Asure Software Inc (ASUR) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Greetings. Welcome to the Asure Software's Third Quarter Earnings Call.

問候。歡迎參加 Asure Software 第三季財報電話會議。

(Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

（操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

At this time, I'll now turn the conference over to Patrick McKillop, Vice President, Patrick, you may now begin your presentation.

現在，我將會議交給副總裁派崔克‧麥基洛普（Patrick McKillop），派崔克，你現在可以開始你的演講了。

Thank you, operator. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us for Asure's Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. Following the close of the market, we released our financial results. The earnings release is available on the SEC's website and our Investor Relations website at investor.asuresoftware.com, where you can also find the investor presentation.

謝謝你，接線生。大家下午好，感謝您參加 Asure 的 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。收盤後，我們發布了財務業績。收益報告可在 SEC 網站和我們的投資者關係網站 Investor.asuresoftware.com 上獲取，您也可以在其中找到投資者簡報。

During our call today, we will reference non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe to be useful to investors and exclude the impact of certain items. The description and timing of these items along with a reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to their most comparable GAAP measures can be found in our earnings release.

在今天的電話會議中，我們將參考非公認會計準則財務指標，我們認為這些指標對投資者有用，並排除了某些項目的影響。這些項目的描述和時間安排以及非公認會計準則指標與其最具可比性的公認會計準則指標的調節可以在我們的收益報告中找到。

Today's call will also contain forward-looking statements that refer to future events and as such, involve some risks. We use words such as expects, believes and may, to indicate forward-looking statements. and we encourage you to review our filings with the SEC for additional information on factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations.

今天的電話會議還將包含涉及未來事件的前瞻性陳述，因此涉及一些風險。我們使用「期望」、「相信」和「可能」等字眼來表示前瞻性陳述。我們鼓勵您查看我們向 SEC 提交的文件，以獲取有關可能導致實際結果與我們當前預期存在重大差異的因素的更多資​​訊。

I will hand the call over to Pat in a moment but I just want to take a moment to remind folks of some upcoming Investor Relations activities. We will be participating in the TD Cowen HCM Conference tomorrow, November 14, with virtual one-on-one meetings. On November 15, we will be attending the ROTH MKM Technology Conference in New York. And on November 16, we will be attending the 14th Annual Craig-Hallum Alpha Select Conference in New York, plus participating in the 13th Annual Needham Virtual SaaS one-on-one conference. The management team will use a split squad to cover both events on November 16 to make sure we can accommodate all investors' meeting request. Investor outreach is very important to Asure, and I would like to thank all of those that assist us in our efforts to connect to our investors.

我稍後會將電話轉給帕特，但我只是想花點時間提醒大家即將舉行的一些投資者關係活動。我們將於明天（11 月 14 日）參加 TD Cowen HCM 會議，並舉行虛擬的一對一會議。 11 月 15 日，我們將參加在紐約舉行的 ROTH MKM 技術會議。 11 月 16 日，我們將參加在紐約舉行的第 14 屆年度 Craig-Hallum Alpha Select 會議，並參加第 13 屆年度 Needham Virtual SaaS 一對一會議。管理團隊將派出一個小組來報道 11 月 16 日的這兩場活動，以確保我們能夠滿足所有投資者的會議要求。投資者外展對 Asure 非常重要，我要感謝所有幫助我們與投資者建立聯繫的人。

Finally, I would like to remind everyone that this call is being recorded. It will be made available for replay via the link available on the Investor Relations section of our website.

最後提醒大家，這次通話是錄音的。將透過我們網站投資者關係部分的連結進行重播。

With that, I would now like to turn the call over to Pat Goepel, Chairman and CEO. Pat?

現在，我想將電話轉給董事長兼執行長 Pat Goepel。拍？

Thank you, Patrick, and welcome, everyone, to Asure Software's Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. I'm joined on this call by our CFO, John Pence, and we'll provide a business update for the quarter and our outlook for the remainder of 2023 plus our guidance for 2024. Following our remarks, we'll be available to answer your questions.

謝謝派崔克，歡迎大家參加 Asure Software 的 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。我們的財務長約翰·彭斯(John Pence) 也參加了本次電話會議，我們將提供本季度的業務更新、2023 年剩餘時間的展望以及2024 年的指導。在我們的演講之後，我們將可以回答你的問題。

As you can see, from our reported results, our strong momentum continued in the third quarter with strength coming from solid execution across the business. Our revenue growth in the third quarter was 34% versus the prior year period, which was almost entirely organic. Recurring revenues grew 19% versus the prior year period, and our nonrecurring revenues were up by $3.6 million versus the prior year period, once again driven by ERTC revenue strength. We will discuss more detail on ERTC once we get to our updated guidance, which we gave in today's press release.

正如您所看到的，從我們報告的業績來看，我們第三季度繼續保持強勁勢頭，其力量來自於整個業務的紮實執行。我們第三季的營收比去年同期成長了 34%，幾乎完全是有機成長。經常性收入較上年同期增長 19%，非經常性收入較上年同期增長 360 萬美元，這再次受到 ERTC 收入實力的推動。一旦我們獲得我們在今天的新聞稿中提供的更新指南，我們將討論有關 ERTC 的更多細節。

Our HR Compliance revenues and Asure Marketplace revenues both showed very strong growth during the quarter versus the prior year period, and we're very excited about the future for these business lines. Over time, we believe that the Asure Marketplace can become 30% plus of our total revenues, and it is a high-margin business as is the HR Compliance business.

我們的人力資源合規收入和 Asure Marketplace 營收在本季均顯示出與去年同期相比非常強勁的成長，我們對這些業務線的未來感到非常興奮。隨著時間的推移，我們相信 Asure Marketplace 可以占到我們總收入的 30% 以上，而且它和人力資源合規業務一樣都是高利潤業務。

Additionally, interest revenues contributed to the growth in the quarter and were able to benefit from the rise in the yield curve, plus we benefited from consolidation of bank accounts, which drives higher investable balances. We continue to build on our momentum by advancing our technology through leading partnerships and launching strategic sales initiatives such as the bundling of our 401 (k) products with payroll to drive new client additions. This particular initiative was launched a short time ago and the reception we have received thus far has been very enthusiastic.

此外，利息收入為本季的成長做出了貢獻，並能夠從殖利率曲線的上升中受益，此外，我們還受益於銀行帳戶的整合，這推動了可投資餘額的增加。我們透過領先的合作夥伴關係來推進我們的技術，並推出策略性銷售計劃，例如將我們的 401 (k) 產品與工資單捆綁在一起，以推動新客戶的增加，從而繼續鞏固我們的勢頭。這項特別的舉措是在不久前發起的，迄今為止我們收到的反應非常熱烈。

Many small businesses traditionally have not had the resources to offer 401 (k) retirement solutions, but approximately 22 states in the United States have mandated 401 (k) plans for small businesses, and we expect more to pass similar mandates. The U.S. Government Secure Act 2.0 aims to increase employee participation and retirement plans by funding the setup of employer-based retirement plans while providing the funding they need to do so and assure as the solutions, employers need to set up the plan.

許多小型企業傳統上沒有資源提供 401 (k) 退休解決方案，但美國大約 22 個州已針對小型企業強制實施 401 (k) 計劃，我們預計會有更多企業通過類似的強制規定。美國政府安全法案 2.0 旨在透過資助建立基於雇主的退休計劃，同時提供他們所需的資金來提高員工參與度和退休計劃，並確保雇主需要製定該計劃作為解決方案。

Our sales efforts in the third quarter produced a 26% increase in new sales bookings over and above the 91% increase we delivered last year. We've expanded our sales force during the year and been very pleased with the quality of the new hires we made. We're supporting our sales efforts with digital marketing, which is driving higher level of sales leads and productivity in 2023.

我們第三季的銷售努力使新銷售預訂量增加了 26%，高於去年的 91%。我們在這一年中擴大了銷售隊伍，並對新員工的品質感到非常滿意。我們透過數位行銷支持我們的銷售工作，這將在 2023 年推動更高水準的銷售線索和生產力。

Based on our performance and our current expectations we're guiding for fourth quarter revenues to be in the range of $25 million to $27 million, which excludes any potential revenues from ERTC filings. We are expecting our 2024 revenues to be in the range of $125 million to $129 million, with EBITDA margins of between 20% and 21%.

根據我們的業績和目前的預期，我們預計第四季度的營收將在 2,500 萬美元至 2,700 萬美元之間，其中不包括來自 ERTC 備案的任何潛在收入。我們預計 2024 年的營收將在 1.25 億美元至 1.29 億美元之間，EBITDA 利潤率將在 20% 至 21% 之間。

Our '24 guidance also excludes any potential contributions from ERTC filings but does include our plans to resume acquisitions in earnest. As many of you are aware, the IRS plays a pause on the processing of the ERTC claims back in September to clamp down on some bad actors that were filing claims, which should not have been filed. Asure as a processor of claims only, and we refer our clients to their tax advisers to see if they qualify for the ERTC credit. We continue to await further clarification from the IRS and expect the program will likely be resumed. However, given the uncertainty, we want to be conservative in our assumptions on the RTC revenue going forward.

