Professional Services
Professional Services
- Accounting and bookkeeping: Proper management of cash flow is essential in running a business. You can hire an accountant or bookkeeper to help manage this or sign up for online accounting and bookkeeping services. These professionals can assist with managing income statements, determining profitability and tracking expenses. You will need these documents when filing your taxes.
- Legal: Consider if you’d like to protect your brand and logo by trademarking it. You can also file for patents, copyrights and intellectual property protection. Legal professionals can also assist with employment contracts as well as contracts with vendors and other businesses.
- Marketing: You will need marketing support to help generate traffic to your business. Marketing professionals can assist with print and online advertising, public relations, social media and branding.
- Tech support: To optimize for success, you will need to launch a website and create directories and accounts on sites like Google Maps and Yelp. Technical professionals can assist with creating a website and adding payment gateways.
Accounting Software:
- Offers industry-specific features for restaurants. A robust accounting solution.
- It's an all-in-one management solution. Streamlines restaurant operations.
- User-friendly. Good for small businesses and startups.
Taxes:
Corporations: Tax is 0.3% of outstanding capital stock.
Timing: Forms are mailed out by the Secretary of State by March 20; request them if not received by March 31. Taxes are due by May 1.
First Payment: If forming a new business, the first franchise tax payment is due the following year (e.g., if formed in 2025, the first payment is due in 2026).
Non-Compliance Consequences: If a corporation owes past-due franchise taxes, it cannot start a new corporation or LLC, submit filings, or obtain authority to do business in Arkansas.
File Online: Arkansas Secretary of State :: State Franchise Tax and Annual Reports
County Personal Property and Real Estate Tax Payments: Each county in Arkansas has its own process for accepting personal property and real estate tax payments. This page will help you find your county’s information.
County Personal Property and Real Estate Tax Payments
Franchise Taxes
Existing businesses are required to pay franchise taxes annually. They are due each year before May 1st. The Secretary of State handles new and existing business filings and franchise taxes.
Entrepreneurial support:
Arkansas Food Innovation Center at Market Center of the Ozarks (AFIC@MCO): Offers a shared-use commercial kitchen, food processing and bottling capabilities, and educational workshops. The center provides technical support, business development assistance, and resources to help entrepreneurs scale their businesses. It fosters innovation, economic growth, and reduces barriers for small food businesses in Northwest Arkansas.
Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center. (ASBTDC) They specialize in securing loans and grants, including assistance with financial analysis and loan packaging.
Cureate: In partnership with Forge, offers courses for food entrepreneurs Northwest Arkansas, covering product development, branding, and market entry strategies.
EfroAll: This program offers a unique combination of immersive small business training, mentorship and access to an extended professional network. Entrepreneurs with a dream to start a business or nonprofit are encouraged to apply.
Startup Junkie provides free one-on-one consulting, workshops, and access to capital for Arkansas entrepreneurs, focusing on business planning, pitch coaching, and scaling strategies. Learn more at startupjunkie.org.
Legal support
The Community & Economic Development (CRED) Clinic at the University of Arkansas School of Law provides free legal services to small businesses, nonprofits, cooperatives, and municipalities. Their services include entity formation, contract drafting, tax-exempt status applications, and regulatory compliance guidance. While legal representation is free, clients cover incidental costs like government filing fees. This resource is ideal for entrepreneurs needing affordable legal groundwork to launch or scale their ventures.
Office of Entrepreneurship & innovation: The Entrepreneurial Law Project (ELP), a collaboration between the University of Arkansas School of Law and the Office of Entrepreneurship & Innovation, provides free access to legal education and programming for Arkansas-based entrepreneurs.
Insurance:
Food Liability Insurance Program (FLIP) provides food businesses with a series of coverages designed to protect you from the expensive costs associated with claims.
NEXT- Food and Beverage Insurance: Whether you’re shipping baked goods from your kitchen or ironing your tablecloths before opening, NEXT has the affordable food business insurance tailored to match your business risks and needs
Builder & Bakers: An innovative 90-day program that teaches anyone the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and takes their ideas from concept to action through rapid experimentation.
Grant opportunity:
Regional Food Business Center- Heartland helps farms and food enterprises start up, grow, and connect with local and regional markets.
Professional Services Checklist
Create a book keeping process
Sign up for a accounting software