Paylocity Holding Corp (PCTY) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Paylocity Holding Corporation Third Quarter 2023 Fiscal Year Results Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 Paylocity Holding Corporation 2023 財年第三季度業績電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker, Mr. Ryan Glenn, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead, sir.

現在我想將會議交給首席財務官 Ryan Glenn 先生髮言。請繼續，先生。

Good afternoon, and welcome to Paylocity's earnings results call for the third quarter of fiscal '23, which ended on March 31, 2023. I'm Ryan Glenn, Chief Financial Officer. And joining me on the call today are Steve Beauchamp and Toby Williams, Co-CEOs of Paylocity.

下午好，歡迎收聽 Paylocity 於 2023 年 3 月 31 日結束的 23 財年第三季度的盈利結果。我是首席財務官 Ryan Glenn。今天參加電話會議的還有 Paylocity 聯合首席執行官 Steve Beauchamp 和 Toby Williams。

Today, we will be discussing the results announced in our press release issued after the market closed. A webcast replay of this call will be available for the next 45 days on our website under the Investor Relations tab.

今天，我們將討論收市後發布的新聞稿中公佈的結果。未來 45 天內，我們將在我們網站的“投資者關係”選項卡下提供本次電話會議的網絡直播重播。

Before beginning, we must caution you that today's remarks, including statements made during the question-and-answer session, contain forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to numerous important factors, risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from the results implied by these or other forward-looking statements. Also, these statements are based solely on the present information and are subject to risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.

在開始之前，我們必須提醒您，今天的言論，包括問答環節中的陳述，都包含前瞻性陳述。這些陳述受到許多重要因素、風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與這些或其他前瞻性陳述所暗示的結果不同。此外，這些陳述僅基於當前信息，並受到風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中預測的結果存在重大差異。

For additional information, please refer to our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the risk factors contained therein and other disclosures. We do not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statements.

如需了解更多信息，請參閱我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，了解其中包含的風險因素和其他披露信息。我們不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的責任。

Also, during the course of today's call, we will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. We believe that non-GAAP measures are more representative of how we internally measure the business. And there is a reconciliation schedule detailing these results currently available in our press release, which is located on our website at paylocity.com under the Investor Relations tab and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

此外，在今天的電話會議中，我們將提及某些非公認會計準則財務指標。我們認為，非公認會計準則衡量標準更能代表我們內部衡量業務的方式。我們的新聞稿中目前提供了詳細說明這些結果的核對錶，該新聞稿位於我們網站 paylocity.com 的“投資者關係”選項卡下，並向美國證券交易委員會提交。

Please note that we are unable to reconcile any forward-looking non-GAAP financial measure to their directly comparable GAAP financial measure because the information which is needed to complete a reconciliation is unavailable at this time without unreasonable effort.

請注意，我們無法將任何前瞻性非 GAAP 財務指標與其直接可比較的 GAAP 財務指標進行核對，因為如果不付出不合理的努力，目前無法獲得完成核對所需的信息。

In regards to our upcoming conference schedule, Toby will be attending the Cowen Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in New York on June 1; I will be attending the Jefferies Software Conference in Los Angeles, also on June 1; and Toby and I will be attending the Stifel Cross Sector Insight Conference in Boston on June 6 and the Baird Global Consumer, Technology & Services Conference in New York on June 7; and Steve will be attending the William Blair Growth Conference in Chicago, also on June 7. Please let me know if you'd like to schedule time with us at any of these events.

關於我們即將舉行的會議日程，Toby 將於 6 月 1 日參加在紐約舉行的 Cowen 年度技術、媒體和電信會議；我也將於 6 月 1 日參加在洛杉磯舉行的 Jefferies Software Conference； Toby 和我將出席 6 月 6 日在波士頓舉行的 Stifel Cross Sector Insight Conference 以及 6 月 7 日在紐約舉行的 Baird 全球消費者、技術和服務會議； Steve 也將於 6 月 7 日參加在芝加哥舉行的 William Blair Growth Conference。如果您想安排時間與我們一起參加這些活動，請告訴我。

With that, let me turn the call over to Steve.

接下來，讓我把電話轉給史蒂夫。

Thanks, Ryan, and thanks to all of you for joining us on our third quarter fiscal '23 earnings call. Our overall momentum continued in the third quarter with solid execution across our target market. Q3 revenue growth was 38.2% as our differentiated value proposition of providing the most modern software in the industry continues to resonate in the marketplace.

謝謝 Ryan，也感謝大家參加我們的 23 財年第三季度財報電話會議。我們的整體勢頭在第三季度繼續保持，在目標市場上執行力強勁。由於我們提供業界最現代軟件的差異化價值主張繼續在市場上引起共鳴，第三季度收入增長了 38.2%。

We continue to build on our unique value proposition of providing the most modern software in the industry with the recent release of AI Assist, the HCM industry's first integration of generative AI. Leveraging an integration with OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, AI Assist is designed to help our clients more easily and effectively communicate and engage with their employees.

我們繼續以我們獨特的價值主張為基礎，通過最近發布的 AI Assist（HCM 行業首個生成式人工智能集成）提供業界最現代化的軟件。 AI Assist 與 ChatGPT 的開發商 OpenAI 集成，旨在幫助我們的客戶更輕鬆、更有效地與員工溝通和互動。

Included as a new feature within Community, AI Assist allows users to draft ready-to-send communications and announcements with a simple prompt, tailor messages to specific audiences or even translate announcement into other languages to reach multilingual employees. AI Assist represents the next step in Paylocity's broader investment in AI and machine learning, building upon other AI-based platform capabilities, such as our Modern Workforce Index, Retention Risk Dashboards, time and labor forecast, and tone and sentiment analysis in performance reviews.

作為社區中的一項新功能，AI Assist 允許用戶通過簡單的提示起草準備發送的通信和公告，為特定受眾定制消息，甚至將公告翻譯成其他語言以傳達給多語言員工。 AI Assist 代表了 Paylocity 在人工智能和機器學習方面更廣泛投資的下一步，它建立在其他基於人工智能的平台功能的基礎上，例如我們的現代勞動力指數、保留風險儀表板、時間和勞動力預測以及績效評估中的基調和情緒分析。

Our commitment to product development also continues to be recognized in the market with Paylocity recently placing #1 overall in G2's Best HR Products list and ranking inside of G2's Top 25 Global Software Companies. Additionally, Paylocity was named an overall leader in all 12 human capital management product categories in G2's Spring 2023 Grid Report and won a 2023 Most Loved Award by TrustRadius. Similarly, the strong culture at Paylocity continues to be recognized externally as we received Forbes' 2023 Best Employers for Diversity award for the second consecutive year.

我們對產品開發的承諾也繼續得到市場的認可，Paylocity 最近在 G2 的最佳人力資源產品列表中名列第一，並在 G2 的全球 25 強軟件公司中名列前茅。此外，Paylocity 在 G2 2023 年春季網格報告中被評為所有 12 個人力資本管理產品類別的總體領導者，並榮獲 TrustRadius 頒發的 2023 年最受歡迎獎。同樣，Paylocity 的強大文化繼續得到外部認可，我們連續第二年榮獲福布斯 2023 年多元化最佳雇主獎。

I would now like to pass the call to Toby to provide further color on the quarter.

我現在想將電話轉給托比，以提供有關本季度的更多信息。

Thanks, Steve. In Q3, our sales team turned in another solid performance. And as Steve highlighted, our differentiated value proposition of providing the most modern software in the industry continues to resonate across our target market. Our sustained investment in key product areas, such as mobile, engagement, AI and analytics, continues to strengthen our position as the most modern software platform in the industry and sets us up for a strong close to fiscal '23.

謝謝，史蒂夫。在第三季度，我們的銷售團隊再次取得了穩健的業績。正如史蒂夫所強調的那樣，我們提供業內最現代軟件的差異化價值主張繼續在我們的目標市場中引起共鳴。我們對移動、互動、人工智能和分析等關鍵產品領域的持續投資，繼續鞏固我們作為行業最現代化軟件平台的地位，並為我們在 23 財年取得強勁業績奠定基礎。

In particular, we've continued to see employees increasingly engage with the platform via mobile and through Community, a trend highlighted across a number of clients in Q3, including a real estate developer with over 400 employees that is leveraging mobile alerts and peer-to-peer recognition to drive and measure higher engagement and connectivity across its geographically dispersed property managers, leasing agents and staff.

