Merchant Cash Advance for Arkansas Landscaping & Lawn Care Businesses: 2026 Guide

Arkansas landscaping companies operate in an MCA environment with no disclosure law and no statutory COJ protection — the same exposure profile as neighboring Oklahoma on both counts, with one structural difference that matters. Unlike Oklahoma (where the 1999 repeal of Title 12 §§ 690–695 removed the entire cognovit mechanism from state law), Arkansas courts have never expressly voided pre-signed COJ clauses; the state code simply provides no mechanism to enforce them in Arkansas courts, while leaving the Ohio and Pennsylvania forum-selection route fully open.

The turfgrass profile is the other defining variable. Arkansas is not a pure Bermuda state. The south and central portions of the state are Bermuda-dominant, with the same November-to-March dormancy pattern as Oklahoma. But the northern one-third — including the NW Arkansas corridor around Fayetteville, Bentonville, and the Ozark highlands — runs tall fescue as the preferred species, staying green through fall and winter and mowing into December. That mixed profile gives Arkansas landscapers a more moderate seasonal deposit arc than Oklahoma’s pure-warm-season market.

The market differentiator is Northwest Arkansas and the Walmart orbit — a commercial grounds demand engine unlike anything in the regional landscaping market, driven by 1,700+ CPG vendor and supplier companies anchored around the Walmart Home Office in Bentonville.

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TL;DR

• No disclosure law. Arkansas requires no cost disclosure before MCA signing — no factor rate, no APR, no dollar-cost statement. Neighbors Missouri (SB 1359) and Georgia (SB 90) both require written disclosure. Arkansas has enacted nothing.
• COJ: no statutory ban and no statutory void. AR Code §§ 16-65-301 to 16-65-304 governs judgment-by-confession as an in-court procedure; no Arkansas statute explicitly voids pre-signed cognovit clauses. Ohio or Pennsylvania named as the forum state in your MCA contract is your primary COJ exposure — read the governing-law clause before signing.
• No statewide landscape contractor license for mowing, maintenance, or non-construction services. ACLB Home Improvement Specialty License (no exam required) for residential installation above $2,000; Commercial Contractor license for projects $50,000+.
• ASPB Classification 4 pesticide credential (Ornamental, Tree and Turf Pest Control) for companies applying pesticides, herbicides, or other regulated materials. Core exam + Category 4 exam; certification runs on a 3-year recertification cycle, but the license is renewed annually. Verify current fees at agriculture.arkansas.gov, (501) 225-1598.
• No state prevailing wage law for landscaping or grounds work. Federal Davis-Bacon applies on federally funded projects.
• WC threshold: 2 employees for construction/installation; 3 for pure mowing and maintenance. Under AR Code § 11-9-102. Must have coverage in place before any employee begins.
• $11.00/hr minimum wage (2026) — above neighboring Oklahoma, Kansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi at the federal $7.25 floor. Applies to employers with 4 or more employees; no automatic annual escalation.
• Transitional turfgrass zone: Bermuda-dominant south and central AR (dormant November–March, roughly 4-month gap); tall fescue in north and NW AR (cool-season, green fall/winter). Less severe winter deposit trough than Oklahoma’s pure Bermuda market.
• Factor rates: 1.18–1.48. Best terms for operators with year-round commercial accounts (Walmart vendor companies, university facilities, HOA management retainers), 3+ years in business, established deposits. Apply April through October for Bermuda-heavy operators.

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Arkansas’s MCA Legal Landscape: No Disclosure, No COJ Protection

No Disclosure Law

Arkansas has not enacted a commercial financing disclosure law as of 2026. No MCA-specific bill has passed the Arkansas legislature and none is currently pending. MCA providers closing advances with Arkansas landscaping businesses are not required to disclose the factor rate, total repayment, holdback percentage, or any standardized cost summary before you sign. Arkansas’s constitutional usury provision does not apply to MCAs structured as receivables purchases.