我們的 24 年指導方針也不包括 ERTC 備案中的任何潛在貢獻，但確實包括我們認真恢復收購的計劃。正如你們許多人所知，IRS 在 9 月暫停了 ERTC 索賠的處理，以打擊一些不應該提交索賠的不良行為者。確保僅作為索賠處理者，我們將客戶推薦給他們的稅務顧問，看看他們是否有資格獲得 ERTC 抵免。我們繼續等待美國國稅局的進一步澄清，並預計該計劃可能會恢復。然而，考慮到不確定性，我們希望對未來 RTC 收入的假設保持保守。

Now I would like to hand it off to John to discuss our financial results in more detail. John?

現在我想把它交給約翰來更詳細地討論我們的財務表現。約翰？

Thanks, Pat. As Patrick mentioned at the beginning of this call, several of the financial figures discussed today are given on a non-GAAP or adjusted basis. You will find a description of these GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations in the earnings release that was made available earlier today. Reconciliations themselves are also included in our most recent investor presentation posted in the Investor Relations section of our website at investor.asuresoftware.com.

謝謝，帕特。正如帕特里克在本次電話會議開始時所提到的，今天討論的一些財務數據是在非公認會計準則或調整後的基礎上給出的。您可以在今天稍早發布的收益報告中找到這些 GAAP 與非 GAAP 調整的說明。對帳本身也包含在我們最新的投資者簡報中，該簡報發佈在我們網站 Investor.asuresoftware.com 的投資者關係部分。

Now on to the third quarter results. Revenue reached $29.3 million in the third quarter rising by 34% relative to prior year period. Recurring revenues rose 19% relative to prior year period to $24 million. Third quarter recurring revenues grew on the strength of our HR Compliance solutions, Asure Marketplace and increased interest revenues with the average client balance exceeding $200 million in the second -- in the quarter.

現在我們來看看第三季的業績。第三季營收達 2,930 萬美元，較去年同期成長 34%。經常性收入較上年同期成長 19%，達到 2,400 萬美元。第三季的經常性收入成長得益於我們的人力資源合規解決方案、Asure Marketplace 的實力以及利息收入的增加，第二季的平均客戶餘額超過了 2 億美元。

ERTC revenues were recorded in professional services, hardware and other category in the current and prior year period. Nonrecurring revenues saw an increase of $3.7 million on the strength of ERTC processing activity. Net loss for the third quarter was $2.2 million, a $2.3 million improvement over the prior year's loss of $4.5 million. Gross margins rose by 10 percentage points to 72% in the third quarter relative to the prior period. While non-GAAP gross margin rose 8 percentage points to 76%.

本年度和前一年 ERTC 收入記錄在專業服務、硬體和其他類別。由於 ERTC 處理活動的推動，非經常性收入增加了 370 萬美元。第三季淨虧損為 220 萬美元，比去年同期的虧損 450 萬美元減少了 230 萬美元。第三季毛利率較上一季上升10個百分點，達72%。而非 GAAP 毛利率則上升 8 個百分點，達到 76%。

EBITDA for the quarter was $3 million, up $1.7 million from prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA rose by $4.4 million relative to the prior year to $6.2 million, and our adjusted EBITDA margin reached 21% in the quarter compared with 8% in the prior year period. Margin expansion was driven by growing high-margin revenue streams, continued progress with our efficiency initiatives and scale benefits from our growth. These gains more than offset the investments we are making and the expansion of our sales and marketing activities. We continue to believe there is substantial margin upside over the longer term as the business scales.

本季 EBITDA 為 300 萬美元，比去年同期增加 170 萬美元。調整後 EBITDA 較上年同期成長 440 萬美元，達到 620 萬美元，本季調整後 EBITDA 利潤率達到 21%，而去年同期為 8%。利潤率的成長是由不斷增長的高利潤收入流、我們的效率計劃的持續進展以及我們的成長帶來的規模效益所推動的。這些收益遠遠抵消了我們正在進行的投資以及銷售和行銷活動的擴展。我們仍然相信，隨著業務規模的擴大，從長遠來看，利潤率還有很大的上升空間。

We ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $32.8 million. During the quarter, we completed an equity capital raise for net proceeds of $43 million. We also paid off $30.9 million, which had -- which we had with structural capital. This payoff substantially enhances Asure's cash flow and is accretive to earnings increase financial flexibility as we execute our stated strategy to deliver double-digit revenue growth by growing both organically and inorganically.

本季結束時，我們的現金和現金等價物為 3,280 萬美元。本季度，我們完成了股權融資，淨收益為 4,300 萬美元。我們還償還了 3090 萬美元，其中我們有結構資本。隨著我們執行既定策略，透過有機和無機成長實現兩位數的收入成長，這種回報大大增強了 Asure 的現金流，並增加了收入和財務靈活性。

Now in terms of guidance, for the fourth quarter 2023, 2024. We are guiding fourth quarter revenues to be in the range of $25 million to $27 million, which at the midpoint of the range would equate to 19% growth year-over-year.

現在就 2023 年和 2024 年第四季的指導而言。我們指導第四季度收入在 2500 萬美元至 2700 萬美元之間，按該範圍的中點計算，相當於同比增長 19% 。

Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter is anticipated to be between $2 million to $3 million. Revenues for the full year 2023 are still expected to be in the range of $118 million to $120 million with EBITDA margins between 19% to 20%.

第四季調整後 EBITDA 預計在 200 萬至 300 萬美元之間。預計 2023 年全年營收仍將在 1.18 億美元至 1.2 億美元之間，EBITDA 利潤率將在 19% 至 20% 之間。

Moving on to the 2024 guidance. We expect revenues to be in the range of $125 million to $129 million with adjusted EBITDA margins of between 20% to 21%. As Pat mentioned in his comments earlier, each of these new guidance figures exclude any contribution from ERTC revenues but assume a resumption of acquisitions.

接下來是 2024 年指導。我們預計營收將在 1.25 億美元至 1.29 億美元之間，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率將在 20% 至 21% 之間。正如帕特之前在評論中提到的，這些新的指導數據均不包括 ERTC 收入的任何貢獻，但假設恢復收購。

We are waiting for further clarification from the IRS pause that was placed on processing claims in September. And we feel that being more conservative is the best approach. We believe that the program will resume with some modifications to make the application process more stringent. And so there's a possibility that ERTC will contribute to revenues in 2024.

我們正在等待 IRS 於 9 月暫停處理索賠的進一步澄清。我們認為更加保守是最好的方法。我們相信該計劃將在進行一些修改後恢復，以使申請流程更加嚴格。因此，ERTC 有可能在 2024 年為收入做出貢獻。

The growth from our HR Compliance, Asure Marketplace as well as float revenues and our newly introduced 401 (k) solution are all expected to continue being strong contributors going forward. Additionally, our payroll tax management product has multiple shots on goal with the platform being offered as a service to large enterprises as well as HCM vendors.

我們的人力資源合規性、Asure Marketplace 以及浮動收入和我們新推出的 401 (k) 解決方案的成長預計將繼續成為未來的強勁貢獻者。此外，我們的薪資稅管理產品多次實現目標，該平台作為服務提供給大型企業和 HCM 供應商。

While the above mentioned are strong contributors to our growth, we also expect to drive growth through inorganic methods. By acquiring businesses that we feel are attractive, our growth profile going forward will be a mix of both organic and inorganic, which with the recent capital raise and debt payoff, we have the flexibility to resume making smart profitable acquisitions.

雖然上述因素對我們的成長做出了強有力的貢獻，但我們也期望透過無機方法來推動成長。透過收購我們認為有吸引力的業務，我們未來的成長狀況將是有機成長和無機成長的結合，隨著最近的融資和債務償還，我們可以靈活地恢復進行明智的盈利收購。

In conclusion, we are pleased with our performance in the third quarter and the momentum we have built on the strength of product development, technology and sales. This gives us confidence in our forward-looking guidance. We are excited about the remainder of 2023 and are looking forward to 2024 as potentially breakout year for Asure in driving profitable growth and leveraging the initiatives we have implemented across the business to drive sustainable growth and creating shareholder value.

總之，我們對第三季的業績以及我們在產品開發、技術和銷售方面建立的勢頭感到滿意。這讓我們對前瞻性指導充滿信心。我們對 2023 年剩餘時間感到興奮，並期待 2024 年成為 Asure 可能實現突破的一年，推動盈利增長，並利用我們在整個業務中實施的舉措來推動可持續增長和創造股東價值。

With that, I will turn the call back to Pat for closing remarks.