特別是，我們繼續看到員工越來越多地通過移動設備和社區參與該平台，第三季度許多客戶都強調了這一趨勢，其中包括一家擁有 400 多名員工的房地產開發商，該開發商正在利用移動警報和點對點服務- 同行認可，以推動和衡量分散在各地的物業經理、租賃代理商和員工之間更高的參與度和聯繫。

Similarly, a retailer with 1,300 employees across over 70 locations is leveraging our mobile self-service capabilities, on-demand pay, Community and Surveys to drive higher employee engagement and help retain employees.

同樣，一家在 70 多個地點擁有 1,300 名員工的零售商正在利用我們的移動自助服務功能、按需付費、社區和調查來提高員工敬業度並幫助留住員工。

Solid sales and operational execution helped drive our total revenue to $339.9 million or 38.2% growth over Q3 of last year, beating the midpoint of our guidance by $7.4 million as we continue to build momentum across our target market. We also continue to be pleased with the success in go-to-market hiring and attracting talented sales reps, and we are confident in our ability to hit our staffing targets to start next fiscal year.

紮實的​​銷售和運營執行幫助我們的總收入達到 3.399 億美元，比去年第三季度增長 38.2%，比我們的指導中值高出 740 萬美元，因為我們繼續在目標市場建立勢頭。我們還對進入市場招聘和吸引有才華的銷售代表方面的成功感到高興，並且我們對實現下一財年開始的人員配置目標充滿信心。

Additionally, channel referrals, primarily from benefit brokers and financial advisers, once again represented more than 25% of new business for the third quarter as we continue to leverage both virtual and in-person broker meetings and events to help us maintain the strong source of referrals. We continue investing to support channel referrals and in digital marketing efforts, both of which have driven increased top-of-sales funnel activity and productivity this fiscal year.

此外，主要來自福利經紀人和財務顧問的渠道推薦再次佔第三季度新業務的 25% 以上，因為我們繼續利用虛擬和麵對面的經紀人會議和活動來幫助我們保持強大的資源來源。推薦。我們繼續投資支持渠道推薦和數字營銷工作，這兩者都推動了本財年頂部銷售漏斗活動和生產力的增加。

Interest income on client funds has also continued to rise as a result of sustained interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve and increases in average daily balances. Our top line outperformance, coupled with continued operational efficiency, helped drive adjusted EBITDA of $130.7 million or 38.4% margin, which exceeded the midpoint of our guidance by $7.7 million.

由於美聯儲持續加息和日均餘額增加，客戶資金利息收入也持續上升。我們的營收表現出色，加上持續的運營效率，幫助推動調整後 EBITDA 達到 1.307 億美元，即 38.4% 的利潤率，比我們指導的中值高出 770 萬美元。

Lastly, Q3 represents our busiest time of year as we work to support our clients through all their year-end processing and annual tax form filing needs. I'd like to send out a big thanks to our more than 6,000 employees who live and represent our values every single day and who worked so hard to support our clients in Q3.

最後，第三季度是我們一年中最繁忙的時期，因為我們致力於支持客戶完成所有年終處理和年度納稅申報表需求。我謹向我們的 6,000 多名員工表示衷心感謝，他們每天都踐行並代表我們的價值觀，並在第三季度努力工作以支持我們的客戶。

I would now like to pass the call to Ryan to review the financial results in detail and provide updated fiscal '23 guidance.

我現在想轉達 Ryan 的電話，要求其詳細審查財務業績並提供更新的 23 財年指導。

Thanks, Toby. Total revenue for Q3 was $339.9 million, an increase of 38.2%, with recurring and other revenues up 28.3% from the same period last year. And we were pleased to come in $7.4 million above the midpoint of our Q3 revenue guidance and to raise fiscal '22 revenue guidance by $8.5 million at the midpoint, resulting in fiscal '23 guidance of 37% revenue growth.

謝謝，托比。第三季度總收入為 3.399 億美元，增長 38.2%，經常性及其他收入較去年同期增長 28.3%。我們很高興能夠比第三季度收入指導中值高出 740 萬美元，並將 22 財年收入指導中值提高 850 萬美元，從而使 23 財年收入指導增長 37%。

Our adjusted gross profit was 76.0% for Q3 versus 73.1% in Q3 of last fiscal, representing 290 basis points of leverage as a result of revenue over-performance and continued focus on scaling our operational costs while maintaining industry-leading service levels.

我們第三季度的調整後毛利潤為 76.0%，而上一財年第三季度為 73.1%，由於收入超額表現以及繼續專注於縮減運營成本，同時保持行業領先的服務水平，槓桿率上升了 290 個基點。

We continue to make significant investments in research and development. And to understand our overall investment in R&D, it's important to combine both what we expense and what we capitalize. On a dollar basis, our year-over-year investment in total R&D increased by 53.5% when compared to the third quarter of fiscal '22. And we remain focused on making incremental investments in R&D as we continue to build out the Paylocity platform to serve the needs of the modern workforce.

我們繼續在研發方面進行大量投資。要了解我們在研發方面的總體投資，重要的是要結合我們的支出和資本化。按美元計算，與 2022 財年第三季度相比，我們的研發總投資同比增長了 53.5%。我們仍然專注於在研發方面進行增量投資，繼續構建 Paylocity 平台以滿足現代勞動力的需求。

In regards to our go-to-market activities, on a non-GAAP basis, sales and marketing expense was 19.1% of revenue in Q3, and we remain focused on making incremental investments in this area of the business to drive growth going forward. On a non-GAAP basis, G&A costs were 10.4% of revenue in the third quarter versus 12.2% in the same period last year, representing 180 basis points of leverage in Q3.

就我們的上市活動而言，按非公認會計原則計算，第三季度銷售和營銷費用佔收入的 19.1%，我們仍然專注於在該業務領域進行增量投資，以推動未來的增長。按非 GAAP 計算，第三季度 G&A 成本佔收入的 10.4%，而去年同期為 12.2%，相當於第三季度槓桿 180 個基點。

Our adjusted EBITDA was $130.7 million or 38.4% of revenue for the quarter, which exceeded our guidance by $7.7 million at the midpoint. And we remain committed to progressing against our adjusted EBITDA target of 30% to 35% of revenue.

我們調整後的 EBITDA 為 1.307 億美元，佔本季度收入的 38.4%，比我們的指導中點高出 770 萬美元。我們仍然致力於實現調整後 EBITDA 佔收入 30% 至 35% 的目標。

We continue to be pleased by our ability to drive increased profitability through leverage in adjusted gross margin, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow while also maintaining strong revenue growth. On a year-to-date basis, our free cash flow margin expanded to 19.2% and improved 900 basis points versus the prior period. And we're pleased to be well within our target range of 15% to 20% free cash flow margin.

我們仍然對我們能夠通過調整後的毛利率、調整後的 EBITDA 和自由現金流來提高盈利能力，同時保持強勁的收入增長感到滿意。年初至今，我們的自由現金流利潤率擴大至 19.2%，比上一時期提高了 900 個基點。我們很高興能夠完全保持在 15% 至 20% 自由現金流利潤率的目標範圍內。

Briefly covering our GAAP results, for Q3, gross profit was $244.1 million, operating income was $80.4 million and net income was $57.6 million. In regards to the balance sheet, we ended the quarter with cash, cash equivalents and invested corporate cash of $233.7 million and no debt outstanding.

簡要介紹我們的 GAAP 業績，第三季度的毛利潤為 2.441 億美元，營業收入為 8040 萬美元，淨利潤為 5760 萬美元。就資產負債表而言，本季度末我們的現金、現金等價物和投資企業現金為 2.337 億美元，沒有未償債務。

In regard to client-held funds and interest income, our average daily balance of client funds was $2.8 billion in Q3, and we are estimating the average daily balance will be approximately $2.5 billion in Q4 with an average annual yield of approximately 380 basis points. Additionally, please note that our guidance includes the impact of this week's 25 basis point interest rate increase. And although we expect the impact to be more material in future periods, we do not expect this to have a material impact on Q4 results, given the recency of the increase in rates.

