptions include the allowance for doubtful accounts, share-based compensation arrangements, fair value of stock options, useful lives and realizability of long-lived assets, classification of deferred revenue and deferred franchise costs, uncertain tax positions, realizability of deferred tax assets, impairment of goodwill and intangible assets and purchase price allocations.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Accounting Standards Adopted Effective January 1, 2018

On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted the guidance of Accounting Standards Codification 606 - Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”). The Company adopted this change in accounting principles using the full retrospective method to all contracts at the date of initial application. Accordingly, previously reported financial information has been restated to reflect the application of ASC 606 to all comparative periods presented. The Company utilized all of the practical expedients for adoption allowed under the full retrospective method. The Company believes utilization of the practical expedients did not have a significant impact on the consolidated financial statements of the periods presented herein.

Adoption of ASC 606 impacted our previously reported consolidated balance sheet as follows (in thousands):

The revenue and deferred cost adjustments are due to the change in method of recognizing franchise and regional developer fees. See Note 2, Revenue Disclosures, for a description of these changes.

Adoption of ASC 606 impacted our previously reported condensed consolidated statement of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2017, as follows (in thousands, except per share data):

The revenue and deferred cost adjustments are due to the change in method of recognizing franchise and regional developer fees. See Note 2, Revenue Disclosures, for a description of these changes.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force), to provide guidance on the presentation of restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows. The Company retrospectively adopted the standard on January 1, 2018 and reclassified restricted cash to be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning of period and end of period total amounts on the statement of cash flows. Accordingly, we reclassified $21,843 of restricted cash into cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash as of March 31, 2017, which resulted in an increase in net cash used in operating activities in the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2017. The adoption of the guidance also requires us to make disclosures about the nature of restricted cash balances. See previous discussion in Note 1. ‘Restricted Cash’ for these disclosures.

Additional new accounting guidance became effective for the Company effective January 1, 2018 that the Company reviewed and concluded was either not applicable to the Company's operations or had no material effect on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

Newly Issued Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). The new guidance will require lessees to recognize a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for virtually all leases, other than leases with a term of 12 months or less, and to provide additional disclosures about leasing arrangements. Accounting by lessors is largely unchanged from existing accounting guidance. The Company will be required to adopt the new guidance on a modified retrospective basis beginning with its first fiscal quarter of 2019. Early adoption is permitted.

While the Company is still in the process of evaluating the impact of the new guidance on its consolidated financial statements and disclosures, the Company expects adoption of the new guidance will have a material impact on its Consolidated Balance Sheets due to recognition of the right-of-use asset and lease liability related to its operating leases. While the new guidance is also expected to impact the measurement and presentation of elements of expenses and cash flows related to leasing arrangements, the Company does not presently believe there will be a material impact on its Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income or Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. Recognition of a lease liability related to operating leases will not impact any covenants related to the Company's long-term debt because the debt agreements specify that covenant ratios be calculated using U.S. GAAP in effect at the time the debt agreements were entered into.

The Company reviewed other newly issued accounting pronouncements and concluded that they either are not applicable to the Company's operations or that no material effect is expected on the Company's financial statements upon future adoption.

Note 2: Revenue Disclosures

Company-owned or Managed Clinics

The Company earns revenues from clinics that it owns and operates or manages throughout the United States.  In those states where the Company owns and operates the clinic, revenues are recognized when services are performed. The Company offers a variety of membership and wellness packages which feature discounted pricing as compared with its single-visit pricing.  Amounts collected in advance for membership and wellness packages are recorded as deferred revenue and recognized when the service is performed.  In other states where state law requires the chiropractic practice to be owned by a licensed chiropractor, the Company enters into a management agreement with the doctor’s PC.  Under the management agreement, the Company provides administrative and business management services to the doctor’s PC in return for a monthly management fee.  Due to certain implicit variable consideration in these management agreement contracts, and based on past practices between the parties, the Company determined that it cannot meet the probable threshold if it includes all of the variable consideration in the transaction price. Therefore, the Company recognizes revenue under these contracts only when it has a high degree of confidence that revenue will not be reversed in a subsequent reporting period.