State	Disclosure Law	What’s Required
Arkansas	None	Nothing — no APR, no dollar-cost, no disclosure
Missouri	SB 1359 (eff. Feb 28, 2025)	Dollar-cost written disclosure required
Oklahoma	None	Nothing — same exposure as Arkansas
Georgia	SB 90 (eff. Jan 2024)	Dollar-cost written disclosure for contracts under $500K
Tennessee	None	Nothing
Mississippi	None	Nothing

Before signing any Arkansas MCA, demand in writing: the exact factor rate, total repayment in plain dollars, holdback percentage or fixed daily or weekly ACH debit, all fees (origination, broker, administrative), and the full governing-law and forum-selection clause. Enter the total repayment and advance amount into the MCA calculator to convert to APR.

No Statutory COJ Protection

Arkansas Code §§ 16-65-301 to 16-65-304 governs judgment-by-confession in Arkansas courts. Section 16-65-301 requires a debtor to personally appear in a court of competent jurisdiction with the creditor’s assent — an in-court mechanism. The subchapter is silent on pre-signed contractual COJ clauses: it neither authorizes nor explicitly voids them. That silence is not protection — it simply means no Arkansas statute strikes these clauses the way Alabama’s § 8-9-11 or Tennessee’s T.C.A. § 25-2-101 do.

Where the exposure runs: MCA contracts designating Ohio (ORC § 2323.13 expressly authorizes cognovit notes in commercial contracts) or Pennsylvania (Pa.R.C.P. 2950–2967) as the governing forum allow a provider to obtain a valid COJ judgment in those courts — without notifying the Arkansas landscaping contractor, without a hearing — and domesticate it in Arkansas under Full Faith and Credit. The judgment can freeze business bank accounts within days of filing.

Partial protection: New York’s 2019 CPLR § 3218 amendment bars New York courts from entering COJ judgments against businesses located outside New York. This protects Arkansas contractors from New York-forum COJ specifically. Ohio and Pennsylvania remain the real exposure vectors.

State	COJ Status
Arkansas	AR Code §§ 16-65-301–304: in-court mechanism only; no statutory void of pre-signed COJ; OH/PA forum-selection = primary exposure
Oklahoma	Title 12 §§ 690–695 repealed 1999; § 689 voluntary in-court only; NJ/OH forum-selection exposure
Missouri	§ 511.070 bars pre-signed COJ in MO courts; OH/NJ forum-selection bypass
Tennessee	T.C.A. § 25-2-101 voids pre-signed COJ in TN courts; OH/PA forum-selection gap
Ohio	ORC § 2323.13 expressly permits cognovit — primary forum-selection target

Before signing any Arkansas MCA: search the contract for “confession of judgment,” “cognovit,” “affidavit of confession,” “warrant of attorney to confess judgment,” and “power of attorney.” Read the governing-law and forum-selection clause. For advances above $50,000, have an Arkansas business attorney review the full agreement. See confession-of-judgment MCA guide.

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Pesticide Licensing and Contractor Registration

ASPB Classification 4: Ornamental Tree and Turf Pest Control

Arkansas does not have a statewide landscape contractor license for mowing, mulching, edging, planting, pruning, or routine grounds maintenance. The primary state-level licensing requirement for companies that apply pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, or fungicides for compensation is an Arkansas State Plant Board (ASPB) Commercial Applicator license, administered through the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, Plant Industries Division, Pesticide Section.

Classification 4 (Ornamental, Tree and Turf Pest Control) is the relevant category for lawn care and landscaping companies that apply regulated materials. The exam structure requires passing both the ASPB Core (General Standards) exam and the Classification 4 category exam. Two renewal cycles run in parallel and are easy to confuse: certification (the exam credential) is valid for three years and is maintained through approved recertification coursework, but the applicator license itself is issued one year at a time and must be renewed annually through the Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s online renewal — so budget for a yearly license renewal even in the years you are not due to recertify. The business entity must hold a separate Pesticide Business License; each individual applying pesticides must hold an individual applicator credential.

Verify current exam fees, scheduling, and any classification updates at agriculture.arkansas.gov or by calling the ASPB Pesticide Section at (501) 225-1598 — fee schedules are updated periodically. Combination products (herbicide + fertilizer, such as “weed and feed” pre-emergent applications) are regulated as pesticides and require ASPB credentials even if the company markets the service as standard lawn care. Pure fertilizer-only applications do not require a pesticide license.