接下來，我將把電話轉回給帕特，讓他發表結束語。

Thanks, John. We're pleased to continue to deliver growth in the third quarter, achieving 34% revenue growth. We achieved this growth by investing in products and technologies that make a difference for our clients. It's really gratifying to see the positive reception by our clients to our solutions as it tells us we're creating value for them and enabling them to focus on their core businesses.

謝謝，約翰。我們很高興第三季繼續成長，實現 34% 的營收成長。我們透過投資為客戶帶來改變的產品和技術來實現這一成長。看到客戶對我們的解決方案的積極接受，我們感到非常高興，因為這告訴我們我們正在為他們創造價值，並使他們能夠專注於自己的核心業務。

Asure Marketplace is just getting rolling and is expected to contribute to our growth for the longer term. Its results to date have been meaningful contribution to our overall performance, and there's lots more to come. As I previously mentioned, the Secure Act 2.0 gives small businesses the funding they need to implement 401(k) plans, which many states are mandating now, and we expect more to pass mandates as well.

Asure Marketplace 剛剛起步，預計將為我們的長期成長做出貢獻。迄今為止，它的結果對我們的整體績效做出了有意義的貢獻，並且還有更多的成果。正如我之前提到的，《安全法案2.0》為小型企業提供了實施401(k) 計劃所需的資金，許多州現在都在強制執行該計劃，我們預計也會有更多的企業通過強制執行。

Our recent sales initiative in bundling 401(k) with payroll has got an enthusiastic reception thus far, and it's only early days into that effort. We also anticipate demand for our HR Compliance solutions will continue to be healthy as businesses increasingly seek to supplement their internal capabilities with external experts who can help them navigate the increasing complexity of doing business day to day.

我們最近將 401(k) 與工資單捆綁在一起的銷售舉措迄今為止受到了熱烈歡迎，而且這項工作還處於初期階段。我們也預計，隨著企業越來越多地尋求外部專家來補充其內部能力，這些專家可以幫助他們應對日益複雜的日常業務，對我們的人力資源合規解決方案的需求將繼續保持健康。

Our guidance in the fourth quarter in 2024, both reflect our expectations for continued growth, which will be delivered with a combination of organic and inorganic growth. Our margins have continued to improve as the business has scaled, and we have focused on improving efficiency across the business, which helps improve the cost structure. In 2023, we've expanded the sales force as well as invested in the marketing initiatives, and we now feel the business is rightsized for future success as we enter 2024.

我們對 2024 年第四季的指引都反映了我們對持續成長的預期，這種成長將透過有機成長和無機成長相結合來實現。隨著業務規模的擴大，我們的利潤率持續提高，我們專注於提高整個業務的效率，這有助於改善成本結構。 2023 年，我們擴大了銷售隊伍，並對行銷計劃進行了投資，現在我們認為，進入 2024 年，我們的業務規模已得到適當調整，有利於未來的成功。

We'll continue to provide innovative agent capital management solution that helps small businesses thrive. Human capital management providers grow their base and large enterprises streamlined tax compliance. Thank you for listening to the prepared remarks.

我們將繼續提供創新的代理資本管理解決方案，幫助小型企業蓬勃發展。人力資本管理提供者擴大了基礎，大型企業簡化了稅務合規性。感謝您聆聽準備好的發言。

So with that, I will send the call back to the operator for the Q&A session. Operator?

因此，我會將電話發送回接線員進行問答環節。操作員？

Thank you. At this time, we'll be conducting a question-and-answer session.

謝謝。此時，我們將進行問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) And our first question is from the line of Joshua Reilly with Needham & Company.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Needham & Company 的 Joshua Reilly。

All right. A nice job on execution here in the quarter. I guess maybe starting off with the topic dejour here. Can you help us understand how you're thinking about and preparing for the range of possible outcomes with regards to the ERTC claims that you've already submitted in the accounting and cash flow ramifications included in these expectations? And maybe some more color on how that impacts 2024 guidance that you highlighted in the press release?

好的。本季的執行工作做得很好。我想也許可以從這裡的主題開始。對於您已在這些預期中包含的會計和現金流量影響中提交的 ERTC 索賠，您能否幫助我們了解您如何考慮和準備一系列可能的結果？也許還有更多關於這如何影響您在新聞稿中強調的 2024 年指導的資訊？

Yes. Josh, I'll take a first shot and then Pat can add to it. We have obviously seen a little bit of a slowdown in terms of cash coming in from the IRS and to our clients since September. Receivable balance is actually down quarter-over-quarter. So [all we] did a good job on the third quarter at least in collecting some of the prior monies that we had recognized for ERTC claims. As Pat -- I think we're trying to be pretty clear with regard to our guidance. For the fourth quarter, we've not included any revenue in the numbers that we guided to in terms of revenue of $25 million to $27 million. And then again, for the fourth quarter -- for 2024, the $125 million to $129 million guide that we gave in terms of revenues also includes no incremental ERTC revenues.

是的。喬希，我先拍一張，然後帕特可以補充。自 9 月以來，我們明顯看到美國國稅局和我們客戶的現金收入略有放緩。應收帳款餘額實際上環比下降。因此，[我們所有人]在第三季度做得很好，至少在收回我們之前為 ERTC 索賠確認的一些款項方面。作為帕特，我認為我們正在努力明確我們的指導。對於第四季度，我們沒有將任何收入納入我們指導的 2500 萬至 2700 萬美元收入的數字中。再說一次，對於 2024 年第四季度，我們給出的 1.25 億至 1.29 億美元的收入指南也不包括 ERTC 的增量收入。

Now we think that it's going to get turned back on. So there'll be some sort of kind of upside potentially to that guidance but we didn't want to take it into account in terms of the near term just because of the uncertainty (inaudible) going to get turned on and how it's going to get turned back on. But that's kind of how we played it in at this point.

現在我們認為它將重新啟動。因此，該指導意見可能會帶來某種潛在的好處，但我們不想在短期內考慮它，因為不確定性（聽不清楚）將被開啟以及它將如何發展重新打開。但這就是我們此時的演奏方式。

Yes. I would say a couple of things. One, just I want to point out in our press release, the guidance was $125 million to $127 million. We -- there was a typo there, it's $125 to $129 and verbally we said that. We'll make that correction as quick as possible. As far as the guidance with ERTC, we're going to follow the IRS guidance and we do believe that the program probably will turn on, but we'll wait for their guidance, and we want to take it out of the numbers so there was no ambiguity and take a very conservative stance.

是的。我想說幾件事。一，我想在我們的新聞稿中指出，指導值為 1.25 億至 1.27 億美元。我們——那裡有一個拼字錯誤，是 125 美元到 129 美元，我們口頭上是這麼說的。我們將盡快進行更正。就 ERTC 的指導而言，我們將遵循 IRS 的指導，我們確實相信該計劃可能會啟動，但我們會等待他們的指導，我們希望將其從數字中剔除，因此毫不含糊，採取非常保守的立場。

That being said, we are filing paperwork as we get it. And we know that our on behalf of our clients it's in the queue and when and if that resumes, we'll process according to the IRS regulation.

話雖這麼說，我們正在歸檔收到的文件。我們知道，我們代表客戶將其排在隊列中，如果隊列恢復，我們將根據國稅局的規定進行處理。

Yes, and put a little bit finer point to just on the fourth quarter guidance. If you think about last year, fourth quarter, without ERTC, we were roughly $22 million. There was approximately $7 million in the fourth quarter of last year. $2 million of it was in recurring and $5 million in the nonrecurring line. So we're looking at a $22 million kind of relative to the $25 million of $27 million guidance. So we think the midpoint of that is kind of in the mid-teens growth. So it's kind of 14% to 23% is what we're guiding for in terms of growth quarter-over-quarter from prior year when we exclude ERTC.

是的，並對第四季的指導提出更具體的觀點。如果你想想去年第四季，如果沒有 ERTC，我們的營收約為 2,200 萬美元。去年第四季大約有700萬美元。其中 200 萬美元用於經常性支出，500 萬美元用於非經常性支出。因此，我們正在考慮相對於 2700 萬美元指引中的 2500 萬美元的 2200 萬美元。所以我們認為這個過程的中點是在青少年中期。因此，當我們排除 ERTC 時，我們指導的季度環比增長率為 14% 至 23%。

So that's the -- I think that's the real compare that we want people to kind of focus on is if we're going to take it out as a guide, we often get taken out of the prior year compare. And so we feel like it's a pretty healthy growth, but it is a little bit of a muddy story.

