Question

A New York City daily newspaper called “Manhattan Today” charges an annual subscription fee of $135. Customers prepay their subscriptions and receive 260 issues over the year. To attract more subscribers, the company offered new subscribers the ability to pay $130 for an annual subscription that also would include a coupon to receive a 40% discount on a one-hour ride through Central Park in a horse-drawn carriage. The list price of a carriage ride is $125 per hour. The company estimates that approximately 30% of the coupons will be redeemed.

Required:
1. How much revenue should Manhattan Today recognize upon receipt of the $130 subscription price?
2. How many performance obligations exist in this contract?
3. Prepare the journal entry to recognize sale of 10 new subscriptions, clearly identifying the revenue or deferred revenue associated with each performance obligation.

Answer 1

1
Revenue = $0
2
Number of performance obligations = 2
3
General Journal	Debit	Credit
Cash	1300
Deferred revenue—subscription		1170	=1300*90%
Deferred revenue—discount coupon		130	=1300*10%
Workings:
Stand­alone selling price of coupon	15	=125*40%*30%
Stand­alone selling price of subscription	135
Total of stand­alone prices	150
Percentage allocated to—subscription	90%	=135/150
Percentage allocated to—discount coupon	10%	=15/150