ACLB Contractor Registration for Installation Work

For landscaping companies that go beyond maintenance into hardscape installation, grading, irrigation system installation, or other construction-adjacent services, the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board (ACLB) governs:

Home Improvement Specialty License — covers residential installation projects where contract value (labor + materials) exceeds $2,000 on single-family residences. Critically, this license requires no trade exam — only proof of experience and a modest application fee. This is the lowest-barrier ACLB entry point and directly comparable to its use by painting contractors: the same no-exam credential that covers residential painting above $2,000 also covers residential landscaping and hardscape installation in that tier.

Commercial Contractor License — required for commercial landscaping installation, hardscape, or irrigation work at $50,000 or above in contract value. Requires the Business and Law Management exam, a $10,000 surety bond, and a minimum net-worth requirement.

Below $2,000 residential and below $50,000 commercial, ACLB licensing does not apply — but local business licenses in Little Rock, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, and other incorporated cities apply to all operating businesses regardless of ACLB status. Confirm local requirements in each market where crews work.

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Arkansas’s Transitional Turfgrass Zone and Seasonal Arc

Arkansas sits in the national turfgrass transition zone — the belt where both warm-season and cool-season grasses grow — and that transition zone creates meaningfully different seasonal patterns across the state.

South and Central Arkansas — Bermudagrass Dominant

Bermudagrass is the dominant turfgrass across south and central Arkansas, from the Mississippi River Delta lowlands through the Arkansas River Valley and up into the Little Rock metro. Bermuda is a warm-season species: actively growing from roughly April through October in the Little Rock area, peaking in June through August, and going fully dormant from November through March. Mowing revenue for Bermuda-only operations effectively stops in November and does not resume until April.

This is the same seasonal profile as the Oklahoma market — a four to five month winter gap during which residential mowing revenue falls to near-zero. For Bermuda-heavy operators in south and central Arkansas, MCA application timing follows the same logic as Oklahoma: apply April through October, never against January or February bank statements.

North and Northwest Arkansas — Tall Fescue Country

In the northern one-third of the state — including the Ozark highlands, the NW Arkansas corridor (Fayetteville, Bentonville, Springdale, Rogers), and the hill country around Mountain Home and Harrison — tall fescue is the preferred turfgrass. Fescue is a cool-season species: it stays actively green through fall and into winter, resumes aggressive growth in early March, and goes semi-dormant in the heat of July and August.

For NW Arkansas operators serving fescue-dominant lawns:

• Spring (March–May): Active growth resumes; mowing demand rebuilds from early March forward
• Summer (June–August): Fescue semi-dormancy and heat stress reduce some mowing frequency; irrigation and stress management services compensate
• Fall (September–November): Fescue’s peak growth window; strongest mowing frequency of the year; aeration and overseeding demand adds revenue
• Winter (December–February): Fescue slows but may require occasional mowing in mild years; zero the deposit arc compared to summer, but not the near-nothing that Bermuda operators experience

The Practical MCA Implication

NW Arkansas fescue operators face a summer dip (July–August) more than a winter collapse, and fall (September–November) is their strongest deposit window. Apply for an MCA in September or October — after summer deposits have recovered and fall mowing is at peak volume. For south Arkansas Bermuda operators, the Oklahoma rule applies: apply May through September, never in winter. Year-round commercial accounts smooth the seasonal arc for both profiles.

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Arkansas’s Landscaping Market

Northwest Arkansas: The Walmart Orbit

The Bentonville-Rogers-Springdale-Fayetteville corridor is the defining commercial grounds market in Arkansas and one of the most distinctive landscaping markets in the South. The Walmart Home Office in Bentonville has attracted approximately 1,700+ supplier, CPG vendor, and logistics companies to establish offices in the metro — a concentration of institutional tenants that creates a grounds maintenance demand unlike anything in neighboring states.

What this means for MCA underwriting: Walmart vendor companies and their Bentonville-area office campuses generate ongoing grounds maintenance contracts with monthly institutional billing cycles — net-30/60 invoices from creditworthy corporate counterparties, not storm-event-driven residential one-time work. A landscaping operator who can show 12+ months of recurring monthly payments from multiple vendor company accounts presents a deposit pattern that looks like a stable commercial service business, not a seasonal residential operator. This distinction is worth 5–10 basis points in factor rate compared to residential-only operations.

