SEC Company Response from LOCATEPLUS HOLDINGS CORP (CIK 0001160084) — Sep 26, 2005
LOCATEPLUS HOLDINGS CORP (CIK 0001160084)
Date: Sept. 26, 2005 · CIK: 0001160084 · Accession: 0001160084-05-000043
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
File numbers found in text: 000-49957
Referenced dates: January 20, 2005
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Corporate Headquarters:
100 Cummings Center, Suite 235M
Beverly, MA 01915
P: 978-921-2727
F: 978-524-8887
September 22, 2005
Delivered by electronic submission via EDGAR, Fax, and by Federal Express
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Corporate Finance, Room 4561
Washington, D.C. 20549
RE: LOCATEPLUS HOLDINGS CORPORATION
FORM 10-KSB FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2004
FORMS 10-QSB FOR FISCAL QUARTERS ENDED MARCH 31, 2005 AND JUNE 30, 2005
FILE NO. 000-49957
Ladies and Gentlemen:
On behalf of LocatePLUS Holdings Corporation (the "Company"), I enclose for
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your review the Company's responses to the comment letter, dated August 23,
2005, issued to the Company.
The numbering of the responses below corresponds to the numbering of
comments in the letter from the Staff received by the Company in response to its
filing of Forms 10-KSB for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2004 and 10-QSB
for Fiscal Quarters Ended March 31, 2005 and June 30, 2005. A copy of the
Staff's letter is being provided via Federal Express with a copy of this letter
for the convenience of the Staff.
FORM 10-KSB FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2004
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COMMENT 1.
We note your statement, in the second paragraph on page 12, that you made a
significant change to your billing practice in 2004 by implementing a minimum
usage fee. Tell us the details of these changes, including the significant
terms of your billing arrangements both before and after the changes, when these
changes were implemented, the impact on your revenue recognition policy and the
quantitative impact on the amount of revenue recognized in the period of
implementation and in periods subsequent to adoption.
RESPONSE 1.
Prior to the implementation of the minimum usage fee, customers were
charged for usage on a per search basis for any use of our searchable database.
If they did not use, they would not be charged. At the end of any month,
customers would be billed for their usage, and revenue would be recognized for
the month in which they used. On November 1, 2004, the Company implemented a
new minimum usage fee. The minimum usage fee placed a requirement on our online
customers to use a minimum of $15 per month. If they used less than $15 during
the month, they would incur a minimum usage fee of the difference between their
usage and the minimum. For example, if they used $10 in searches, they would
receive a $5 minimum usage fee charge. The minimum usage fee contributed
approximately $270,000 for the last two months of 2004, approximately $290,000
for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2005, and approximately $125,000 for the Quarter
Ended June 30, 2005. The contribution of the minimum usage fee has decreased
recently in great part due to increased usage by customers that were incurring
the fee. The impact of the resulting increased usage is not easily measurable
as customers only incur the fee if usage is below the minimum. No change has
occurred to our revenue recognition policy.
COMMENT 2.
Your disclosure on page 10 suggests that for revenue recognition purposes,
delivery of your LocatePLUS product is considered complete "when there is either
an agreed upon royalty fee or the requested information is downloaded." Tell us
how delivery is accomplished in each situation.
RESPONSE 2.
LocatePLUS provides access to a searchable database that is delivered via
the internet. This information is delivered to our online customers through our
website www.locateplus.com and they are charged for the specific information
that is requested. This information is delivered to our channel partners over
the internet through an XML data stream and we receive either a usage-based fee
or royalty depending on the particular agreement. In either case, access
constitutes delivery.
COMMENT 3.
We note your statement, in the first paragraph on page 13, that revenue from
your LocatePLUS and Entersect products increased $4.1 million, or 61.5%, in
2004. Please tell us what portion of this increase, if any, was attributable to
the changes in billing practices, described on page 12. Tell us what
consideration you gave to disclosing this trend in MD&A.
RESPONSE 3.
The portion of the increase attributable to the addition of a minimum usage
fee was approximately $200,000 or about 8%. Because the fee implemented was a
minimum usage fee, it had the affect of increasing customer usage, a fact which
we disclosed in MD&A.
COMMENT 4.
Your disclosure appears to be substantially similar to the definition of
disclosure controls and procedures set forth in Rule 13a-15. However, your text
suggests that the disclosure controls and procedures that were evaluated by your
chief executive officer and principal financial officer were narrower than the
disclosure controls and procedures defined by paragraph (e) of the Rules.