Franchising Fees, Royalty Fees, Advertising Fund Revenue, and Software Fees

The Company currently franchises its concept across 29 states. The franchise arrangement is documented in the form of a franchise agreement. The franchise arrangement requires the Company to perform various activities to support the brand that do not directly transfer goods and services to the franchisee, but instead represent a single performance obligation, which is the transfer of the franchise license. The intellectual property subject to the franchise license is symbolic intellectual property as it does not have significant standalone functionality, and substantially all of the utility is derived from its association with the Company’s past or ongoing activities. The nature of the Company’s promise in granting the franchise license is to provide the franchisee with access to the brand’s symbolic intellectual property over the term of the license. The services provided by the Company are highly interrelated with the franchise license and as such are considered to represent a single performance obligation.

The transaction price in a standard franchise arrangement primarily consists of (a) initial franchise fees; (b) continuing franchise fees (royalties); (c) advertising fees; and (d) software fees. Since the Company considers the licensing of the franchising right to be a single performance obligation, no allocation of the transaction price is required.

The Company recognizes the primary components of the transaction price as follows:

In determining the amount and timing of revenue from contracts with customers, the Company exercises significant judgment with respect to collectability of the amount; however, the timing of recognition does not require significant judgments as it is based on either the franchise term, or the reported sales of the franchisee, none of which require estimation. The Company believes its franchising arrangements do not contain a significant financing component.

Prior to the adoption of ASC 606, the Company generally recognized the entire franchise fee as revenue at the clinic opening date. The impact on the Company's previously reported financial statements of the change from that policy to the policy described above is presented in Note 1, Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.

Under ASC 606, the Company will record advertising fees received under franchise agreements as advertising fund revenue. Under previously issued accounting guidance for franchisors, advertising revenue and expense were recognized in the same amount in each period. That guidance was superseded by ASC 606 such that advertising expense may now be different than the advertising revenue recognized as described above. The impact of these changes with respect to advertising fees and advertising expenses on the Company's previously reported financial statements was not material.

Regional Developer Fees

The Company currently utilizes eighteen regional developers to assist in the development of the brand across certain geographic territories. The arrangement is documented in the form of a regional developer agreement. The arrangement between the Company and the regional developer requires the Company to perform various activities to support the brand that do not directly transfer goods and services to the regional developer, but instead represent a single performance obligation, which is the transfer of the development rights to the defined geographic region. The intellectual property subject to the development rights is symbolic intellectual property as it does not have significant standalone functionality, and substantially all of the utility is derived from its association with the Company’s past or ongoing activities. The nature of the Company’s promise in granting the development rights is to provide the regional developer with access to the brand’s symbolic intellectual property over the term of the agreement. The services provided by the Company are highly interrelated with the development of the territory and the resulting franchise licenses sold by the regional developer and as such are considered to represent a single performance obligation.

The transaction price in a standard regional developer arrangement primarily consists of the initial territory fees. The Company recognizes the regional developer fee as revenue ratably on a straight-line basis over the term of the regional developer agreement commencing with the execution of the regional developer agreement. As these fees are typically received in cash at or near the beginning of the term of the regional developer agreement, the cash received is initially recorded as a contract liability until recognized as revenue over time.

Disaggregation of Revenue

The Company believes that the captions contained on the condensed consolidated statements of operations appropriately reflect the disaggregation of its revenue by major type for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017.

Rollforward of Contract Liabilities and Contract Assets

Changes in the Company's contract liability for deferred franchise and regional development fees during the three months ended March 31, 2018 were as follows (in thousands):

Changes in the Company's contract assets for deferred franchise costs during the three months ended March 31, 2018 are as follows (in thousands):

The following table illustrates estimated revenues expected to be recognized in the future related to performance obligations that were unsatisfied (or partially unsatisfied) as of March 31, 2018 (in thousands):

Note 3. Restricted Cash

The table below reconciles the cash and cash equivalents balance and restricted cash balances from our condensed consolidated balance sheet to the amount of cash reported on the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows:

Note 4: Notes Receivable

Effective April 29, 2017, the Company entered into a regional developer agreement for certain territories in the state of Florida in exchange for $320,000, of which $187,000 was funded through a promissory note. The note bears interest at 10% per annum for 42 months and requires monthly principal and interest payments over 36 months, beginning November 1, 2017 and maturing on October 1, 2020. The note is secured by the regional developer rights in the respective territory.