Additional NW Arkansas anchors:

• Tyson Foods (Springdale HQ, one of the largest food companies globally): Corporate campus grounds and processing facility maintenance
• J.B. Hunt Transport Services (Lowell, NW Arkansas): One of the largest freight carriers in North America; facility and campus grounds demand
• University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, 29,000+ enrollment): Institutional grounds maintenance contracts with standard university net-30/60 billing cycles
• Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Bentonville): High-standard grounds and garden maintenance around one of the most visited art museums in the South

The NW Arkansas metro is one of the fastest-growing in the South — adding over 200,000 residents in the past decade — which means HOA formation and new residential subdivision lawn establishment are continuing secondary demand drivers alongside the institutional commercial base.

Little Rock Metro

Little Rock (city population ~200,000; metro ~750,000) is Arkansas’s largest city and generates multi-sector grounds demand.

UAMS (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences): Arkansas’s largest public employer with approximately 12,000 employees. The main campus in west Little Rock and affiliated clinical facilities generate ongoing grounds maintenance with institutional net-30/60 billing — the same type of predictable monthly receivable as university accounts in other markets.

Baptist Health and CHI St. Vincent: Little Rock’s two largest health systems outside UAMS generate ongoing campus grounds contracts across the metro. Institutional healthcare billing at net-30/60.

State government facilities: As the capital, Little Rock has a dense concentration of state agency buildings, the Capitol complex, and government campuses requiring scheduled grounds and lawn maintenance. State procurement billing typically runs 30–60 days from invoice submission.

Conway and suburban growth: Conway (70,000+ population, 30 miles north of Little Rock) has been one of Arkansas’s fastest-growing cities, adding residential subdivisions, HOA formation, and commercial development steadily since 2010. The Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway metro corridor represents a contiguous residential landscaping market with meaningful HOA volume.

Fort Smith and the River Valley

Fort Smith (metro ~250,000; second-largest Arkansas city):

• ArcBest Corporation (NYSE: ARCB; 14,000+ employees): One of the largest freight transportation companies in North America; corporate campus grounds at 3801 Old Greenwood Rd.
• Rheem Manufacturing: Water heater and HVAC manufacturing at Chaffee Crossing; facility grounds and industrial campus maintenance.
• Chaffee Crossing redevelopment: $1.65B+ master-planned development on former Fort Chaffee military base; residential and commercial grounds across a multi-year build-out generating new HOA establishment work.

The River Valley market (Fort Smith, Van Buren, Russellville, Conway connection) represents the western branch of the Dixie Alley tornado corridor — post-storm cleanup and restoration work appears here after significant spring events.

Jonesboro and Northeast Arkansas

Jonesboro (~90,000) is the NE Arkansas regional hub. Key accounts include Arkansas State University (Jonesboro campus, 14,000+ enrollment; institutional grounds), St. Bernards Medical Center, and Northeast Arkansas’s regional commercial development. NE Arkansas sits in the highest-activity zone of the state’s tornado corridor.

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Dixie Alley: Post-Storm Cleanup and Grounds Restoration

Arkansas lies within Dixie Alley — the inland tornado corridor — and averages approximately 37–39 confirmed tornadoes per year. The primary season runs March through May, with a secondary October–November window. The corridor affects the full length of the state: NE Arkansas (Jonesboro, Wynne/Cross County) sits in the highest-frequency zone; central Arkansas (Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway) catches the corridor’s midpoint; and the River Valley (Fort Smith, Van Buren) marks the western branch.

For landscaping contractors, storm exposure creates a secondary MCA use case: post-storm debris removal, tree service, and grounds restoration. A tornado or significant hail event brings sudden high-volume work — but payment often runs 30–60 days after cleanup while insurance claims are processed.

The timing mismatch: A storm event in April brings immediate debris cleanup demand, but payment arrives in May or June. The landscaping company has already paid crews, fuel, and equipment rental. An MCA against the confirmed cleanup backlog bridges that gap — but the key caveat is the same as Oklahoma: a deposit spike after a storm event can confuse national underwriters unfamiliar with the Arkansas market. Include a narrative explanation when storm-event revenue appears in bank statements.