從客戶持有資金和利息收入來看，第三季度我們的客戶資金日均餘額為28億美元，預計第四季度日均餘額約為25億美元，年均收益率約為380個基點。此外，請注意，我們的指引包括本週加息 25 個基點的影響。儘管我們預計未來一段時間的影響會更加重大，但考慮到利率上調的時間不久，我們預計這不會對第四季度的業績產生重大影響。

In regard to overall client workforce levels, the number of client employees in the platform was flat for January, February, March and April on a sequential basis in each month, consistent with Q2 and versus only a nominal increase in Q1 on a sequential basis. Our guidance continues to assume overall flat client workforce levels for the rest of the fiscal year.

就整體客戶員工水平而言，1月、2月、3月和4月平台中的客戶員工數量環比持平，與第二季度一致，而第一季度環比僅名義增加。我們的指引繼續假設本財年剩餘時間內客戶員工隊伍總體水平持平。

With that, I'd like to provide our financial guidance for Q4 and full fiscal '23. For the fourth quarter of fiscal '23, total revenue is expected to be in the range of $299.2 million to $303.2 million or approximately 32% growth over fourth quarter of fiscal '22 total revenue. And adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $93.5 million to $96.5 million.

因此，我想提供我們第四季度和 23 年整個財年的財務指導。 23 財年第四季度的總收入預計將在 2.992 億美元至 3.032 億美元之間，比 22 財年第四季度的總收入增長約 32%。調整後的 EBITDA 預計在 9350 萬美元至 9650 萬美元之間。

And for fiscal year '23, total revenue is expected to be in the range of $1.165 billion to $1.169 billion or approximately 37% growth over fiscal '22. And adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $368.1 million to $371.1 million, implying an adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 31.7% and representing leverage of 380 basis points versus last fiscal year.

23 財年的總收入預計將在 11.65 億美元至 11.69 億美元之間，比 22 財年增長約 37%。調整後的 EBITDA 預計在 3.681 億美元至 3.711 億美元之間，這意味著調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率約為 31.7%，與上一財年相比槓桿率為 380 個基點。

In conclusion, we are pleased with our Q3 results. And we're pleased to raise fiscal '23 guidance to 37% growth at the midpoint, which, in combination with the adjusted EBITDA margin represented in our full year guide, exceeds the Rule of 68 for fiscal '23. We remain confident in our ability to support 20%-plus revenue growth going forward and also remain committed to driving increased adjusted gross margin, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow leverage on an annual basis.

總之，我們對第三季度的業績感到滿意。我們很高興將 23 財年指導增長至中點 37%，與我們全年指南中調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率相結合，超過了 23 財年的 68 規則。我們仍然對支持未來 20% 以上的收入增長的能力充滿信心，並繼續致力於每年推動調整後毛利率、調整後 EBITDA 和自由現金流槓桿的增長。

Operator, we are now ready for questions.

接線員，我們現在準備好提問了。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question will come from the line of Scott Berg with Needham & Co.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題將來自 Scott Berg 與 Needham & Co 的線路。

Congrats on a great quarter. I guess I have a couple. Steve, let's start about -- start with the AI topic of the year so far. You mentioned AI Assist and how it will help your customers communicate better. But as you think more holistically across the HR space over the next couple or 3 years, how can AI impact both your product and maybe the industry products even more so than what you're already seeing today?

恭喜您度過了一個出色的季度。我想我有幾個。史蒂夫，讓我們從今年迄今為止的人工智能主題開始。您提到了 AI Assist 以及它將如何幫助您的客戶更好地溝通。但是，當您在未來幾年或三年內對人力資源領域進行更全面的思考時，人工智能如何對您的產品以及行業產品產生比您今天所看到的更大的影響？

Sure. I think most of the AI use cases you see early in the cycle really revolve around writing assistance. And clearly, that's going to evolve very quickly over time. And there's lots of examples within the HR suite where that can be helpful. You can think of things like job descriptions as another example, performance reviews, lots of places where you need to provide written communication to employees that having an assistant to be able to make sure that you're really getting your point across or potentially getting people excited or energized with an announcement, you can get assistance from an AI perspective.

當然。我認為您在周期早期看到的大多數人工智能用例實際上都圍繞著寫作幫助。顯然，隨著時間的推移，這種情況將會迅速發展。人力資源套件中有很多有用的示例。您可以將工作描述等視為另一個例子，績效評估，在很多地方您需要向員工提供書面溝通，讓助理能夠確保您真正傳達自己的觀點或潛在地讓人們了解如果您對某個公告感到興奮或充滿活力，您可以從人工智能的角度獲得幫助。

And I think we see a lot of those initial use cases is where we will add AI Assist into our platform and deliver value to our clients. But over time, the algorithms start to become much more complicated. You'll see us impacting Modern Workforce Index over time with new ideas for clients to be able to engage with employees differently and really drive higher retention and higher attraction from new employee perspective and better culture. And so we're really excited about the opportunity to embed AI Assist throughout the platform.

我認為我們看到很多最初的用例都是我們將人工智能輔助添加到我們的平台中並為我們的客戶提供價值的地方。但隨著時間的推移，算法開始變得更加複雜。隨著時間的推移，您將看到我們通過新的想法影響現代勞動力指數，讓客戶能夠以不同的方式與員工互動，並從新員工的角度和更好的文化中真正推動更高的保留率和更高的吸引力。因此，我們對有機會在整個平台中嵌入 AI Assist 感到非常興奮。

Understood. And I know on Ryan's commentary, you talked about your assumptions around flat employment levels here going forward. But how are you all seeing sales cycles today? Our work has indicated kind of the SMB to mid-market HCM sales cycle seem relatively normal out there. But are you seeing any changes maybe more positively or even a little more cautiously?

明白了。我知道在瑞安的評論中，您談到了您對未來就業水平持平的假設。但你們現在如何看待銷售週期呢？我們的工作表明，中小企業到中端市場的 HCM 銷售週期似乎相對正常。但您是否看到了任何更積極甚至更謹慎的變化？

Scott, it's Toby. I mean I think consistent with the commentary on the quarter and the performance, I mean I think we haven't seen significant changes in the sales cycles. I think the sales performance has been relatively steady. And I think overall, we're happy with how the quarter shaped up, both from a sales perspective and then also from an operational execution standpoint.

斯科特，這是托比。我的意思是，我認為與對本季度和業績的評論一致，我的意思是，我認為我們沒有看到銷售週期發生重大變化。我認為銷售業績一直比較穩定。我認為總的來說，我們對本季度的表現感到滿意，無論是從銷售角度還是從運營執行角度來看。

One moment for our next question, and that will come from the line of Terrell Tillman with Truist.

請稍等一下，我們的下一個問題將來自特雷爾·蒂爾曼 (Terrell Tillman) 和 Truist 的台詞。

Guys, this is Joe Meares on for Terry. So we saw you guys recently announced a feature -- several feature updates, including texting for new hires, a new integration for LinkedIn for easier job posting and then the little forms for signatures and acknowledgments. I'm just curious if there are any other feature updates that you'd point to that you and customers are most excited about and then, if any, you think could be needle-movers in '23 or beyond.

伙計們，這是喬·米爾斯（Joe Meares）替補特里。我們看到你們最近宣布了一項功能——多項功能更新，包括為新員工發短信、為更輕鬆地發布職位而對 LinkedIn 進行新集成，以及用於簽名和致謝的小表格。我只是好奇是否有任何其他功能更新是您和客戶最感興趣的，如果有的話，您認為可能會在 23 年或以後成為推動者。

Sure. So we've had a great history of being able to release improvements based off client feedback. We believe strongly in client as a co-creator. And so you listed several examples that we got feedback from our clients and we continue to improve our product. And you'll also see more modern capabilities used in other software platforms be inserted.