Effective August 31, 2017, the Company entered into a regional developer agreement for certain territories in Maryland/Washington DC in exchange for $220,000, of which $117,475 was funded through a promissory note. The note bears interest at 10% per annum for 36 months and requires monthly principal and interest payments over 36 months, beginning September 1, 2017 and maturing on August 1, 2020. The note is secured by the regional developer rights in the respective territory.

Effective September 22, 2017, the Company entered into a regional developer and asset purchase agreement for certain territories in Minnesota in exchange for $228,293, of which $119,147 was funded through a promissory note. The note bears interest at 10% per annum for 36 months and requires monthly principal and interest payments over 36 months, beginning October 1, 2017 and maturing on September 1, 2020. The note is secured by the regional developer rights in the respective territory.

Effective October 10, 2017, the Company entered into a regional developer agreement for certain territories in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas in exchange for $170,000, of which $135,688 was funded through a promissory note. The note bears interest at 10% per annum for 36 months and requires monthly principal and interest payments over 36 months, beginning September 24, 2017 and maturing on October 24, 2020. The note is secured by the regional developer rights in the respective territory.

The net outstanding balances of the notes as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 were $482,395 and $523,785, respectively.

Note 5: Property and Equipment

Property and equipment consists of the following:

Depreciation expense was $264,353 and $403,131 for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 respectively.

Note 6: Fair Value Consideration

The Company’s financial instruments include cash, restricted cash, accounts receivable, notes receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses and notes payable. The carrying amounts of its financial instruments approximate their fair value due to their short maturities. 

The Company does not use derivative financial instruments to hedge exposures to cash-flow, market or foreign-currency risks.

Authoritative guidance defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The guidance establishes a hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value that maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that the most observable inputs be used when available. Observable inputs are inputs that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Company. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the Company’s assumptions of what market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on the best information available in the circumstances. The hierarchy is broken down into three levels based on reliability of the inputs as follows:

As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company did not have any financial instruments that were measured on a recurring basis as Level 1, 2 or 3.

Note 7: Intangible Assets

Intangible assets consist of the following:

Amortization expense was $123,064 and $174,856 for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Estimated amortization expense for 2018 and subsequent years is as follows:

Note 8: Debt

Notes Payable 

During 2015, the Company issued 12 notes payable, which matured in February 2017, totaling $800,350 as a portion of the consideration paid in connection with the Company’s various acquisitions. Interest rates ranged from 1.5% to 5.25%.

During 2016, the Company issued two notes payable totaling $186,000 as a portion of the consideration paid in connection with the Company’s various acquisitions. Interest rates for both notes are 4.25% with maturities through May of 2017. There is one outstanding note which will be paid upon execution of a final settlement and release agreement between the parties.

Maturities of notes payable are as follows as of March 31, 2018:

Credit and Security Agreement

On January 3, 2017, the Company entered into a Credit and Security Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) and signed a revolving credit note payable to the lender. Under the Credit Agreement, the Company is able to borrow up to an aggregate of $5,000,000 under revolving loans. Interest on the unpaid outstanding principal amount of any revolving loans is at a rate equal to 10% per annum, provided that the minimum amount of interest paid in the aggregate on all revolving loans granted over the term of the Credit Agreement is $200,000. Interest is due and payable on the last day of each fiscal quarter in an amount determined by the Company, but not less than $25,000. The lender’s lending commitments under the Credit Agreement terminate in December 2019, unless sooner terminated in accordance with the provisions of the Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement is collateralized by the assets in the Company’s company-owned or managed clinics. The Company is using the credit facility for general working capital needs. As of March 31, 2018, the Company had drawn $1,000,000 of the $5,000,000 available under the Credit Agreement.