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Workers’ Compensation: The Two-Tier Rule

Under Arkansas Code § 11-9-102, landscaping contractors face two thresholds depending on work type:

• Installation and construction-adjacent work (hardscape, irrigation installation, landscape grading, tree removal): Falls under “building or building repair work” → mandatory WC with 2 or more employees, one threshold below the general rule
• Pure lawn maintenance (mowing, edging, mulching, pruning, non-chemical fertilization): General threshold → mandatory WC with 3 or more employees
• Subcontractors who bring on any employee at all may trigger WC with a single employee under the subcontractor provision — confirm with the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission (awcc.state.ar.us) if your operations cross these lines

NCCI classifications for Arkansas landscaping:

• Class 0042 — Tree pruning, trimming, and removal (includes arborists and tree service)
• Class 9102 — Grounds maintenance, light lawn care and mowing
• Class 0106/0102 — Lawn care operators and nursery/landscape work

Sole proprietors with zero employees are not required to carry WC coverage for themselves. Include WC policy declarations in your MCA application package — operators who provide this documentation signal compliance and may receive better underwriting attention.

Key comparison: Arkansas’s two-employee construction threshold is less strict than Oklahoma’s first-employee rule (Title 85A applies from day one), and stricter than Tennessee’s (TN matches the one-employee construction threshold). Georgia requires three employees before WC applies.

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Factor Rates and Timing for Arkansas Landscaping MCA

What to Expect

Established Arkansas landscaping operators with multi-year commercial accounts, 3+ years in business, $20,000+/month in average active-season deposits, 620+ personal credit, and no active MCA stack typically see factor rates of 1.18–1.30.

The NW Arkansas commercial grounds portfolio is the single strongest differentiator: operators whose bank statements show recurring monthly payments from Walmart vendor companies, University of Arkansas facilities, hospital systems, or HOA management companies present a deposit arc that reads as structurally sound — even through the mild fescue summer dip. That picture earns materially better terms than residential-only Bermuda operators whose deposits collapse from November through March.

Mid-tier operators — one to three years in business, residential-heavy client base, 570–620 credit, one prior MCA repaid — typically see 1.30–1.40.

Higher-risk profiles — first-season contractors, thin deposit history, active MCA outstanding, application filed against winter bank statements — see 1.40–1.48.

Timing by Region

Application Window	Bermuda-Dominant (South/Central AR)	Fescue-Dominant (NW AR/North)
November–March	Near-zero deposits; 1.40–1.48 or decline	Slowed but not zero; 1.30–1.40
April–May	Deposits building; 1.28–1.38	Peak growth resumes; 1.22–1.32
June–August	Peak season; 1.18–1.30	Summer semi-dormancy dip; 1.25–1.35
September–October	Tapering but strong; 1.20–1.33	Fescue peak growth window; 1.18–1.30

The practical rule for south Arkansas operators: Never apply in January or February. For NW Arkansas fescue operators, September–November is the optimal window; the summer dip (July–August) is the equivalent of south Arkansas’s winter.

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Arkansas vs. Neighboring States

Factor	Arkansas	Oklahoma	Missouri	Tennessee
MCA disclosure law	None	None	SB 1359 (dollar-cost)	None
Domestic COJ status	No statutory void; OH/PA forum-selection = exposure	Title 12 §§ 690–695 repealed; § 689 in-court only; NJ/OH forum exposure	§ 511.070 bars pre-signed COJ in MO courts	T.C.A. § 25-2-101 voids pre-signed COJ in TN courts
State landscape license	None (ACLB HI Specialty for installation >$2K residential)	None	None	None (CLB license ≥$25K for installation)
Pesticide credential	ASPB Classification 4 (Ornamental, Tree & Turf; Core + Cat 4 exam; 3-yr cert cycle, annual license)	ODA Category 3A ($100/category/yr; PSI exam)	MDA Category 3 (combined)	TDACS Category 3 + 4 (separate Ornamental + Turf)
Minimum wage	$11.00/hr (2026)	$7.25/hr (federal floor)	$15.00/hr (Jan 1, 2026)	$7.25/hr (federal floor)
Prevailing wage	None	None (invalidated 1995)	$75K threshold	None
WC threshold	2-employee construction; 3-employee maintenance (§ 11-9-102)	1 employee (Title 85A, no carve-out)	Ambiguous (5-employee mowing; 1-employee installation)	1 employee for construction
Dominant turf	Transitional zone: Bermuda south/central (Nov–Mar dormancy); fescue north/NW AR (cool-season, milder winter gap)	Bermuda dominant (Apr–Oct active; deepest winter trough in region)	Fescue + Bermuda mix (Mar–Nov season, cool-season buffer)	Fescue predominant with Bermuda south (9–10 month season)

