Item 1. Business
Item 1. Business
Overview
PAID, Inc. (the “Company” or “PAID”) was incorporated in Delaware on August 9, 1995. The Company has multiple web addresses, www.paid.com, which offers updated information on various aspects of our operations and www.shiptime.com which showcases our online label generation software. Information contained in the Company's website shall not be deemed to be a part of this Annual Report. The Company's principal executive offices are located at 225 Cedar Hill Street, Marlborough, Massachusetts 01752 with offices also located at 700 Dorval Drive, Oakville, Ontario, Canada. The Company's telephone number is (617) 861-6050.
We file annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). These reports, any amendments to these reports, proxy and information statements and certain other documents we file with the SEC are available through the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or free of charge on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we file the documents with the SEC. The public may also read and copy these reports and any other materials we file with the SEC at the SEC's Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.
Our Business
ShipTime Inc. ShipTime’s platform provides its members with the ability to quote, process, track and dispatch shipments while getting preferred rates on packages and skidded less than truckload (“LTL”) freight shipments throughout North America and around the world. In addition to these features, ShipTime also provides what it refers to as “Heroic Multilingual Customer Support.” In this capacity, ShipTime acts as an advocate on behalf of its clients in resolving matters concerning orders and shipping. With an increasing focus and service offering for e-commerce merchants; which include online shopping carts, inventory management, payment services, client prospecting and retention software, ShipTime can help merchants worldwide grow and scale their businesses. ShipTime generates monthly revenue through transactions and “software as a service” (SAAS) offerings. It currently serves in excess of 76,900 members in North America and desires to expand its services worldwide.
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BeerRun Software. BeerRun Software is a brewery management and Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau tax reporting software. Small craft brewers can utilize the product to manage brewery schedules, inventory, packaging, sales and purchasing. Tax reporting can be processed with a single click and is fully customizable by state or province. The software is designed to integrate with QuickBooks accounting platforms by using our powerful sync engine. We currently offer two versions of the software BeerRun and BeerRun Light which excludes some of the enhanced features of BeerRun without disrupting the core functionality of the software. Additional features include Brewpad and Kegmaster and can be added on to the base product. Craft brewing continues to grow in the United States and we feel that there is potential to grow this portion of our business.
PAID, Inc. includes the PaidPayment, PaidWeb, PaidCart and PaidShipping products that offers a robust platform enabling small and medium businesses to launch websites via our catalog of templates. Our platform includes a wide array of features such as mobile editing, search engine optimization, collaboration tools, pre-designed templates, and can be integrated with multiple platforms. PaidCart serves as a comprehensive solution for small and medium businesses looking to expand their online sales through multiple channels. It provides a centralized system to manage sales across various platforms, with additional functionalities for currency and language management, promotional sales, and abandoned cart recovery. PaidPayments and PaidShipping seamlessly interface with PaidCart to facilitate the checkout and shipping processes. Operating as a Payment Facilitator since 2019, PaidPayments provides businesses with a secure and efficient way to conduct online transactions including a virtual terminal, invoicing capability, subscriptions processing, checkout pages, and a point-of-sale system with support for USD, CAD, and EUR currencies. PaidShipping delivers a solution to quote, process, generate labels, dispatch and track courier and LTL shipments all from a single interface. We offer savings through partnerships with leading carriers. It includes a multi-courier comparison tool, integrations with eCommerce platforms and branded tracking.
Business Strategy
The Company’s focus in 2023 was to effectively execute the integration of Paid Inc. and ShipTime while ensuring that our vision (“ To provide a comprehensive e-commerce platform for small to medium enterprises ” ) continued to move toward this goal by the adding fundamental tools for our members to compete in today’s on-line marketplace.
While the ShipTime portion of our business is our key revenue driver; our strategy in 2023 was to continue to buildout the foundation of the Paid platform of e-commerce products while driving our core business forward. By continuing to offer small to medium enterprises meaningful solutions and an integrated infrastructure platform we can enhance the value proposition to both our channel partners and our growing customer base allowing us to cost effectively break into new markets.
In order to support the Company’s members via our strategic build-out of e-commerce services, our Heroic Support™ team remains focused on a Support and Customer Success mindset. Our Sales and Account Management Teams will be engaging with our prospects and members to provide guidance and support in utilizing Paid platform tools and services. Paid will provide agencies, associations and partners with the infrastructure to help small to medium businesses grow and be more effective with their digital offerings. We continue to focus on clients in both the United States and Canada. Paid products will continue to grow in 2024 with the launch of our PaidShipping, PaidWeb and PaidCart platforms.