Note 9: Equity

Stock Options

In the three months ended March 31, 2018, the Company granted 60,000 stock options to employees with exercise prices ranging from $4.92 - $6.85. 

Upon the completion of the Company’s IPO in November 2014, its stock trading price became the basis of fair value of its common stock used in determining the value of share-based awards. To the extent the value of the Company’s share-based awards involves a measure of volatility, it will rely upon the volatilities from publicly traded companies with similar business models until its common stock has accumulated enough trading history for it to utilize its own historical volatility. The expected life of the options granted is based on the average of the vesting term and the contractual term of the option. The risk-free rate for periods within the expected life of the option is based on the U.S. Treasury 10-year yield curve in effect at the date of the grant. 

The Company has computed the fair value of all options granted during the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, using the following assumptions:

The information below summarizes the stock options activity:

The intrinsic value of the Company’s stock options outstanding was $2,885,475 at March 31, 2018.

For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, stock-based compensation expense for stock options was $139,172 and $51,038, respectively.  Unrecognized stock-based compensation expense for stock options as of March 31, 2018 was $867,997, which is expected to be recognized ratably over the next 2.9 years.

Restricted Stock

The information below summaries the restricted stock activity:

For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, stock-based compensation expense for restricted stock was $68,469 and $44,027, respectively. Unrecognized stock-based compensation expense for restricted stock awards as of March 31, 2018 was $74,772, the majority of which will be recognized on June 1, 2018.  

Note 10: Income Taxes

During the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company recorded income tax (benefit) expense of approximately ($63,000) and $41,000, respectively. The Company’s effective tax rate differs from the federal statutory tax rate due to permanent differences in state taxes and changes in the valuation allowance.

Note 11: Related Party Transactions

The Company entered into consulting and legal agreements with certain common stockholders related to services performed for the operations and transaction related activities of the Company. Amounts paid to or for the benefit of these stockholders was approximately $48,000 and $52,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Note 12: Commitments and Contingencies

Operating Leases

The Company leases its corporate office space and the space for each of the company-owned or managed clinics in the portfolio.

Total rent expense for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 was $685,677 and $744,295, respectively.  

Future minimum annual lease payments are as follows:

Note 13: Segment Reporting

An operating segment is defined as a component of an enterprise for which discrete financial information is available and is reviewed regularly by the Chief Operating Decision Maker (“CODM”) to evaluate performance and make operating decisions. The Company has identified its CODM as the Chief Executive Officer.

The Company has two operating business segments. The Corporate Clinics segment is comprised of the operating activities of the company-owned or managed clinics. As of March 31, 2018, the Company operated or managed 47 clinics under this segment. The Franchise Operations segment is comprised of the operating activities of the franchise business unit. As of March 31, 2018, the franchise system consisted of 359 clinics in operation. Corporate is a non-operating segment that develops and implements strategic initiatives and supports the Company’s two operating business segments by centralizing key administrative functions such as finance and treasury, information technology, insurance and risk management, legal and human resources. Corporate also provides the necessary administrative functions to support the Company as a publicly-traded company. A portion of the expenses incurred by Corporate are allocated to the operating segments.  

The tables below present financial information for the Company’s two operating business segments (in thousands):

“Unallocated cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash” relates primarily to corporate cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash (see Note 1), “unallocated property and equipment” relates primarily to corporate fixed assets, and “other unallocated assets” relates primarily to deposits, prepaid and other assets.

Note 14: Subsequent Events

On April 6, 2018, the Company entered into an Asset and Franchise Purchase Agreement under which (i) the Company repurchased from the seller one operating franchise in San Diego, California and (ii) the parties agreed to mutually terminate a second franchise agreement for an operating franchise. The Company intends to operate the remaining franchise as a company-managed clinic. The total purchase price for the transaction was $100,000.