當然。因此，我們在能夠根據客戶反饋發布改進方面有著悠久的歷史。我們堅信客戶是共同創造者。因此，您列出了幾個例子，我們從客戶那裡得到了反饋，並且我們繼續改進我們的產品。您還將看到其他軟件平台中使用的更多現代功能被插入。

So we just talked about AI Assist, but things like chat are another great example, leveraging all the mobile connections, I think Toby had some examples in the prepared remarks, to really drive higher level of employee engagement. And so you'll see us continue to improve the platform on an ongoing basis.

所以我們剛剛討論了人工智能輔助，但像聊天這樣的事情是另一個很好的例子，利用所有移動連接，我認為托比在準備好的發言中提供了一些例子，以真正推動更高水平的員工敬業度。因此，您會看到我們不斷改進該平台。

And then from a new product perspective, we more than doubled the amount of product we sold since our IPO. And we are pretty confident with a rich product pipeline that we'll be able to continue that trend going forward and add new modules that are also monetizable at the same time.

然後從新產品的角度來看，自首次公開募股以來，我們銷售的產品數量增加了一倍多。我們對豐富的產品線非常有信心，我們將能夠繼續這一趨勢，並添加同時可盈利的新模塊。

Super helpful. And just as a follow-up, I think you've talked about 92%-plus gross retention target. Just curious how that metric performed in the quarter and then how you expect it to trend through the rest of calendar '23.

超級有幫助。作為後續行動，我認為您已經談到了 92% 以上的總保留率目標。只是好奇該指標在本季度的表現如何，以及您期望它在 23 日曆剩餘時間裡的趨勢如何。

Yes. I mean I think consistent with prior comments, we've, I think, benefited from higher retention through the course of the pandemic and then coming out of it consistent with others in the industry. I mean I think we still, through the course of the quarter and year-to-date, are pretty pleased with the revenue retention. And I think that was part of what contributed to the solid quarter that we've put in.

是的。我的意思是，我認為與之前的評論一致，我認為，在大流行期間，我們從更高的保留率中受益，然後與業內其他人保持一致。我的意思是，我認為我們仍然對本季度和年初至今的收入保留感到非常滿意。我認為這是我們季度業績穩定的部分原因。

One moment for our next question, and that will come from the line of Brian Peterson with Raymond James.

現在我們的下一個問題將來自布萊恩·彼得森和雷蒙德·詹姆斯的台詞。

This is Jessica Wang on for Brian Peterson. I just wanted to quickly follow up on investments into the product development that you've been announcing. How has the pace of hiring investments been in these areas, especially given the start of the new calendar year and as you're looking towards the rest of the calendar fiscal year, considering ongoing macro and competition?

我是傑西卡·王 (Jessica Wang) 為布萊恩·彼得森 (Brian Peterson) 配音。我只是想快速跟進您宣布的產品開發投資。這些領域的招聘投資步伐如何，特別是考慮到新歷年的開始，以及您展望本財年的剩餘時間，考慮到持續的宏觀和競爭？

Yes. So I think hiring in product technology has always been challenging, especially to try to get the talented folks you're looking at, examples like software engineer or data practices, security, all pretty hot markets still despite the fact that there's been some macro layoffs by the others in the tech org. But we've been continuing to hire.

是的。因此，我認為產品技術領域的招聘一直是具有挑戰性的，尤其是試圖找到你正在尋找的人才，例如軟件工程師或數據實踐、安全性，儘管存在一些宏觀裁員，但所有這些市場仍然相當熱門由技術組織中的其他人提供。但我們一直在繼續招聘。

As I go back, too, we're really excited about what we've got from a product pipeline perspective. We've gotten great ROI on our previous year's product investments. Average revenue per customer has been a strong performance for us, and that's been driven by the new product introductions that we've got.

當我回去時，我們對從產品管道的角度所獲得的東西感到非常興奮。我們去年的產品投資獲得了很高的投資回報率。每個客戶的平均收入對我們來說一直是強勁的表現，這是由我們推出的新產品推動的。

So we understand that things are a little bit more uncertain from a macro perspective, but we're sticking kind of to the strategy. And at the same time, we're able to deliver pretty strong leverage. And so we feel like we can balance the investments in product going forward, take advantage of the feedback we're getting from our customers and come out with new monetizable opportunities going forward, which has been a key component of our strategy historically.

因此，我們知道，從宏觀角度來看，事情有點不確定，但我們會堅持策略。與此同時，我們能夠提供相當強大的槓桿作用。因此，我們覺得我們可以平衡未來對產品的投資，利用我們從客戶那裡得到的反饋，並在未來推出新的貨幣化機會，這一直是我們歷史上戰略的關鍵組成部分。

Great. And one quick follow-up question as well. Considering recent events in the banking sector, have you seen any impact on existing customers or the broader SMB market from the recent banking crisis?

偉大的。還有一個快速跟進問題。考慮到銀行業最近發生的事件，您是否看到最近的銀行危機對現有客戶或更廣泛的中小企業市場產生了影響？

Sure, I can take that one. The answer to that is no. I think we obviously are working with a very diverse set of banking partners, both on the corporate and client-held fund side, and I think feel good about the redundancy we have with the multitude of banking partners. And there's nothing that I'd call out as far as noise there, whether it's with existing clients or with prospects.

當然，我可以接受那個。答案是否定的。我認為我們顯然正在與非常多樣化的銀行合作夥伴合作，無論是在公司還是客戶持有的基金方面，我認為我們對與眾多銀行合作夥伴的冗餘感到滿意。無論是現有客戶還是潛在客戶，我都不會指出那裡有什麼噪音。

One moment for our next question, and that will come from the line of Brad Reback with Stifel.

等一下我們的下一個問題，這將來自 Brad Reback 和 Stifel 的台詞。

So I appreciate the fiscal '24 kind of revenue commentary. But as we think about expenses going forward, obviously, this year, you got a big benefit from funds held and the incremental gross margin there, and OpEx grew in line with revenue. Do you envision a scenario where that somewhat reverses next year on the OpEx side?

所以我很欣賞 24 財年的收入評論。但當我們考慮未來的支出時，顯然，今年，您從持有的資金和增量毛利率中獲得了巨大的好處，並且運營支出與收入同步增長。您是否設想明年運營支出方面的情況會有所逆轉？

I think the simple answer is we've had really years and years of -- if you take out the COVID year, we pretty much expanded our adjusted EBITDA year after year, and we're not necessarily changing our approach towards that. So as we go into next year and we don't have the same type of tailwind from an interest revenue perspective, we're still committed to adjusted EBITDA expansion.

我認為簡單的答案是，我們已經經歷了很多年——如果除去新冠疫情那一年，我們幾乎年復一年地擴大了調整後的 EBITDA，而且我們不一定會改變我們的做法。因此，當我們進入明年時，從利息收入的角度來看，我們沒有同樣類型的順風車，我們仍然致力於調整後的 EBITDA 擴張。

One moment for our next question, and that will come from the line of Bryan Bergin with Cowen.

請稍等一下，我們的下一個問題將來自布萊恩·伯金 (Bryan Bergin) 和考恩 (Cowen) 的對話。

First one on the sales force, can you just give us a sense on how sales headcount expansion progressed this year and how you may have some early plans and thoughts for fiscal '24?

第一個關於銷售隊伍的問題，您能否向我們介紹一下今年銷售人員擴張的進展情況以及您對 24 財年的一些早期計劃和想法？

Sure. I mean we came into the year with, I think, sales headcount up right around 18%, which is fairly consistent, maybe ex 1 year of COVID, to growing the sales force in that high-teens ZIP code, plus or minus. And I think we were pleased with our ability to staff up coming into the year. I think as we sit here today, we've got a favorable view of how that's shaping up for our path into next fiscal year.