所以這就是——我認為這是我們希望人們關注的真正比較，如果我們要把它作為指導，我們經常會從前一年的比較中剔除出來。所以我們覺得這是一個相當健康的成長，但它的故事有點混亂。

Got it. And then just another follow-up on the Q4 guidance. If you look at the implied adjusted EBITDA margin, it's down sequentially, as you would probably expect with a little bit of loss of leverage from the lower ERTC revenue. But why would it bounce back? Maybe you can help us in 2024, the kind of that 20% to 21% range.

知道了。然後是第四季度指導的另一個後續行動。如果你看一下隱含的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率，它會連續下降，正如你可能預期的那樣，ERTC 收入下降會導致一些槓桿損失。但為什麼會反彈呢？也許你可以在 2024 年為我們提供幫助，即 20% 到 21% 的範圍。

I think -- we've been pretty consistent, I think, in this messaging. It's a scaled business, and we think that the revenue breaks, that's where we generate the adjusted EBITDA, right? So we're back in our guidance kind of in that, again, for '24 revenue guidance is $125 million to $129 million. We think that after the revenue breaks, we should be at 20% to 21% adjusted EBITDA company. This year guide, I think, was $118 million to $120 million in total for the year, producing 19% to 20% adjusted EBITDA. So the composition of the revenue is not the key. It's really the absolute number, the absolute amount of revenues. And so we're getting a little bit of that impact in the fourth quarter with the decline in revenues as a result of that lower ERTC revenue. But we think in absolute numbers, as that revenue gets back into that size, we can produce that amount of adjusted EBITDA.

我認為——我認為，我們在傳達訊息方面一直非常一致。這是一個規模化的業務，我們認為收入中斷，這就是我們產生調整後 EBITDA 的地方，對吧？因此，我們再次回到我們的指導，24 年的收入指引為 1.25 億至 1.29 億美元。我們認為，收入中斷後，我們公司的調整後 EBITDA 應該在 20% 至 21% 之間。我認為，今年的指導總額為 1.18 億至 1.2 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 率為 19% 至 20%。所以收入的組成並不是關鍵。這實際上是絕對數字，絕對收入金額。因此，我們在第四季度受到了一些影響，由於 ERTC 收入下降，收入有所下降。但我們認為，從絕對數字來看，隨著收入恢復到原來的規模，我們可以產生同樣數量的調整後 EBITDA。

Yes. And Josh, just as a footnote to that, we make decisions 6 months ahead of -- in many cases, of where we're going to go. Clearly, with ERTC and if you think about the summertime, we know we want to expand the sales force to 120. We knew we wanted to do potentially a raise to get more aggressive in replacing ERTC revenue, we didn't know ERTC at the time that it's going to happen so quickly. So our path hasn't changed. The fourth quarter, we have made investments in salespeople in tax filing. We've made investments in the technology area. And all that was planned investments that we started to make over the summer.

是的。喬希，正如腳註一樣，在許多情況下，我們會提前 6 個月做出決定，我們會提前 6 個月做出決定。顯然，對於 ERTC，如果您考慮夏季，我們知道我們希望將銷售人員擴大到 120 人。我們知道我們希望進行潛在的加薪，以便更積極地取代 ERTC 收入，但我們當時並不了解 ERTC時間來得這麼快。所以我們的道路沒有改變。第四季度，我們在報稅方面對銷售人員進行了投資。我們在技術領域進行了投資。所有這些都是我們在夏天開始進行的計劃投資。

When ERTC was halted or paused on September 14, what we did is continue those investments and we're really happy with the rate and the ability to play off that. But what that did in the fourth quarter has put a little pressure temporarily on EBITDA. And so we've called that out now that we've taken ERTC. And as John mentioned, as we get back to the revenue numbers of the $125 million to $129 million, that EBITDA steps back very nicely because it is a scale business.

當 ERTC 於 9 月 14 日停止或暫停時，我們所做的是繼續這些投資，我們對投資率和發揮投資的能力感到非常滿意。但第四季的情況暫時給 EBITDA 帶來了一些壓力。因此，既然我們已經採取了 ERTC，我們就已經提出了這一點。正如約翰所提到的，當我們回到 1.25 億至 1.29 億美元的收入數字時，EBITDA 非常好地回落，因為它是一個規模業務。

Next question is from the line of Bryan Bergin with TD Cowen.

下一個問題來自 Bryan Bergin 和 TD Cowen。

I appreciate you providing an initial '24 outlook here, just in the middle of the uncertainty. As we try and unpack an apples-to-apples recurring growth rate implied in that '24 outlook, can you give us a sense of what the grow-over pressure combined from the ERTC and the float revenue will be as you turn the calendar from '23 to '24?

感謝您在充滿不確定性的情況下在這裡提供了 24 年的初步展望。當我們嘗試解開 24 年展望中隱含的同類經常性增長率時，您能否讓我們了解一下，當您翻開日曆時，ERTC 和浮動收入所帶來的增長壓力將是多少？ '23到'24？

Yes. I think from my perspective, float shouldn't have a lot of -- should be kind of flattish. In terms of the ERTC for the first 9 months this year, it's roughly $17 million that we have to grow over. So you can kind of think about what we're doing in terms of the guide and that $17 million ERTC, we're probably $100 million, $102-ish million exiting this year in recurring revenue or revenues. And so that $125 million to $129 million, we're talking to really is a 25% to 29% growth next year.

是的。我認為從我的角度來看，浮動不應該有很多——應該是平的。就今年前 9 個月的 ERTC 而言，我們需要成長的資金約為 1700 萬美元。所以你可以想想我們在指南方面所做的事情，以及 1700 萬美元的 ERTC，我們今年的經常性收入或收入可能是 1 億美元、1.02 億美元左右。因此，我們所說的 1.25 億至 1.29 億美元明年確實會成長 25% 至 29%。

Again, just -- and I think we made the point clear in our prepared remarks, that's going to be a combination of both organic and inorganic. So we've started putting some of the raise money to work, and we're going to do some more of that in next year or so. I think we've been pretty transparent on that. It's pretty consistent with the model we've been talking about over the years, right? It's the (inaudible) pack we expect to kind of be inorganic and organic grower over time.

再說一次，我認為我們在準備好的發言中明確了這一點，這將是有機和無機的結合。因此，我們已經開始將部分籌集的資金投入使用，我們將在明年左右做更多的事情。我認為我們在這方面一直相當透明。這與我們多年來一直在談論的模型非常一致，對吧？隨著時間的推移，我們希望這種（聽不清楚）包裝成為無機和有機種植者。

Yes. And the only thing I'd say, Bryan, is if you think about the $100 million or so that John mentioned and then if you think about second quarter, who is a little over 20% repetitive growth. If you think about lapping in the tough compares around float, you may have about 6% or so kind of headwinds on the float. But as far as momentum in the business, this continued close to that 20%. Float would be a headwind and the marketplace might be a little bit of a headwind on lapping growth compares. But we feel really good about the sales motion and the repetitive revenue. And then that's why we've been adding to it and feel that we can lap the ERTC compares with of the organic growth engine that we built as well as the tuck-in acquisitions that we're in a unique position to execute, and that's why we did the raise.

是的。布萊恩，我唯一要說的是，如果你考慮約翰提到的 1 億美元左右，然後考慮第二季度，其重複增長略高於 20%。如果您考慮在浮動周圍進行艱難的比較，則浮動上可能會遇到大約 6% 左右的逆風。但就業務動能而言，這一比例持續接近 20%。浮動將是一種逆風，而與成長相比，市場可能會有點逆風。但我們對銷售活動和重複收入感到非常滿意。這就是為什麼我們一直在增加它，並認為我們可以將 ERTC 與我們建立的有機成長引擎以及我們處於獨特位置執行的收購相比較，這就是為什麼我們加薪。

Okay. Okay. That makes sense. And I guess, as the -- as you think about the organic growth versus inorganic, is it kind of relatively even mixed according to the long-term strategy as you think about that '24 view? .

好的。好的。這就說得通了。我想，當你考慮有機成長與無機成長時，根據你考慮「24 小時」觀點時的長期策略，它是否相對均勻？ 。

I think so. It will be lumpy, right? It's not perfectly linear. So you're never going to see this line up 100% even. Because you'll spike it once in a while with an acquisition. But I do think it's -- when I think about it, I do think that is a pretty healthy mix of both.

我想是這樣。會結塊的，對吧？它不是完全線性的。所以你永遠不會看到這條線 100% 一致。因為你偶爾會透過收購來提高它。但我確實認為——當我想到這一點時，我確實認為這是兩者的非常健康的結合。

Yes. And we have really good visibility to double-digit organic growth. So we will -- one of the reasons we did the raise is we want to get aggressive with inorganic growth, and we feel like we have a pipeline of some pent-up demand. So while it might be lumpy, there's pretty good certainty on the revenue going forward.