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MCA Alternatives for Arkansas Landscaping Companies

Before accepting an MCA at 1.18–1.48 factor rate (40–200%+ APR), Arkansas landscaping operators should compare:

SBA CAPLines Seasonal Line: Revolving seasonal working-capital lines specifically designed for businesses with predictable cyclical revenue — draw in spring, repay from summer deposits. Structurally superior to a fixed-term MCA for Bermuda-dominant south Arkansas operators with a predictable November–March revenue gap. Available through the SBA Arkansas District Office (2120 Riverfront Drive, Suite 250, Little Rock, AR 72202; 501-324-7379) and preferred lenders including Arvest Bank, Centennial Bank, Simmons Bank, and Southern Bancorp.

Invoice factoring: For operators with confirmed commercial receivables from Walmart vendor companies, university facilities, healthcare systems, or HOA management companies — factoring at 1.5–3% per 30 days converts those receivables to same-week cash. On a confirmed $25,000 institutional grounds invoice factored at 2% over 45 days, the cost is $500. The same advance via MCA at a 1.25 factor rate costs $6,250.

Equipment financing: Zero-turn mowers, trailers, skid steers, irrigation equipment, and service trucks qualify for equipment loans at 6–20% APR — secured against the asset, without the blanket UCC-1 lien that MCAs impose. Processes in 1–5 business days for established operators.

Arkansas SBDC: Free confidential capital advising at asbtdc.org — centers in Little Rock (UALR campus), Fayetteville, Jonesboro, Fort Smith, and additional locations throughout the state. The fastest path to identifying cheaper alternatives before committing to an MCA.

Nursery and supply net-30: Commercial nurseries and landscape supply distributors in Little Rock, Fayetteville, and Fort Smith extend net-30 accounts to established operators — effectively free short-term materials financing that should be exhausted before approaching a working-capital funder.

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For related Arkansas contractor funding guides: MCA for Arkansas Painting Contractors | MCA for Arkansas Roofing Contractors | Arkansas MCA overview | Landscaping MCA overview | Confession of judgment guide | State MCA disclosure laws compared

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Sources: Arkansas State Plant Board pesticide licensing — Arkansas Department of Agriculture, Plant Industries Division, Pesticide Section (agriculture.arkansas.gov); confirmed Classification 4 (Ornamental, Tree and Turf Pest Control) covers commercial landscaping pesticide applications; Core + Category 4 exam required; three-year recertification cycle with annual license renewal. ACLB licensing thresholds — Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board (aclb.arkansas.gov); confirmed Home Improvement Specialty License covers residential installation above $2,000 with no trade exam; Commercial Contractor license required at $50,000+. Arkansas workers’ compensation construction threshold — Arkansas Code § 11-9-102 and Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission (awcc.state.ar.us); confirmed 2-employee construction threshold / 3-employee general threshold. Arkansas turfgrass — University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service (uaex.uada.edu); confirmed Bermudagrass dominant statewide with tall fescue preferred in northern Arkansas; transition zone classification confirmed. Arkansas minimum wage — confirmed at $11.00/hr for 2026 with no automatic escalation. MCA disclosure law status — American Bar Association “State Survey of Commercial Financing Disclosure Laws” (2025); confirmed no Arkansas disclosure law. COJ status — Arkansas Code §§ 16-65-301 to 16-65-304; no explicit statutory void or authorization of pre-signed COJ clauses confirmed.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Consult an Arkansas attorney before signing any commercial financing agreement.