當然。我的意思是，我認為，今年我們的銷售人員數量增加了 18% 左右，這與在新冠疫情爆發一年前，與高青少年郵政編碼（加減）銷售隊伍的增長相當一致。我認為我們對今年的員工能力感到滿意。我認為，當我們今天坐在這裡時，我們已經對我們進入下一財年的道路產生了積極的看法。

I think we've got a history of being able to come into the year fully staffed with the headcount that we think we need to be able to support the growth in the fiscal. And so I think as we sit here today, we think we feel pretty good about that as we're looking forward to fiscal '24.

我認為，我們在今年能夠配備足夠的人員，我們認為我們需要能夠支持財政增長。因此，我認為，當我們今天坐在這裡時，我們對此感覺非常好，因為我們期待著 24 財年。

Okay. And then just a broader question on fiscal '24. Just if you assess the current environment, just the key considerations right now in client conversations, anything we should be mindful of as we just think about that fiscal '24 growth and margin potential?

好的。然後是關於 24 財年的一個更廣泛的問題。如果你評估當前的環境，只是現在在客戶對話中的關鍵考慮因素，當我們只考慮 24 財年的增長和利潤潛力時，我們應該注意什麼？

Well, I think -- I mean, just as we look at fiscal '24, I mean I think we're obviously in the throes of putting together the plan for fiscal '24. I think I've just talked about how we think about the sales force build into that. I think Steve's comments before, we've had a history of product innovation that I think has helped both create differentiation and also create the performance as we're looking at any future fiscal year.

嗯，我認為——我的意思是，正如我們審視 24 財年一樣，我的意思是我認為我們顯然正處於製定 24 財年計劃的陣痛之中。我想我剛剛談到了我們如何看待銷售隊伍的建設。我認為史蒂夫之前的評論是，我們有產品創新的歷史，我認為這既有助於創造差異化，也有助於創造我們未來任何財年的業績。

And I think we've got an ops team in place that's done a great job of coming through the busiest time of year for us and set us up for success as we close out the fiscal year. And so I mean I think we're at the planning point for what fiscal '24 is going to look like. But I think we are positive on the momentum that we've seen in the business, both from a sales perspective and from an operational standpoint.

我認為我們已經組建了一支運營團隊，他們出色地完成了我們一年中最繁忙的時期，並為我們在本財年結束時取得成功做好了準備。所以我的意思是，我認為我們正處於 24 財年的規劃階段。但我認為，無論是從銷售角度還是從運營角度來看，我們對業務的勢頭持積極態度。

Yes, Toby, the only thing I would add is just from a macro perspective, obviously, we've had the tailwind of interest revenue this year, which has really been an industry tailwind. And then we really haven't seen any growth in pace per. And so on a normal kind of low-growth GDP environment, you do typically get pace per growth. And so as we go into next year, you don't get that necessary interest revenue tailwind, and we're anticipating no pace per type growth.

是的，托比，我唯一要補充的是，從宏觀角度來看，顯然，我們今年有利息收入的順風，這確實是行業的順風。然後我們確實沒有看到每人的速度有任何增長。因此，在正常的低增長 GDP 環境中，通常會獲得增長速度。因此，當我們進入明年時，您將無法獲得必要的利息收入順風，而且我們預計每種類型都不會出現增長速度。

So as Toby said, we're pretty confident with all the things that we can control from an execution perspective, but those are a couple of things from a macro to be aware of.

正如托比所說，我們對從執行角度可以控制的所有事情都非常有信心，但從宏觀角度來看，這些是需要注意的一些事情。

One moment for our next question, and that will come from the line of Mark Marcon with Baird.

請稍等一下，我們的下一個問題將來自馬克·馬爾孔和貝爾德。

Congratulations. Thinking a little bit about the guidance for this coming quarter, what are you thinking with regards to a reasonable effective yield on the float balance for this coming quarter? Because if I'm just doing the raw math, I'm not sure that the revenue guide was raised, and it looks like you've got really good momentum. So I'm just trying to think that part through.

恭喜。稍微考慮一下下個季度的指導，您對下個季度的浮動餘額的合理有效收益率有何看法？因為如果我只是做原始數學計算，我不確定收入指南是否提高了，而且看起來你的勢頭非常好。所以我只是想把這部分想清楚。

Sure, Mark. This is Ryan. I think for the third quarter, as I said in the prepared remarks, the average daily balance was about $2.8 billion. The average yield, if you back into that, was 360 to 370 basis points, and we guided Q4 to about 380 basis points. So I think our expectation is continue to step up in yield, as you've seen consistently each quarter this fiscal year. Obviously, we got a 25 basis point rate increase yesterday. The impact of that in Q4 is negligible, but you will see the yields continue to build in Q4 as you have earlier part of the year.

當然，馬克。這是瑞安。我認為，正如我在準備好的發言中所說，第三季度的日均餘額約為 28 億美元。如果你回顧一下，平均收益率為 360 至 370 個基點，我們將第四季度指導為 380 個基點左右。因此，我認為我們的預期是收益率繼續上升，正如您在本財年每個季度所看到的那樣。顯然，昨天我們加息了 25 個基點。第四季度的影響可以忽略不計，但您會看到第四季度的收益率繼續上升，就像今年早些時候一樣。

Okay. And I mean, just staying on the topic, just how are you thinking about the momentum into Q4? Because it looks like things are going really well. And perhaps you can comment a little bit with regards to the sales pipeline and the implementations and particularly, if you're seeing any more traction on the upper end of the market, as you mentioned during prior quarters.

好的。我的意思是，停留在主題上，您如何看待第四季度的勢頭？因為看起來事情進展得很順利。也許您可以對銷售渠道和實施進行一些評論，特別是如果您看到高端市場有更多的吸引力，正如您在前幾個季度提到的那樣。

Sure. So yes, I think you're right, we've had really good execution in the quarter and throughout the fiscal year from a sales perspective. As you go into next quarter and you look at our guidance, it starts to look very similar to pre-COVID type activity. So we're anniversary-ing a lot of the noise from COVID tailwind. So I think that's one thing to kind of think about is it's kind of getting back into -- we were kind of in that 20-plus category, and we're focusing on that and we're executing above that pre-COVID. There's been a lot of headwind early on and tailwind late.

當然。所以，是的，我認為你是對的，從銷售角度來看，我們在本季度和整個財年的執行情況非常好。當您進入下個季度並查看我們的指導時，它開始看起來與新冠疫情之前的活動非常相似。因此，我們正在慶祝新冠肺炎疫情帶來的許多噪音。因此，我認為需要考慮的一件事是，我們有點回到了 20 多個類別，我們正在關注這一點，並且我們的執行速度高於新冠疫情之前的水平。早期有很多逆風，後期有很多順風。

And so I think you're going to get back to a more normalized quarter as we go into the fourth quarter of the fiscal year. But we've been executing really well across all market segments. I would still highlight the upper end of that market. Probably if you were to say, which is probably the place you're executing the best, that would still be a highlight.

因此，我認為當我們進入本財年第四季度時，您將回到更加正常化的季度。但我們在所有細分市場都表現得非常好。我仍然會強調該市場的高端。也許如果你要說，這可能是你執行得最好的地方，那仍然是一個亮點。

One moment for our next question, and that will come from the line of Alex Zukin with Wolfe Research.

請稍等一下，我們的下一個問題將來自沃爾夫研究中心的亞歷克斯·祖金 (Alex Zukin)。

I guess it's been asked a couple of times, it does not sound like you're seeing any macro headwinds at the moment. I guess if you -- as you look towards 2024, you just talked about seeing better traction up market, do you see any lengthening in sales cycles? Any -- maybe, again, as sales cycles take longer, approvals take more time that close rates are, again, stretched out or impacted by that. And then how do you think about how is the importance of global in kind of the incremental traction, incremental bookings opportunity for fiscal '24? It appears that's increasingly important in the ecosystem.

我想這個問題已經被問過幾次了，聽起來你目前沒有看到任何宏觀阻力。我想，當您展望 2024 年時，您剛剛談到看到更好的市場牽引力，您是否認為銷售週期會延長？任何——也許，隨著銷售週期更長，審批需要更多時間，成交率再次被拉長或受到影響。那麼您如何看待全球在 24 財年增量牽引力、增量預訂機會方面的重要性？這似乎在生態系統中變得越來越重要。

Maybe I'll start with the global part of the answer. We acquired Blue Marble to be able to have a global offering where companies can be paid through a network of providers in a number of countries around the world. And so we've integrated that business into the rest of our organization. And now when we look at that, it's very much a customer that might be on the Blue Marble platform but also on the Paylocity platform. And so we think that's been a nice differentiator for us. It also creates a nice revenue stream on top of that.