是的。我們對兩位數的有機成長有著非常好的預見性。因此，我們進行加薪的原因之一是我們希望積極推動無機成長，而且我們覺得我們有一些被壓抑的需求。因此，雖然可能不穩定，但未來的收入有很大的確定性。

Okay. Very good. And if I could just squeeze one more in. Can you just comment on how client employment levels trended in the quarter?

好的。非常好。如果我能再擠一個進去的話。您能評論一下本季客戶就業水準的趨勢嗎？

Really about flat. It's there -- it's interesting, small businesses still have more jobs than people and there are certain industries that cannot get people hired and even today. What I would say is there is a little bit of a white-collar recession, and there's pressure on that higher end. But I would say in small business, we've had a mixture of some of the pressure around the technology area and some of the higher end employment. But I would say the blue-collar employment or in the areas, the restaurants, in the areas of even trades they can't get enough people. So the overall hiring has been about flat. And seasonally, we would have expected maybe a little bit of an increase. But clearly, there's a [one] there to hire more employees if they can get them.

真的很平。就在那裡——有趣的是，小企業的就業機會仍然比人口多，而且某些行業即使在今天也無法僱用人員。我想說的是，白領階級出現了一點衰退，高端人士面臨壓力。但我想說，在小企業中，我們面臨著科技領域和高端就業的一些壓力。但我想說的是，藍領就業，或者在餐館，甚至在其他行業，他們都找不到足夠的人手。因此，整體招募情況基本持平。從季節性來看，我們預計可能會有一點成長。但顯然，如果可以的話，他們會僱用更多員工。

Next question is from the line of Richard Baldry with ROTH MKM.

下一個問題來自 Richard Baldry 和 ROTH MKM。

Can you talk about sort of the M&A pipeline that seems to be factored in for '24. Are you seeing reasonableness and what sellers are looking for and interest levels to take action on it? And just any sort of characteristics around that. And then maybe given we took down a lot of the debt in the quarter, when you look forward, what kind of terms or structures you're really trying to focus on? Would it be a lot less on the debt side, more on cash and stock? How do we think about that in terms of equity dilution?

您能談談似乎在 24 世紀考慮的併購管道嗎？您是否看到合理性以及賣家正在尋找什麼以及對此採取行動的興趣程度？以及與之相關的任何類型的特徵。然後，考慮到我們在本季減少了大量債務，當你展望未來時，你真正想要關注的條款或結構是什麼樣的？債務方面會少很多，現金和股票方面會更多嗎？我們如何看待股權稀釋？

Yes, Rich, a lot of questions in that question. So I'll try to unpack and John will jump in as well. But when I think about, first of all, the environment of small business payroll company, the environment is pretty tough. First of all, our regional banks have stopped lending. So access to capital is the #1 concern. Two, the payroll industry, in general, is getting regulated more and more by state money transmitter licenses, KYC, which is know your customer, AML, which is anti-money laundering, et cetera.

是的，里奇，這個問題有很多問題。所以我會嘗試打開行李，約翰也會加入。但當我想到時，首先，小型企業薪資公司的環境是相當艱難的。首先，我們的地區銀行已經停止放款。因此，獲得資本是第一要務。第二，薪資產業整體上越來越受到國家貨幣轉移許可證、KYC（了解你的客戶）、AML（反洗錢）等方面的監管。

So small businesses have a tough time keeping up legislatively. They have a tough time keeping up with the changing landscape of the laws. They have a tough time keeping up with capital needed. And in some cases, of ACA, some of the banks are requiring deposits that are tough to fund, especially if debt levels are tough to get.

因此，小型企業很難跟上立法步伐。他們很難跟上不斷變化的法律狀況。他們很難跟上所需的資金。在某些情況下，根據《平價醫療法案》，一些銀行要求的存款難以提供資金，特別是在債務水準難以達到的情況下。

So the backdrop is that what I would say is also when you think about how they're going to grow their business and what they look like and interest rates going up, very often, they might be looking for a different exit strategy at this point in time to counter what they're going through, and we're a logical exit strategy for them. So we've had some conversation over the last couple of years we get with our resellers and we get with our trusted partners a couple of times a year, in many times, you can telegraph that early on. We did a subsequent acquisition and we put as an extension of the queue. In October already, we do believe we have a pipeline.

因此，我想說的背景是，當你考慮他們將如何發展業務、他們的樣子以及利率上升時，他們通常可能會在此時尋求不同的退出策略及時應對他們正在經歷的事情，我們對他們來說是一個合乎邏輯的退出策略。因此，在過去的幾年裡，我們與經銷商進行了一些對話，並且每年與我們值得信賴的合作夥伴進行了幾次對話，而且很多時候，您可以儘早傳達這一點。我們進行了後續採集，並將其作為隊列的擴展。十月份，我們確實相信我們已經有了一條管道。

As far as multiples, the multiples are reasonable and feel that they're starting to pull in given the backdrop. And then people are worried about potentially a recession or potentially a slowing down in the economy. So we think it's the right time to continue to grow. And then for us, we've been purposeful about kind of growing this business and calling out it's a scale business. The operational and technology initiatives that we've done to improve the bottom line and really grow margin here are 10% over the last couple of years. We're ready to handle that volume.

就倍數而言，倍數是合理的，並且在給定的背景下感覺它們開始拉動。然後人們擔心經濟可能出現衰退或放緩。因此，我們認為現在是繼續成長的最佳時機。對我們來說，我們一直有目的地發展這項業務，並稱之為規模業務。在過去的幾年裡，我們為提高利潤和真正提高利潤率而採取的營運和技術措施是 10%。我們已準備好處理該數量。

And so in many cases, luck is preparation meeting opportunity. We feel it's really a good time to go and be aggressive here, and the pausing of ERTC has given us a catalyst as well to do that. So those are some of the things of how we think about it.

所以很多時候，運氣就是準備見面的機會。我們覺得現在確實是一個積極進取的好時機，而 ERTC 的暫停也為我們提供了這樣做的催化劑。這些是我們的一些想法。

And then as far as your last question around lending or cash or stock, for us, we have 3 levers. We have cash. We have a seller note, which it's important to us because it's a low-cost note, and it protects us on indemnification. And from a stock perspective, only if we feel that the acquisition could add value to us long term when we look at stock. But we also have a little over $30 million in cash and feel that we have the ability to make some acquisitions. We do think the lending market over time will be more reasonable than it is. So that's a lever that we could add. But some kind of cash, stock and indemnification of a low-cost loan will continue to be our model.

至於你最後一個關於貸款、現金或股票的問題，對我們來說，我們有 3 個槓桿。我們有現金。我們有一張賣方票據，這對我們來說很重要，因為它是一張低成本票據，並且可以保護我們的賠償。從股票的角度來看，只有當我們認為收購可以為我們長期增加價值時，我們才會考慮股票。但我們也有略多於 3000 萬美元的現金，並且認為我們有能力進行一些收購。我們確實認為，隨著時間的推移，貸款市場將會比現在更合理。所以這是我們可以添加的一個槓桿。但某種形式的現金、股票和低成本貸款的賠償將繼續是我們的模式。

And maybe flipping back to organic. You posted up, I think it was 26% increase in bookings on top of 91% a year ago. Can you talked just generally about average tenure sort of capacity you feel like your utilization is or what's left, can you continue to grow? Or do you think you really have to focus more on adding head count to try to keep up the organic growth now?

也許又會轉向有機食品。你發布的信息，我認為預訂量比一年前的 91% 增加了 26%。您能否籠統地談談您認為您的利用率或剩餘容量的平均任期容量，您可以繼續成長嗎？或者您認為您現在真的必須更專注於增加員工數量以保持有機成長嗎？

Yes. Thanks, Rich. And we are adding from 100 sales reps to 120. And one of the reasons we're adding is we get people successful. We're going to have over 50% of them at the summit that we have. We would say that that's a record number for us that are going to go to the summit and they've been successful. The training program we put together, the hiring of people we've been able to attract are really good, what I'll call, athletes into Asure, they've been successful. We also have a culture of mentoring and has done a really good job bringing people into the organization. So there's going to be no slowing down of continue to grow.

是的。謝謝，里奇。我們將銷售代表人數從 100 名增加到 120 名。我們增加的原因之一是我們幫助人們取得成功。我們將有超過 50% 的人參加我們的高峰會。我們可以說，這對我們來說是一個創紀錄的登頂人數，而且他們已經成功了。我們制定的培訓計劃、我們能夠吸引到的人員的招募都非常好，我稱之為“運動員進入 Asure”，他們取得了成功。我們還擁有指導文化，並且在將人們帶入組織方面做得非常好。因此，繼續成長不會放緩。

And then as you look at the model and we've improved margins here, almost doubled margins the last couple of years because we're starting to get scale, we want to not only invest in our talent but then also add more. And we believe that as we add more and get the more gross dollars not only from productivity, but new people and the quality of the new people that adds to the bottom line. So it's a multiyear commitment but we feel really strong about it. And we're fortunate to be in a position to be able to do that.

