Arkansas New Hire Report in QuickBooks: What Employers Need to Know
QuickBooks generates the Arkansas New Hire Report automatically, but certain fields like date of birth and first day of work may need manual review before submission.
QuickBooks Desktop includes a built-in New Hire Reporting form designed to help Arkansas employers comply with state-mandated reporting requirements. While the software populates most fields automatically from employee records, several data points require manual attention before the report is ready to submit.
Filing Requirements for Arkansas Employers
Arkansas law requires employers to submit new hire reports to the Arkansas New Hire Reporting Center within 20 days of hiring or rehiring an employee. Employers who file electronically must transmit reports twice monthly, with no more than 16 days between transmissions.
The reporting obligation covers a broad range of workers. Employers must report any new employee who resides or works in Arkansas and to whom they anticipate paying wages — even if the individual works only a single day before being terminated. Rehires and employees returning from a leave without pay must also be reported, as must seasonal workers, substitutes, and teachers who return after a break in service.
For temporary agencies, the rule is slightly different. The agency reports each temporary worker once at the time of hire. The worker does not need to be re-reported for each new client assignment, but a new report is required if there is a gap in wages or a break in service followed by a return to work.
Required and Optional Data Fields
Arkansas mandates the following information on each new hire report:
- Employer name, address, and Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)
- Employee name, address, and Social Security number
- Employee’s first day of work
- State of hire
The state also encourages — but does not require — employers to include additional details such as an employer contact name and phone number, a state identification number, and the employee’s date of birth.
Fields That May Need Manual Review
QuickBooks attempts to auto-populate the New Hire Reporting form using data stored in each employee’s setup record. In practice, however, a few fields deserve a closer look before you transmit.
Employee Date of Birth
If a date of birth has been entered in the employee profile, QuickBooks will carry it over to the report. Because this field is optional under Arkansas law, employers who prefer not to share it can delete the value from the form before submitting.
Employee Date of Hire
QuickBooks imports the hire date from the employee record. If that date does not reflect the actual start of employment — for instance, if the record was created ahead of the employee’s first day — you can override it directly on the form.
First Day of Work
This is a mandatory field, and Arkansas defines it specifically as the date the employee first performs paid work. Because many employers treat the hire date and the first day of work as the same thing, QuickBooks transfers the hire date into this field by default. If the two dates differ in your situation, you should verify and correct the value before filing.
Getting Help Within QuickBooks
For general guidance on using the New Hire Reporting form window — or for troubleshooting specific issues with the form itself — the in-product Help button provides step-by-step directions. The form also includes a link labeled “More about the New Hire Report” for additional background on the reporting process and field requirements.