也許我會從答案的全局部分開始。我們收購 Blue Marble 是為了能夠提供全球服務，公司可以通過世界各地多個國家的提供商網絡進行付款。因此，我們已將該業務整合到我們組織的其他部門中。現在，當我們看到這一點時，它很可能是 Blue Marble 平台上的客戶，但也可能是 Paylocity 平台上的客戶。所以我們認為這對我們來說是一個很好的差異化因素。除此之外，它還創造了不錯的收入來源。

I think, though, it's still relatively small compared to the rest of our business. And so we think about that as now being kind of part of our core strategy and not so separate and certainly being helpful, even more so from a differentiation perspective than a new revenue stream.

但我認為，與我們的其他業務相比，它仍然相對較小。因此，我們認為這現在是我們核心戰略的一部分，而不是那麼獨立，而且肯定是有幫助的，從差異化的角度來看，比新的收入來源更是如此。

Our next question comes from the line of Samad Samana with Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自 Samad Samana 和 Jefferies 的對話。

Maybe first one, just if I strip out as kind of the implied float contribution, gross margins on the core software side is still up really nicely year-over-year. I'm just curious maybe what's driving that underlying increase beyond scale or if there's anything that's changed in terms of what maybe your hosting costs are or what's maybe supporting that gross margin expansion outside of just the float side.

也許第一個，如果我剔除隱含的浮動貢獻，核心軟件方面的毛利率仍然同比增長得非常好。我只是好奇是什麼推動了超出規模的潛在增長，或者您的託管成本是否發生了任何變化，或者是什麼支持了浮存金之外的毛利率擴張。

Yes, Samad, I can take that one. I think as you said, we're really pleased with, I think, the leverage across the business, certainly from a gross margin perspective, almost 300 basis points of leverage in the quarter. And as you outlined, stripping out the float impact, I think you're still at about 100 basis points. So nothing I'd call out there from a one-time perspective. I think it's -- as the business continues to scale, you're driving efficiencies and scale and automation in those teams and, at the same time, feel really good about the service and implementation and overall ops experience we're driving for clients. So I think it's just that continued strategy of investing in that part of the business, but at the same time, driving efficiencies.

是的，薩馬德，我可以接受那個。我認為正如您所說，我們對整個業務的槓桿率感到非常滿意，當然從毛利率的角度來看，本季度的槓桿率接近 300 個基點。正如您所概述的，除去浮動影響，我認為您的利率仍約為 100 個基點。因此，我不會從一次性的角度提出任何要求。我認為，隨著業務的不斷擴展，您將提高這些團隊的效率、規模和自動化，同時對我們為客戶提供的服務、實施以及整體運營體驗感到非常滿意。因此，我認為這只是對這部分業務進行投資的持續策略，但同時又提高了效率。

Great. And then maybe Steve or Toby, as a follow-up, as you think about the nature of the typical customer conversation that you're having right now, is it more about how to leverage better what's called the incremental modules or the products that they have adopted over the last 18 to 24 months as we're in what seems to be just a largely kind of understood world of where people are working? Or is it more about how do they get new tools to better manage the world that we're in, right? So is it kind of better leveraging what they already have or finding more?

偉大的。然後，也許史蒂夫或託比，作為跟進者，當你思考你現在正在進行的典型客戶對話的性質時，更多的是關於如何更好地利用所謂的增量模塊或他們的產品在過去 18 到 24 個月裡，我們所採用的是什麼，因為我們所處的世界似乎基本上是人們工作的地方？或者更多的是他們如何獲得新工具來更好地管理我們所處的世界，對嗎？那麼，是更好地利用他們已經擁有的東西，還是發現更多東西呢？

Yes. I think it's a combination, really. So I think it starts with how do we really digitize all of our back-office HR processes. And ultimately, that puts more control in the hands of employees and managers and saves the HR team time. That's still a big part of the equation. And then on top of that, part of the equation then is with the time that you save, what are you going to be doing from a strategic perspective? And that's really driving initiatives to create the right culture, to make an engaging environment, to drive productivity.

是的。我認為這是一個組合，真的。所以我認為首先是我們如何真正實現所有後台人力資源流程的數字化。最終，這將更多的控制權交給了員工和經理，並節省了人力資源團隊的時間。這仍然是方程式的重要組成部分。最重要的是，等式的一部分是您節省的時間，從戰略角度來看您將做什麼？這確實推動了創造正確文化、營造有吸引力的環境、提高生產力的舉措。

And that's where a lot of the new tools come into the equation. And that's where you've seen things like Surveys and LMS and Community and Video really create a better engaging experience. That always becomes part of the conversation, but it still starts with how do you get as efficient as possible first.

這就是許多新工具發揮作用的地方。在這裡，您可以看到調查、學習管理系統、社區和視頻等功能確實創造了更好的參與體驗。這總是成為談話的一部分，但它仍然首先從如何盡可能提高效率開始。

One moment for our next question, and that will come from the line of Jason Celino with KeyBanc Capital Markets.

現在我們的下一個問題將來自 KeyBanc Capital Markets 的 Jason Celino。

This year, you've been taking advantage of the favorable flow environment to reinvest in the platform. My question has to deal with like the pace of innovation, specifically with this AI feature. If we take a step back, it's really only been about 6 months since the AI rhetoric has really up-ticked. I'm curious on maybe when you started developing this product, like how long did it take and if we could see additional features here on the AI side near term?

今年，大家利用有利的流量環境，對平台進行了再投資。我的問題必須涉及創新的步伐，特別是人工智能功能。如果我們退後一步，人工智能言論真正升溫實際上只過去了大約 6 個月。我很好奇你是什麼時候開始開發這個產品的，比如花了多長時間，以及我們是否可以在近期看到人工智能方面的其他功能？

Yes, sure. So I think what we called out in the prepared remarks is that we've been investing kind of in broader data science, machine learning, AI for a number of years now. And so we gave examples of a number of products that are leveraging those types of capabilities. More recently, AI Assist is obviously leveraging large language model in that category.

是的，當然。因此，我認為我們在準備好的發言中指出，多年來我們一直在更廣泛的數據科學、機器學習和人工智能方面進行投資。因此，我們給出了許多利用這些類型功能的產品的示例。最近，AI Assist 顯然正在利用該類別中的大型語言模型。

And so we continually invest. And we believe that that's really part of the whole engagement and more modern platform story is our investments, multiyear investments in there. And we think we've got a pretty good pipeline of places that we can take, either products like AI Assist or making Modern Workforce Index more robust or being more predictive across our insights over time.

因此我們不斷投資。我們相信，這確實是整個參與的一部分，更現代的平台故事是我們的投資，多年投資。我們認為，我們已經擁有了一系列可以採用的非常好的渠道，無論是像人工智能輔助這樣的產品，還是讓現代勞動力指數變得更加穩健，或者隨著時間的推移，我們的見解更具預測性。

I see. Okay, perfect. And then appreciated the update on international. It sounds like it's been a good differentiator. But I guess, where does international kind of fit in some of your more near-term to medium-term priorities?

我懂了。好的，完美。然後感謝國際的更新。聽起來這是一個很好的差異化因素。但我想，國際化在你的一些近期到中期優先事項中適合什麼？

Yes, I think we're focused on kind of the mid-market U.S. TAM opportunity. We still have relatively low penetration into a very large opportunity. We recognize that there are segments of the market that are adding employees internationally. Certainly post-COVID, that has increased a little bit before, and that trend will likely continue. And so having an international solution for our clients is super helpful. But the primary focus for us is really continuing to gain market share when it comes to mid-market companies in the U.S.