然後，當您查看模型時，我們已經提高了利潤率，在過去幾年中利潤率幾乎翻了一番，因為我們開始擴大規模，我們不僅希望投資我們的人才，而且還希望增加更多人才。我們相信，隨著我們增加更多並獲得更多的總美元，不僅來自生產力，還來自新員工和新員工的質量，這會增加底線。所以這是一個多年的承諾，但我們對此感到非常堅定。我們很幸運能夠做到這一點。

Our next question is from the line of Brad Reback with Stifel.

我們的下一個問題來自 Brad Reback 和 Stifel 的問題。

Great. Thanks very much. Heading back to 2024, the guide, from your commentary, is it correct to assume about $10 million to $15 million from acquisitions is in the $125 million to $129 million?

偉大的。非常感謝。回到 2024 年，根據您的評論，指南假設 1.25 億至 1.29 億美元中的收購金額約為 1000 萬至 1500 萬美元，是否正確？

Yes.

是的。

Great. And the employment trends that you're modeling for '24 given...

偉大的。鑑於您正在為 24 世紀建立的就業趨勢建模...

It's just flat. We've not taken anything down. We assumed our employees are going to stay relatively flat for '24.

它只是平的。我們沒有拿下任何東西。我們假設我們的員工在 24 年將保持相對穩定。

The next question is from the line of Jeffrey Van Rhee with Craig-Hallum.

下一個問題來自 Jeffrey Van Rhee 和 Craig-Hallum 的對話。

Pat, just on the Secure Act, maybe you talked about early traction. Can you put a little balloons behind that? Any quantification, a little more color there would be helpful. And then on the 26% growth in bookings, does that include or exclude the ERTC? If it includes it, what was the tax ERTC?

帕特，就《安全法案》而言，也許您談到了早期的牽引力。你能在後面放一個小氣球嗎？任何量化，多一點顏色都會有幫助。那麼預訂量增加 26% 是否包括或排除 ERTC？如果包含的話，ERTC 稅是多少？

Yes. Just a couple of things. First of all, your first question, Jeff, was around -- I apologize, say that again.

是的。只是幾件事。首先，傑夫，你的第一個問題是──我很抱歉，再說一次。

The Secure Act, you said you're off to a...

《安全法案》，你說過你要去…

Yes, yes, Secure Act. I'm sorry. Shortly after September 14, which put a pause on ERTC, we've already begun to pivot towards Secure 2.0 Act. And those that don't know about Secure 2.0 Act, it's really a social security and it's going to be challenged over the future years with retirement funding. There's still many Americans out there today that don't have access to a 401(k) plan and already now with the Secure 2.0 Act, the government will provide funding not to set up the 401(k) plan but also provide funding in the area of tax credits to employer matches. And -- so we get people starting to save and create some independence in addition of social security, and that [plating] scale of the mask goes over goes 5 years.

是的，是的，安全法案。對不起。 9 月 14 日暫停 ERTC 後不久，我們就開始轉向《安全 2.0 法案》。對於那些不了解《安全 2.0 法案》的人來說，它實際上是一項社會安全保障，並且在未來幾年將面臨退休資金的挑戰。如今仍有許多美國人無法參與 401(k) 計劃，而現在透過《安全 2.0 法案》，政府將提供資金，不用於設立 401(k) 計劃，但也會為以下項目提供資金：與雇主匹配的稅收抵免領域。而且——所以我們讓人們開始儲蓄並在社會安全之外創造一些獨立性，並且面具的[電鍍]規模將持續5年。

That program has been adopted by 22 states already, and we anticipate that it will continue to be driven. And if you think about the data that we sit on with 401(k) deduction codes. And it also has forms like the 5500 to go over the plan, we're pretty visible. And our offering already is around Compliance. And from a Compliance perspective with it, whether it's minimum wage, sexual harassment, training for those states that require it, our HR Compliance, our payroll taxes, our payroll, wage and our Compliance is what we do and what we're skilled at.

該計劃已被 22 個州採用，我們預計該計劃將繼續推動。如果您考慮我們使用 401(k) 扣除代碼保存的資料。它還具有像 5500 這樣的表格來檢查計劃，我們非常明顯。我們的產品已經圍繞著合規性。從合規性的角度來看，無論是最低工資、性騷擾、為有要求的州提供培訓、我們的人力資源合規性、我們的工資稅、我們的工資單、工資和我們的合規性都是我們所做的和我們擅長的。

So we're going after those clients and those prospects in the states they have mandatory 401(k) plans. We're excited to partner with Vestwell, which is also partnered with JPMorgan Chase, which we're partnered with on another company around our treasury management system.

因此，我們正在尋找那些擁有強制性 401(k) 計畫的州的客戶和潛在客戶。我們很高興能與 Vestwell 合作，該公司也與摩根大通合作，我們也與另一家公司圍繞我們的財務管理系統進行了合作。

And so we're going to go after 401(k) in a big way. I anticipate that we'll due in over 700 plants here next year. We're already probably do something like 10% this year, and we have visibility around 70-plus plants to sell here in the fourth quarter. I wouldn't be surprised if we beat that. The marketing qualified leads, the sales qualified leads, the interest level is really, really high, and we've only been doing this in a little bit over a month. So people are pretty excited about the program.

因此，我們將大力推行 401(k)。我預計明年我們將在這裡建造 700 多家工廠。今年我們可能已經做到了 10% 左右，我們預計第四季度將有 70 多家工廠出售。如果我們擊敗了它，我不會感到驚訝。行銷合格的線索，銷售合格的線索，興趣程度真的非常高，而我們只花了一個多月的時間就做到了這一點。所以人們對這個計劃非常興奮。

As far as sales numbers the 26%. We have ERTC, and we'll start reporting bookings ex ERTC, we'll also do some with ERTC, some are stand-alone going forward, if we do book in ERTC deal, it will be a current client with the current product. So we'll provide a bigger breakout of that. But suffice to say, the 20%, 6% on ARR is really largely without ERTC because -- and we'll provide a bigger breakout of the definition of ERTC because in and itself, the ERTC was more of a onetime event than an ARR event. It did get kind of packaged and we'll have to kind of more -- have a nuance breakout for you in future quarters but the 26% ARR bookings is on top of what we booked in ARR, which implicit in that number did not include the ERTC.

就銷售額而言，佔26%。我們有 ERTC，我們將開始報告 ERTC 之前的預訂，我們還將與 ERTC 合作，有些是獨立的，如果我們確實在 ERTC 交易中預訂，它將是擁有當前產品的當前客戶。因此，我們將提供更大的突破。但可以說的是，ARR 上的20%、6% 實際上很大程度上沒有ERTC，因為——我們將提供ERTC 定義的更大突破，因為就其本身而言，ERTC 比ARR 更像是一次性事件事件。它確實得到了某種打包，我們必須做更多的事情——在未來的幾個季度為您提供細微的突破，但26% 的ARR 預訂是在我們以ARR 預訂的基礎上的，該數字中隱含的預訂量不包括ERTC。

Okay. All right. Great. And then on Marketplace, did it ramp as expected? And any more precise thoughts or bounds around what it might do for '24. That's my first question. And the last would be gross margin, John. Just what's -- how should we think about gross margin for Q4?

好的。好的。偉大的。然後在 Marketplace 上，它是否按預期增長？以及關於 24 世紀它可能做的事情的任何更精確的想法或界限。這是我的第一個問題。最後一個是毛利率，約翰。我們該如何看待第四季的毛利率？

Do you want to have first?

你想擁有第一名嗎？

Yes. Yes, I'll go first on the Marketplace. First of all, 401(k), we were looking at some big category of Marketplace with the Secure 2.0. We pulled it out of the Marketplace and really having to a separate category with payroll. So that will perhaps stay from the Marketplace, but it's going to be a huge initiative going forward. We announced Lendio in the Marketplace this past quarter as small businesses do need lending options that are regional banks. So that will be a good one. The Equifax relationship has gone very well into the fourth quarter and momentum is building across the Marketplace. We'll provide a more fulsome update because we got a lot of partners that we're working on right now and as we speak into the first quarter of the following year.

是的。是的，我會先去市場。首先，401(k)，我們正在研究帶有 Secure 2.0 的 Marketplace 的一些大類別。我們將其從市場中撤出，並且確實必須將其與工資單分開一個類別。因此，這可能會留在市場中，但這將是一個巨大的舉措。我們上個季度在市場上宣布了 Lendio，因為小型企業確實需要區域銀行的貸款選擇。所以這將是一件好事。 Equifax 關係在第四季度進展順利，整個市場的勢頭正在增強。我們將提供更豐富的更新，因為我們現在和明年第一季都有很多合作夥伴正在合作。

But suffice to say, we're starting to lap some tougher compares by the same token, we're going to grow the Marketplace and pretty excited about it. And then 401(k), we're going to take as a full category, and we'll take that out of the Marketplace just because we think the traction level is going to be pretty high pretty quickly.