BeerRun continues to be a valuable component of the Company and remains effective for the existing clients. Our strategy for 2024 is to continue to wind down this segment of the business as we are no longer investing in new technologies and development in the Craft Brewing industry.
As ShipTime has been cash flow positive we are able to take advantage of the excess cash with a short-term investment. During 2022, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with respect to a secured $1.875 million convertible note made by Embolx, Inc., a California corporation. Pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement, the Company loaned USD $1.5 million to Embolx. The Note was purchased at a 20% ($375,000) original issue discount and was subject to a 9-month maturity, after which, if unpaid, would then carry a 20% interest rate. The Company has the option to convert the note into shares of common stock of Embolx. As additional consideration, the Company received a 5-year Warrant to purchase additional shares of common stock of Embolx. The shares are subject to certain piggyback registration rights under a Registration Rights Agreement, and the note is secured by all assets of Embolx pursuant to a Security Agreement. Under the Securities Purchase Agreement, the Company has the right to purchase additional shares on the same terms for a total potential investment amount of $2 million. An agreement to extend the Note has been authorized which includes an additional $500,000 investment with a 25% original issue discount subject to a 11-month maturity. Embolx is currently working with potential buyers and the expected timeline to close a sale is within the 11-month note period. Additionally, Management feels that the assets of Embolx are sufficient to satisfy the obligation of the note receivable. Management continues to evaluate the financial status of Embolx and has determined that they will need additional capital to fund future operations
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The business strategy described above is intended to expand our markets, increase revenue per member while enhancing our opportunities in the online ecommerce market. There are always a variety of factors that may impact our plans and inhibit our success. See “Risk Factors” included in Item 1A. Therefore, we have no guarantees and can provide no assurances that our plans will be successful.
Marketing and Sales
The Company continues to successfully nurture and grow the relationships with our channel partners and has added new relationships that are global in scope. While much of the growth and success in 2023 was the result of the cooperative efforts of ShipTime sales staff, our channel partners and our marketing strategies. Additions to our sales team have allowed us to continue to pursue opportunities with channel partners.
The Company will continue to market PAID and ShipTime throughout 2024 and beyond. Cross selling efforts will be enhanced and new features are being added to our Paid platform. Based on experience and feedback with existing partnerships that promote our product lines, the Company believes that creating additional partnerships beyond North America is an effective marketing tool to promote and encourage new registrations. Additional resources and marketing initiatives will be utilized to increase onboarding and converting our members to being active long-time users of the Company’s services in order to accelerate our growth.
Revenue Sources
In 2023, our revenues were primarily derived from our label generation services. This portion of our business has maintained consistent growth since our merger in 2016. In addition to the label generation services we continue to focus on launching our new e-commerce platforms. See “Risk Factors” included in Item 1A. We have no guarantees and can provide no assurances that our plans will be successful.
Competition
Technology within the logistics industry is highly competitive and we have focused a variety of differentiators including our Heroic Support™ to elevate our services beyond those of our competition. Our product offerings may also be available from other companies in our industry, and we continue to emphasize value and quality customer support. The ShipTime trademark has been registered in both Canada and the United States.
We also utilize free open-source technology in certain areas. Unlike proprietary software, open-source software has publicly available source code and can be copied, modified and distributed with minimal restrictions. We use open-source software and technology as well to support the growing social and viral opportunities on the internet. By using 'best-of-breed' products and tools we can maximize our clients’ opportunities while minimizing our costs, which we are able to pass on to our customers.
Research and Development
Over the past years, the Company has made progress developing new integrations with e-commerce shopping cart platforms. The Company now employs several developers who are focused on the growth of the PAID brand and ShipTime products and their technologies. Our technology roadmap has been projected from 2024 through the 2025 calendar year and we have enhancements scheduled for all aspects of our businesses. Our strategy includes continuous user enhancements on our existing platforms, new websites, updates to our e-commerce shopping cart solution, enhancements to our merchant payment processing platform, shipping calculator enhancements and many additional features and upgrades to our online shopping and shipping tools.
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Employees
As of April 1, 2024, the Company currently has twenty-seven full time equivalent employees and one part-time employee. We have no collective bargaining agreements and consider the relationship with our employees to be excellent.
Government Regulation
We are not currently subject to direct federal, state or local regulation, and laws or regulations applicable to access or commerce on the Internet, other than regulations applicable to businesses generally. However, due to the increasing popularity and use of the Internet and other online services, it is possible that a number of laws and regulations may be adopted with respect to the Internet or other online services covering issues such as user privacy, freedom of expression, pricing, content and quality of products and services, taxation, advertising, intellectual property rights and information security.