是的，我認為我們關注的是美國 TAM 中端市場的機會。我們對一個非常大的機會的滲透率仍然相對較低。我們認識到，某些市場領域正在增加國際員工。當然，在新冠疫情之後，這一數字之前有所增加，而且這種趨勢可能會持續下去。因此，為我們的客戶提供國際解決方案非常有幫助。但我們的主要關注點實際上是繼續獲得美國中端市場公司的市場份額。

One moment for our next question, and that will come from the line of Robert Simmons with D.A. Davidson.

請稍等一下，我們的下一個問題將來自羅伯特·西蒙斯 (Robert Simmons) 和 D.A.戴維森。

I was wondering if you could give a little more color on AI Assist, just in terms of the revenue model, then also are there customers who are using it live today?

我想知道您是否可以就 AI Assist 的收入模式提供更多的信息，那麼今天還有客戶在使用它嗎？

Yes. So I think from a functionality perspective, the first use case that we have enabled is many of our customers use Community to actually communicate HR updates to their employees, and so they use our announcement feature to be able to do that. And sometimes that's -- Community, we used to talk about events that they're having. Sometimes it's just updates of what's happening in the organization, policy changes. It really replaces e-mail for those customers. And at times, an HR team can spend a fair amount of time drafting those communications.

是的。因此，我認為從功能角度來看，我們啟用的第一個用例是我們的許多客戶使用社區來實際向員工傳達人力資源更新，因此他們使用我們的公告功能來做到這一點。有時這就是——社區，我們過去常常談論他們正在發生的事件。有時，這只是組織中發生的事情的更新、政策的變化。對於這些客戶來說，它確實取代了電子郵件。有時，人力資源團隊可能會花費大量時間來起草這些溝通內容。

And so AI Assist is built right into the Community announcement feature. And you can actually prompt it, you can ask it questions, you can ask it to change language, you can ask it to make it sound more exciting, all the things that you can normally do in ChatGPT. And so it really helps HR teams just be more efficient from an announcement perspective.

因此，AI Assist 就內置於社區公告功能中。你實際上可以提示它，你可以問它問題，你可以要求它改變語言，你可以要求它讓它聽起來更令人興奮，所有這些你通常可以在 ChatGPT 中做的事情。因此，從公告的角度來看，它確實有助於人力資源團隊提高效率。

That's where we have it today. Community is a free feature available to all of our customers. We're not monetizing that separate. But we certainly see an opportunity to take that type of capability and embed it in other places in the suite over time.

這就是我們今天的情況。社區是一項免費功能，可供我們所有客戶使用。我們不會將其單獨貨幣化。但隨著時間的推移，我們當然看到了採用這種類型的功能並將其嵌入到套件中其他位置的機會。

Got it. That makes sense. And then can you talk about what you're seeing in the competitive landscape? Any changes to how others are operating?

知道了。這就說得通了。然後您能談談您在競爭格局中看到的情況嗎？其他人的運營方​​式有什麼變化嗎？

Yes. I mean I think we've seen relative consistency through the course of the quarter from a competitive landscape perspective. And I think going to a lot of the things Steve just ran through, I think we've tried to differentiate on product strategy with things like Community and being able to drive a different level of engagement with things like Surveys and LMS and Video and things like we announced with AI Assist through Community. And so I think the competitive landscape has been fairly steady. And I think those continue to be the points that we've driven from a value prop perspective, and those have continued to resonate in the market.

是的。我的意思是，我認為從競爭格局的角度來看，我們在本季度中看到了相對的一致性。我認為史蒂夫剛剛經歷過的很多事情，我認為我們已經嘗試通過社區等產品戰略來區分，並能夠推動調查、學習管理系統、視頻等方面的不同程度的參與就像我們通過社區宣布的 AI Assist 一樣。所以我認為競爭格局相當穩定。我認為這些仍然是我們從價值支柱角度推動的要點，並且這些要點繼續在市場上引起共鳴。

One moment for our next question, and that question will come from the line of Siti Panigrahi with Mizuho.

請稍等一下我們的下一個問題，這個問題將來自 Siti Panigrahi 和 Mizuho 的線路。

Just wondering, are you seeing any strength and weakness in any particular verticals? And also, what are you seeing in your 50 below -- below-50 employee segment versus upmarket?

只是想知道，您是否看到任何特定垂直領域的優勢和劣勢？另外，您對 50 歲以下員工群體（50 歲以下員工群體與高端員工群體）有何看法？

Sure. So we're pretty happy with sales execution across all segments, let's start there. I think I highlighted earlier that if you think of the upper end of the segment, we have been having increasing success. That's probably less of a comment from the quarter, but that's really happened over the last couple of years. And really, that's a function of all the new products and the new features that we've added. We've just been more competitive upmarket.

當然。因此，我們對所有細分市場的銷售執行情況都非常滿意，讓我們從這裡開始。我想我之前強調過，如果你考慮該細分市場的高端，我們已經取得了越來越大的成功。這可能不是本季度的評論，但過去幾年確實發生了這種情況。事實上，這是我們添加的所有新產品和新功能的一個功能。我們只是在高端市場更具競爭力。

And so no real changes in terms of our go-to-market motion or the success rate that we've had. We're pretty happy whether it's a customer with 25 or 30 employees or whether they've got several thousand employees. We're really seeing that the product that we're putting in front of them is resonating and delivering value to them.

因此，我們的上市行動或我們的成功率沒有真正的變化。無論是擁有 25 名或 30 名員工的客戶，還是擁有數千名員工的客戶，我們都非常滿意。我們確實看到我們擺在他們面前的產品正在引起他們的共鳴並為他們帶來價值。

Any exposure to tech industry and what are you seeing there?

您是否接觸過科技行業？您在那裡看到了什麼？

Yes. So sorry, I missed that part of the question. We really operate horizontally across the industry. If you think of how we organize our sales force, they're really focused on a ZIP code-based geography and they'll sell across all industries. We certainly emphasize different parts of the product for different industries and certain features.

是的。很抱歉，我錯過了問題的這一部分。我們確實在整個行業內橫向運作。如果您考慮一下我們如何組織銷售隊伍，您會發現他們確實專注於基於郵政編碼的地理位置，並且他們將在所有行業進行銷售。我們當然會強調針對不同行業的產品的不同部分和某些功能。

But I would say no call-outs from an industry perspective. I think we look at that from both a sales perspective and within our client base, and we've got a pretty even distribution. If you look at the D&B distribution across the U.S., our client base looks very much like that.

但我想說，從行業角度來看，沒有任何呼籲。我認為我們從銷售的角度和客戶群的角度來看待這一點，我們的分佈相當均勻。如果你看看 D&B 在美國的分佈，我們的客戶群看起來非常像這樣。

One moment for our next question, and that will come from the line of Daniel Jester with BMO Capital Markets.

請稍等一下，我們的下一個問題將來自 BMO 資本市場的 Daniel Jester。

Maybe just to start with on the quarter, if you exclude sort of the upside from flow, which has been a nice tailwind for a while, the recurring upside from revenue in the quarter maybe wasn't as big as we've seen in the last year or so. So maybe could you just dig in there? Like is there something that you would call out in terms of execution in the quarter? Or maybe compare and contrast what drove such significant upside to your guidance last year that maybe isn't repeating going forward.

也許只是從本季度開始，如果你排除流量的某種上行空間（這在一段時間內一直是一個不錯的推動力），那麼本季度收入的經常性上行空間可能不會像我們在上一季度看到的那麼大去年左右。那麼也許你可以在那裡挖一下嗎？比如在本季度的執行方面您有什麼需要指出的嗎？或者也許可以比較和對比是什麼推動了你去年的指引如此顯著的上升，而未來可能不會重複。

Sure, Dan. I think as we step back and look at the quarter results, obviously, beat across the implied recurring and total and raised that plus for the year. So I think to the comments earlier, I felt really good about the results in the quarter and the momentum within that sales team. I think the last few years, you've had a little bit of noise in certain of those quarters. You obviously had some tailwinds from client workforce levels that weren't factored into the guidance. So that was probably a bit of the over-performance you would have seen for the last 6 to 8 quarters.