但我只想說，出於同樣的原因，我們開始進行一些更艱難的比較，我們將發展市場並對此感到非常興奮。然後 401(k)，我們將把它作為一個完整的類別，我們會將其從市場中刪除，因為我們認為牽引力水平很快就會相當高。

On margins, I would say the way I think about it. It would be to think about just kind of the cost of goods sold. I believe that fourth quarter cost of goods sold would be in line with the previous 3 quarters. So if you take a blend, I think we did like [87%], [84%], [8%]. So it's going to be in that range, right, somewhere between 87% and 8% . So I think that's a fair way to think about it. And that the revenue will just generate the gross margin based on that cost of goods sold.

在邊緣，我會說出我的想法。只需考慮銷售商品的成本即可。我相信第四季的銷售成本將與前三個季度保持一致。所以如果你混合一下，我認為我們確實喜歡[87%]、[84%]、[8%]。所以它會在這個範圍內，對吧，在 87% 到 8% 之間。所以我認為這是一個公平的思考方式。而且收入只會根據銷售商品的成本產生毛利率。

Our next question is from the line of Eric Martinuzzi with Lake Street.

我們的下一個問題來自 Eric Martinuzzi 和 Lake Street 的對話。

Yes. You gave us the 9 months on the ETRC. I'm curious, can you give us the Q1 and Q2 revenue contribution?

是的。您給了我們 ETRC 9 個月的時間。我很好奇，您能給我們 Q1 和 Q2 的收入貢獻嗎？

Yes. So you're talking about this year, the '23?

是的。所以你說的是今年，23 年？

Yes.

是的。

Yes, I'm going from memory, I can dig it out of my notes here. But it was roughly, I believe, $5 million in the first quarter and $7 million in the second quarter and then about $5 million this quarter. So that's a total of $17 million. I am testing on my memory.

是的，我是憑記憶來的，我可以從我的筆記中找出它。但我認為，第一季約為 500 萬美元，第二季為 700 萬美元，本季約為 500 萬美元。總計 1700 萬美元。我正在測試我的記憶力。

And a lot of the onetime revenue are professional services revenue in Q1, Q2, a vast majority of it was ERTC.

第一季、第二季的許多一次性收入都是專業服務收入，其中絕大多數是 ERTC。

Okay. So was there any recurring revenue in Q1 and Q2? I know there was in Q4, but didn't...

好的。那麼第一季和第二季有經常性收入嗎？我知道第四季有，但沒有...

I think there might have been a couple of hundred in Q1. But yes, it was -- we had a contract that we changed early in Q1 of this year that was going to look like a recurring contract and then it didn't worked as we modified it.

我認為第一季可能有幾百個。但是，是的，我們在今年第一季早些時候更改了一​​份合同，該合約看起來像是一份經常性合同，但在我們修改後它就不起作用了。

Got you.

明白你了。

The real -- the big quarter that we had the ERTC was in the fourth quarter reoccurring to the tune of about $2 million. As we change that contract, there might have been a couple of hundred thousand that led in the in Q1, but the vast majority of ERTC is in the professional services line.

真正的——我們 ERTC 的最大季度是在第四季度，金額約為 200 萬美元。當我們更改合約時，第一季可能有數十萬人領先，但絕大多數 ERTC 屬於專業服務領域。

Okay. And John, you said $5 million for Q3, but I had $3.7 million from your prepared remarks. Is that -- did I have there...

好的。約翰，你說第三季需要 500 萬美元，但我從你準備好的演講中得到了 370 萬美元。是不是──我在那裡…

That's an increase year-over-year, I believe. So I think we had $1.4 million in Q3 of last year. So the $3.7 million is just an incremental, $5.5 million absolute.

我相信這是逐年增長的。所以我認為去年第三季我們有 140 萬美元。因此，370 萬美元只是增量，絕對金額為 550 萬美元。

Okay. And then last question. The sales headcount, I know you're targeting 120 by year-end. Where are we now?

好的。然後是最後一個問題。銷售人員數量，我知道你們的目標是到年底達到 120 人。我們現在在哪裡？

About 110 million or 112 million. Let's say, we have commitments to 112 million , I think, as of today, so that's where we're at.

約1.1億或1.12億。比方說，我想，截至今天，我們已經承諾了 1.12 億美元，所以這就是我們現在的情況。

Next questions are from the line of Vincent Colicchio with Barrington Research.

接下來的問題來自 Barrington Research 的 Vincent Colicchio。

Yes. Pat, I'm curious, did direct sales productivity meet your expectations in the quarter? I would say slightly behind, but all in all, it was a good quarter?

是的。帕特，我很好奇，本季直銷生產力是否達到您的預期？我會說稍微落後，但總而言之，這是一個不錯的季度？

I would quit slightly behind but all in all, it was good quarter. Obvious, when the IRS paused ERTC on September 14, it caused a little bit of pivoting and just understanding and sales cycle disruption. By the same token, we were already well on our way to pivoting and working through the Secure 2.0. So maybe last a couple of weeks in that area. But all in all, we were very pleased with the quarter. We've been very pleased with the sales staff and the organization. We think we have the right leaders and the right people in place and pretty excited about the pipeline going into Q4. So maybe a blip that we had, we had some change management. But all in all, I was very pleased.

我會稍微落後一些，但總而言之，這是一個很好的季度。顯然，當 IRS 於 9 月 14 日暫停 ERTC 時，它引起了一些轉變，只是理解和銷售週期中斷。出於同樣的原因，我們已經在轉向和實施安全 2.0 的道路上順利前進。所以也許在那個地區持續幾週。但總而言之，我們對這個季度非常滿意。我們對銷售人員和組織非常滿意。我們認為我們擁有合適的領導者和合適的人員，並且對進入第四季度的管道感到非常興奮。所以也許我們遇到了一個小問題，我們進行了一些變革管理。但總而言之，我非常高興。

And any changes in the competitive environment, particularly interested in pricing?

競爭環境有何變化，特別是對定價有興趣？

No. I would tell you, first of all, I think we're focused on ARR and repetitive revenue, getting a customer is tough. I mean we have good companies that we compete with, and we get after it. And I'm very pleased in how we position and how we get clients. I think we're winning our share, which is important. And we're getting to clients that -- with value propositions that are probably more valuable than our competitors and broader in some respects, especially around Compliance and legislation.

不。我想告訴你，首先，我認為我們專注於 ARR 和重複性收入，獲得客戶很困難。我的意思是，我們有一些優秀的公司可以與之競爭，我們會追趕它。我對我們的定位和吸引客戶的方式感到非常滿意。我認為我們正在贏得我們的份額，這很重要。我們向客戶提供的價值主張可能比我們的競爭對手更有價值，並且在某些方面更廣泛，尤其是在合規性和立法方面。

So I feel really good about where we are. In general, it's a tough sales environment and people, depending where if you're bullish or not, are you seeing a recession and all that kind of stuff. But we block out the noise. We have a value proposition that we feel is very, very robust. And we're getting our share of business. And I get excited and energized talking to our salespeople because they're successful and they're going to stay that way.

所以我對我們現在的處境感覺非常好。總的來說，這是一個艱難的銷售環境和人員，取決於你是否看好哪裡，你是否會看到經濟衰退和諸如此類的事情。但我們屏蔽了噪音。我們有一個我們認為非常非常穩健的價值主張。我們正在獲得我們的業務份額。與我們的銷售人員交談時，我感到興奮和充滿活力，因為他們取得了成功，並將保持這種狀態。

Our next question is from the line of Greg Gibas with Northland Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自 Northland Securities 的 Greg Gibas。

Pat and John, I wanted to follow up on assumptions with occurring versus other revenue in 2024 guidance. And maybe what could ERTC contribute next year if not excluded? Like how much did you take out from guidance reflecting that uncertainty?

派特和約翰，我想跟進 2024 年指導中發生的收入與其他收入的假設。如果不排除的話，ERTC 明年可能會做出什麼貢獻？例如您從反映這種不確定性的指導中取出了多少？

I think the majority of that guidance for '24 is recurring. We've not forecasted the (inaudible) amount of nonrecurring. How much ETRC could it be? That's kind of speculative. We were running at a pretty nice clip, as you could tell, historically. I don't know what we're going to keep at that clip going into '24. So I think if you were going to ask me that question maybe 2 or 3 months ago, I probably would have said maybe $10 million or so for the year. I don't know what that looks like now just based on all the uncertainty. But again, that's why we didn't put it in the guidance. But to answer your first question, the current guide, the $125 million to $129 million assumes almost all of that being recurring.