Please advise whether for the periods covered by the reports referenced above,
your officers concluded that your disclosure controls and procedures are also
effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports
that you file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated
to your management including your chief executive officer and chief financial
officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. See Exchange
Act Rule 13a-15(e). Please note that this comment is also applicable to the
Forms 10-QSB for the fiscal quarters ended March 31 and June 30, 2005 and should
be considered in your future filings.
RESPONSE 4.
The officers believe that for the periods covered by the reports referenced
above, disclosure controls and procedures are also effective to ensure that
information required to be disclosed in the reports filed or submitted under the
Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management including the chief
executive officer and chief financial officer, and allow timely decisions
regarding required disclosure. Further clarification will be considered in
future filings.
FORMS 10-QSB FOR THE FISCAL QUARTERS ENDED MARCH 31 AND JUNE 30, 2005
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COMMENT 5.
You disclose that on July 8, 2005, the completed a private placement of
convertible term notes of $8 million. Tell us how you will account for these
convertible term notes. That is, indicate whether these notes contain a
beneficial conversion feature. Tell us how your accounting complies with EITF
98-5 and 00-27.
RESPONSE 5.
The notes do contain and will be accounted for with a contingent beneficial
conversion feature. After allocating relative fair value between the detachable
warrants and the convertible notes, the conversion feature has intrinsic value;
however, the conversion will only occur upon future events that the Company does
not control. If the future events occur, and the notes are converted, the
beneficial conversion feature will be recognized at that time. This is
consistent with and complies with EITF 98-5 and 00-27.
COMMENT 6.
We note your statements in the above-referenced Forms 10-QSB, that there were no
"significant changes in the Company's internal controls or in other factors that
could significantly affect these controls subsequent to the date of their
evaluation, including any corrective actions with regard to significant
deficiencies and material weaknesses." In this regard it does not appear that
your disclosure is consistent with the requirements of Item 308(c) of Regulation
S-K. See also Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(d). Please tell us for the quarters
ended March 31, 2005 and June 30, 2005, whether there was "any change" that
"materially affected or was reasonably likely to materially affect," your
internal controls over financial reporting.
RESPONSE 6.
For the quarters ended March 31, 2005 and June 30, 2005, there were no
changes that materially affected or were reasonably likely to materially affect,
internal controls over financial reporting.
COMMENT 7.
In your previous correspondence with the Staff, dated January 20, 2005, you
stated that "at no time has the Company discovered, or reported in any of its
reports filed with the Commission, any significant deficiency or material
weakness" and that no corrective actions were therefore necessary. In your
correspondence you indicated that future references to such corrective actions
would be removed unless such actions were "actually necessary, identified or
undertaken". Please tell us the nature of any significant deficiencies or
material weaknesses have since been identified.
RESPONSE 7.
No significant deficiencies or material weaknesses have since been
identified.
COMMENT 8.
We note in your issuance of recent press releases such as "LocatePLUS Posts
Record Preliminary First Quarter Revenues of $2.9 Millions" (June 1, 2005),
"LocatePLUS Online Customer Base Reaches 20,000 Users" (June 9, 2005),
"LocatePLUS Awarded $6 Million Channel Partnership" (October 28, 2004). Tell us
what consideration you give to potential reporting obligations under Form 8-K
when issuing press releases. For each of the press releases identified as
examples above, tell us how you determined that no reporting obligation existed.
RESPONSE 8.
Prior to issuing any press release, we review the requirements of Form 8-K to
determine whether such a filing is required. With respect to the June 1, 2005
press release referenced in your letter, we did not follow our own procedures,
but we acknowledge that a Form 8-K should have been filed in connection with
that press releases and have since filed such report. The October 28, 2004
press release referenced in your letter refers only to a letter of intent
between the Company and its channel partner. However, we have determined that a
Form 8-K should have been furnished to the Commission upon execution of the
definitive agreement in January 2005 and have since filed such report. We see
no basis under the requirements of Form 8-K for filing such a form in connection
with the June 9, 2005 press release referenced in your letter.
* * *
In connection with this response letter, the Company acknowledges that:
- The Company is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure
in the filings;
- Staff comments or changes to disclosure in response to staff comments in
the filings reviewed by the staff do not foreclose the Commission from taking
any action with respect to the filing; and
- The Company may not assert staff comments as a defense in any proceeding
initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of
the United States.
In the event that the Commission has any questions about the foregoing,
please contact the undersigned at (617) 799-4596.
Very truly yours,
/s/ James C. Fields
James C. Fields
Acting Chief Financing Officer
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