當然，丹。我認為，當我們退一步看看季度業績時，顯然，我們超越了隱含的經常性和總額，並提高了今年的業績。因此，我認為對於之前的評論，我對該季度的業績以及銷售團隊的勢頭感到非常滿意。我認為在過去的幾年裡，某些方面出現了一些噪音。顯然，您受到了客戶員工水平的一些推動，而這些因素並未納入指導中。因此，這可能是您在過去 6 到 8 個季度中看到的超額表現。

I think it's been a steady state, as we outlined there, so no real tailwinds. Retention has been high, continues to trend nicely. That had been a little bit of upside in the past as well as that's performed really well for the last few years. Outside of that, there's nothing I would call out onetime. I think we feel really good about the beat and feel good about where Q4 is headed as well.

我認為正如我們所概述的那樣，這是一個穩定的狀態，所以沒有真正的順風車。保留率一直很高，並且繼續保持良好的趨勢。這在過去是有一點好處的，而且在過去幾年裡表現得非常好。除此之外，我再也沒有什麼可說的了。我認為我們對節奏感覺非常好，對第四季度的發展方向也感覺良好。

Great. And then this comment about employees and the platform being steady for a couple of quarters, obviously, there's other data that suggest that the job market is growing. If you look back historically, has there been periods in time when your employees in the platform trends are substantially different than the macro overall? I'm just -- I'm trying to connect all the dots here about what underlying is going on.

偉大的。然後，關於員工和平台的評論在幾個季度內保持穩定，顯然，還有其他數據表明就業市場正在增長。如果你回顧歷史，是否有過一段時間，你的員工在平台趨勢中與宏觀整體趨勢有很大不同？我只是——我試圖將這裡所有的點聯繫起來，了解潛在的情況。

Yes. So I think when we talk about employees on the platform, we're often looking at employees on -- it's the same clients year-over-year. And do they have more employees or less employees, right? And so there's -- that's really kind of what we're focused on. And in a normal -- like if you go pre-COVID, GDP was in the low single digits. We were getting low single-digit growth of employees on the platform. And if you're in a recessionary time period, and that's kind of negative GDP, then you definitely see people kind of shedding employees on the platform.

是的。因此，我認為，當我們談論平台上的員工時，我們經常關注的是年復一年的相同客戶。他們的員工是更多還是更少，對嗎？這確實是我們關注的焦點。在正常情況下——就像新冠疫情發生之前一樣，GDP 處於較低的個位數。我們平台上的員工增長率較低。如果你正處於經濟衰退時期，GDP 為負，那麼你肯定會看到人們在平台上裁員。

But if you go back, we've had many years of employee growth on the platform pre-COVID. And that's probably the more normal state, even when we are seeing 2% GDP growth, we are seeing a little bit of bump of employees on the platform. So the one difference from a macro perspective is we haven't seen that and we're not forecasting seeing that going forward.

但如果你回顧過去，在新冠疫情爆發之前，我們已經在這個平台上實現了多年的員工成長。這可能是更正常的狀態，即使我們看到 GDP 增長 2%，我們也會看到平台上的員工略有增加。因此，從宏觀角度來看，唯一的區別是我們還沒有看到這種情況，而且我們預計未來不會出現這種情況。

And so the employment numbers sometimes don't exactly line up perfectly. But yes, there's some jobs added, but unemployment rate hasn't gone up and shifts. But generally speaking, I think if you think about it the way I just described versus something like a GDP number, that's what we've seen historically.

因此，就業數字有時並不完全一致。但是，是的，增加了一些就業機會，但失業率並沒有上升和變化。但總的來說，我認為如果你按照我剛才描述的方式與 GDP 數字之類的方式來思考，那就是我們在歷史上看到的情況。

One moment for our next question, and that will come from the line of Steve Enders with Citi.

請稍等一下，我們的下一個問題將來自花旗銀行的史蒂夫·恩德斯 (Steve Enders)。

I guess just based on how and what you're seeing out there in the current environment, how are you thinking about kind of further sales investments at this point and where you'd be making your bets in terms of the types of coverage or the rep kind of base that you'd be looking at here?

我想，根據您在當前環境中所看到的方式和內容，您目前如何考慮進一步的銷售投資，以及您將在覆蓋類型或覆蓋範圍方面進行押注。您會在這裡查看代表類型的基礎嗎？

So this is the time of the year that we're hiring reps. We typically start kind of after the last quarter we just kind of completed. We ramp up throughout the spring and then we try to get ourselves to kind of a target number of quota carriers going into the fiscal year. I think Toby mentioned in one of the earlier questions, we've had success getting up to that number. Last year, that was kind of 18-ish percent. We've kind of been in that mid-teens growth rate for a while. We will give you the exact number on the next earnings call.

所以這是我們每年招聘代表的時候。我們通常在上個季度剛剛完成之後開始。我們在整個春季都在增加，然後我們努力讓自己達到進入本財年的配額承運人的目標數量。我認為托比在之前的一個問題中提到，我們已經成功達到了這個數字。去年，這一比例約為 18%。我們的增長率已經有一段時間了。我們將在下次財報電話會議上向您提供確切的數字。

But I think to echo Toby's sentiments, we really feel good about where we are from a hiring perspective right now. We think our value proposition for our sales reps really resonates as well in the marketplace, and we're making good progress towards the target for next year.

但我認為，與托比的觀點相呼應，從招聘的角度來看，我們確實對我們目前的狀況感到滿意。我們認為我們對銷售代表的價值主張確實在市場上引起了共鳴，並且我們正在朝著明年的目標取得良好進展。

I guess in terms of like the profiles of reps that you're looking to add, like is it more focused on larger customers and building out more of like the mid-market coverage or inside sales? Or like is there any kind of change in how you're viewing the types of reps that you need in this environment?

我想就您想要添加的代表的個人資料而言，它是否更關注大客戶並建立更多的中端市場覆蓋或內部銷售？或者您對這種環境中所需的代表類型的看法是否有任何變化？

No, that's a good question. I think we've called out over the last, like I said, maybe even almost 2 years now where we've been having a little bit more success with the larger end of the market. And so those are experienced people with industry experience that we bring on. Our core mid-market reps were probably a mix of nonindustry but yet B2B sales experience and industry reps. We definitely lean still heavily more towards industry reps. And then on the inside sales, you're capturing kind of digital lead generation and handling those. And so those need less experience.

不，這是個好問題。我想我們在過去已經呼籲過，就像我說的，甚至可能已經快兩年了，我們在更大的市場上取得了更多的成功。因此，我們引進的都是具有行業經驗的經驗豐富的人。我們的核心中端市場代表可能是非行業但具有 B2B 銷售經驗和行業代表的混合體。我們肯定更傾向於行業代表。然後在內部銷售方面，您要捕獲並處理數字潛在客戶的產生。所以那些需要較少的經驗。

And so we're going to be potentially adding people across the board. We're going through what that mix looks like. But if anything, it's a slight shift to a little bit larger client that we've been generating that would likely continue as we forecast going forward. And maybe not quite as many on the small end, but we see opportunities to expand in all markets.

因此，我們可能會全面增加人員。我們正在研究這種組合是什麼樣子的。但如果有什麼不同的話，那就是我們已經產生了向更大的客戶的輕微轉變，正如我們預測的那樣，這種轉變可能會持續下去。也許在小型市場上沒有那麼多，但我們看到了在所有市場上擴張的機會。

I'm showing no further questions in the queue at this time. I would now like to turn the call back over to management for any closing remarks.

目前我在隊列中沒有顯示任何其他問題。我現在想將電話轉回給管理層，讓他們發表結束語。

Thank you very much. I just wanted to thank everybody for their interest in Paylocity. Thanks for joining the call, and I also want to give a special thank you to all of our employees for all their hard work throughout the course of the quarter. Thank you.

非常感謝。我只是想感謝大家對 Paylocity 的興趣。感謝您加入電話會議，我還要特別感謝我們所有員工在整個季度的辛勤工作。謝謝。

Thank you all for participating. This concludes today's program. You may now disconnect.

感謝大家的參與。今天的節目到此結束。您現在可以斷開連接。