我認為 24 世紀的大部分指導都是重複出現的。我們還沒有預測（聽不清楚）非經常性的金額。 ETRC 可能是多少？這是一種推測。如你所知，從歷史上看，我們的運行速度相當不錯。我不知道進入 24 年後我們會在那個片段中保留什麼。所以我想如果你在兩三個月前問我這個問題，我可能會說今年可能是 1000 萬美元左右。基於所有的不確定性，我不知道現在會是什麼樣子。但同樣，這就是我們沒有將其納入指南的原因。但要回答你的第一個問題，目前的指南中，1.25 億美元至 1.29 億美元假設幾乎所有這些都是重複發生的。

Yes. Greg, just if you look through even in our past numbers last year, ERTC, we're somewhere around $1.5 million professional services or so if that. So -- and that's a quarter. So let's say, if you want to include that or straight line it is a number that's $4 million to $6 million maybe of professional services. Mentally, I was coming into this year over the summer saying I had to replace $8 million to $10 million on ERTC. The program is going to change a bit. I think it's going to be more stringent, which is actually and we support that because I think there'll be a flight to quality around vendors, et cetera. But that's what I had kind of thinking that we would replace. So if that's kind of mentally where our head is at.

是的。 Greg，如果你仔細看看我們去年的數據，ERTC，我們的專業服務費用約為 150 萬美元左右。所以——這是四分之一。這麼說吧，如果你想包括這個或直線的話，這個數字可能是 400 萬到 600 萬美元的專業服務。從心理上來說，今年夏天我就說我必須在 ERTC 上更換 800 萬到 1000 萬美元。該計劃將發生一些變化。我認為這將會更加嚴格，這實際上是我們支持的，因為我認為供應商等方面將會出現品質問題。但這就是我認為我們應該取代的東西。所以如果這就是我們的精神狀態。

And then what is to come? We hopefully have taken a conservative stance and as we get revenue great. But by the same token, we got to run our business in a way that we can optimize and get the best value proposition to our clients, and this is what we're going to do.

那麼接下來會發生什麼事呢？我們希望採取保守立場，並獲得豐厚的收入。但出於同樣的原因，我們必須以一種可以優化並為客戶提供最佳價值主張的方式來經營我們的業務，這就是我們要做的。

Great. Very helpful. And yes, I think it makes sense to exclude it. Just great to get a sense of that, potential upside or how you were thinking about it. So I wanted to follow up too. It sounds like leads still remaining strong. Like are you seeing any slowdown there? And maybe anything if you can comment on retention? Any trends you're seeing there as well?

偉大的。很有幫助。是的，我認為排除它是有道理的。很高興能夠了解這一點、潛在的好處或你是如何看待它的。所以我也想跟進一下。聽起來領先優勢仍然強勁。就像你看到那裡有任何放緩嗎？如果您可以對保留率發表評論，也許有什麼建議嗎？在那裡也看到了什麼趨勢嗎？

Yes. No, we meet every morning, and we talked about retention, and our retention numbers have been pretty positive. Really since COVID we probably had an improvement around 2% that was strictly related to COVID and then probably a 2% improvement that wasn't related to COVID. So our retention numbers have been very positive our cross-sell components around HR Compliance and tax and some of the other products and services that we're able to layer on, have been very positive. So we feel like the things that we can control, we're doing a great job, and we'll continue to build on momentum.

是的。不，我們每天早上都會​​見面，我們討論了保留率，而且我們的保留率非常高。事實上，自新冠疫情以來，我們可能有大約 2% 的改善，這與新冠​​疫情嚴格相關，然後可能有 2% 的改善，但與新冠疫情無關。因此，我們的保留數字非常積極，我們圍繞人力資源合規性和稅務的交叉銷售組件以及我們能夠分層的其他一些產品和服務也非常積極。所以我們覺得我們可以控制這些事情，我們做得很好，我們將繼續保持這股勢頭。

As far as the economy, I think if you turn on the TV, sometimes there's doom and gloom and recession this and recession that. But when you talk to Main Street America, they still -- they want access to capital. They want to grow their businesses. They want to provide a value proposition to get better employees and more employees. And there's still more jobs than people. And some of that might change over time. But even if it doesn't change, I think it will bring more people to the workforce. With COVID about 5 million Americans dropped out of the workforce. I don't think we're fully back there yet. And if you think about where we are in the cycle as the country, where you have people retiring maybe faster than people coming into the workforce and very little immigration. There's going to be pressure to bring people to workforce. If you do have a slight kind of recession, if you will, it will bring more people back to work. And I actually think that's good for small business America.

就經濟而言，我認為如果你打開電視，有時會出現厄運、陰鬱、經濟衰退和經濟衰退。但當你與美國大街交談時，他們仍然希望獲得資本。他們想要發展自己的事業。他們希望提供一個價值主張來吸引更好的員工和更多的員工。而且工作崗位仍然多於人口。其中一些可能會隨著時間的推移而改變。但即使它沒有改變，我認為它也會讓更多的人加入勞動力。由於新冠疫情，約 500 萬美國人退出勞動市場。我認為我們還沒有完全回到那裡。如果你想想我們國家所處的週期，你會發現人們退休的速度可能比進入勞動市場的速度快，而且移民很少。將人們帶入勞動市場將會面臨壓力。如果確實出現輕微的經濟衰退，如果你願意的話，它會讓更多的人重返工作崗位。我實際上認為這對美國的小型企業有利。

So we're pretty bullish, pretty excited. I'll tell you we're going to grow over ERTC here and when you look at a repetitive revenue company that's $100 million, that's talking about guiding to $125 to $129 next year and do that. And that includes any ERTC revenue, you feel really good about your business. And we think we have a lot of momentum, and we think the value proposition that we have on behalf of our clients will stand at test of time. So thanks for the question and -- but that's how we're thinking about it right now.

所以我們非常樂觀，非常興奮。我會告訴你，我們將在 ERTC 上實現成長，當你看到一家重複收入為 1 億美元的公司時，這就是說明年指導目標為 125 至 129 美元，並做到這一點。這包括 ERTC 的任何收入，您對自己的業務感覺非常良好。我們認為我們有很大的動力，我們認為我們代表客戶提出的價值主張將經得起時間的考驗。謝謝你的提問，但這就是我們現在正在考慮的問題。

Thank you. At this time, we've reached the end of our question-and-answer session. Now I'll hand the floor back to management for closing remarks.

謝謝。此時，我們的問答環節已經結束。現在我將把發言權交還給管理階層作結束語。

Yes. I just think about 14 years I've been here. I started people had -- we had new pay cuts, and we had less than 50 employees and we're $10 million -- losing $10 million and $0.10 a share. And what I would say is when I look forward to turning a page on the calendar year, I couldn't be more excited about what we're building and what we're doing. We're starting to get capacity and scale in this business. We have access to people that are phenomenal. We have access to clients that we couldn't get in our early days. We're growing as a business and we're growing by leaps and bounds.

是的。我只想著我在這裡已經 14 年了。我開始人們——我們進行了新的減薪，我們有不到 50 名員工，我們的資產為 1000 萬美元——損失 1000 萬美元，每股損失 0.10 美元。我想說的是，當我期待著翻開新的一頁時，我對我們正在建立的東西和我們正在做的事情感到非常興奮。我們開始在這項業務中獲得產能和規模。我們可以接觸到傑出的人才。我們可以獲得早期無法獲得的客戶。作為一家企業，我們正在不斷成長，而且正在突飛猛進地成長。

And I'm very optimistic in the future. Yes, there might be some uncertainties here and there on the economy or ERTC or what have you. But the things that really matter at the end of the day is growing your business, helping your clients, helping your employees succeed as they build families and we think we have a lot of momentum. So as investors, sometimes the scoreboard is the share price, and I get that. But I also believe that as we've done over time is build value in the share price. And yes, when you look at the scoreboard, it can be frustrating at times. But the best days of Asure are the best days that are going to happen here in 2024.

我對未來非常樂觀。是的，經濟、ERTC 或其他方面可能存在一些不確定性。但歸根結底，真正重要的是發展您的業務、幫助您的客戶、幫助您的員工在建立家庭的過程中取得成功，我們認為我們有很大的動力。因此，身為投資者，有時記分板就是股價，我明白這一點。但我也相信，正如我們長期以來所做的那樣，是在股價中創造價值。是的，當你查看記分板時，有時會感到沮喪。但 Asure 最好的日子將在 2024 年在這裡發生。

So I appreciate you listening in and look forward to seeing you next time. Thank you.

因此，我感謝您的聆聽，並期待下次見到您。謝謝。

This will conclude today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。