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Take Advantage of Online Rent Collection

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Whether you are a landlord with a few homes to rent, or a property manager for hundreds of units, online rent collection solutions are available to you now. The process is convenient, easy to set up, and affordable. Eliminate manual rent collection and bookkeeping with customized websites and seamless integration to your landlord/property management software.

More than ever, people are turning to the convenience of online shopping, banking, and bill payment. Now your tenants can add paying their rent to the list. And, it isn’t only tenants that reap the benefits of online rent payments. Landlords and property managers will no longer have to spend their time on manual data entry or managing late rent payments.

Collecting rent payments, providing receipts, manually entering payment information, updating tenant files, preparing checks for deposit, and the trip to the bank takes, on average, two days each and every month. As landlords and property managers, your time could be better spent. With online rent payment collection, all these tasks are handled automatically and the number of late payments can be significantly reduced. It’s easy to get started. With online rent collection solutions and customized options:

  • Rent payments are deposited automatically.
  • Tenants receive email receipts.
  • Tenant payment information is updated immediately and available for review.
  • Landlords and property managers can monitor rent collection through real-time status reports.
  • Landlords and property managers can set up email notification to tenants regarding updates to rent payments, upcoming policy changes, rent and late fee schedules, and late payment status notification.
  • Vacancy lists and property information is readily available.
  • Application fees and security deposits can be collected electronically.

More and more, people prefer to shop, bank, and pay bills online. It’s a fast, easy, and time-saving method for managing their finances. Your tenants will appreciate the added convenience of online rent payment. The process is easy, secure, and private. Tenants can:

  • Eliminate monthly check writing.
  • Pay by debit card, credit card, or e-check.
  • Make one-time monthly payments or set up automatic payments.
  • Review their payment history.
  • Receive email receipts and other notifications from their landlord or property management company.
  • Update personal information such as name changes and phone number changes.
  • Send maintenance requests via email.

Getting started is easy. With the seamless integration of information to your landlord/property management software, you have instant access to tenant information and payment history. With the answers to a few simple questions, your website can be customized for online rent payment collection. Your merchant account allows you to accept electronic rent payments and have the funds deposited directly into the bank account of your choice. For landlords and property managers with separate accounts for each property, you have the option to select multiple accounts for deposit. Security and privacy are of the highest priority and strict measures are in place to provide peace of mind that all information stored or transmitted is protected at all times. Online rent payment solutions are affordable and available now.

Collecting Rent Online: Is it the future?

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Online shopping, travel reservations, movie tickets and even online bills. Could paying rent online be next? If the past has taught us anything it’s that people throughout the world love the Internet and frankly, can’t imagine living without it. So it only stands to reason that soon landlords will join the fray and begin collecting rent online.

Online rent collection portends to be a huge boon to landlords in so many different areas. Online payments are electronically processed and arrive in your account almost instantly. In addition, once the funds arrive they are instantly accessible. There’s no more waiting for checks, money orders or cash and best of all, you eliminate many bookkeeping and accounting functions which your bank now provides.

The first step in collecting rent online is to establish and account to receive your rent payments. A business account is your best bet as there’s no chance of your personal information being revealed. Once you have the mechanism to receive funds in place it’s time to make your tenants aware of this option. Flyers or letters are probably your best best. You’ll want to extoll the benefits of paying rent online to your tenants. Benefits such as the ease, the lack of hassle, no loner having to remember when the rent is due, and the relief of writing one less check and then accounting for it. Rent payments can be automatically programmed to be transferred to the landlord’s account on any date the tenant sets. Tenants who opt for this option literally don’t have to do a thing. It’s all taken care of electronically online.

You should also provide your tenants a form which they complete signifying their willingness to participate in online rent payment. You will then collect these forms and turn them over to your bank so they can prepare for rent payments form these tenants.

Of course, you may encounter some “old school” tenants who prefer to write a check which they receive back once cancelled. Your goal as a landlord is to do your best to convince these late adopters that they should, in fact, join the majority and switch to online rent payment. Ask these hold-outs whether they shop online, order theatre tickets online or even pay their utilities and other bills online. If so, then paying rent is no different, Their bank statement will show the deduction and the landlord’s will show the credit. All without writing a single check, buying a money order or walking around with a large amount a cash.Once you, the landlord, has received yeses from all your tenants, collecting rent online will put you in the category of some of the most progressive businesspeople around, And that, certainly, is  a good thing.

Collecting Rent Online: A Trend that is Here to Stay

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The move toward collecting rent online will continue to gain momentum as digital banking services become increasingly convenient and secure.  Tenants enjoy the time-freedom of the arrangement, while landlords enjoy the accuracy of these systems and the ease with which collecting rent online allows them to manage their accounts.

Most real estate experts agree that the trend toward collecting rent online is about to spike off the charts. With more than 35 million Americans paying rent each month, the market for such systems is certain to remain strong.  Just four years ago, more than 90 percent of Americans still paid their rent by writing a check, while just 6 percent handled this monthly task online. As mobile banking expands, these figures are almost certain to reverse themselves.  In a matter of a few years, the option of collecting rent online will be considered an essential part of rental agreements.

From the point of view of residents, the move toward collecting rent online offers a welcome convenience.  This is especially true for college renters, many of whom have their rent paid for by their parents.  It is much easier for parents to pay rent electronically, at any time of day or night, than having to send a check through the mail. 

In addition, the option of collecting rent online helps tenants avoid late fees.  Our over-scheduled, distracted society means makes it much easier to miss a rent deadline, even for the most conscientious tenants.  It also allows tenants to pay on time via credit card if cash is tight and pay the balance later.  Paying online via credit card also gives tenants the option of acquiring various reward incentives they would not receive if they paid by check.

Landlords favor collecting rent online, because it lowers operating costs and improves cash flow.  For a large complex, traditional methods of collecting rent require a significant investment of time and effort.  These include processing paper checks, making sure the payments are posted in a journal, filling out deposit slips, and taking time to go to the bank to deposit the money.  Collecting rent online automates the entire system, freeing up countless hours of work. An online system also tracks payments quicker and with more accuracy. Bad checks are identified very quickly, which reduces the risk of fraud.

Collecting rent online also helps close the deal. In some instances, landlords lose good renters because they are waiting for a security deposit from their previous landlord.  Offering an online option helps close the vacancy much sooner than traditional payment methods.

At the same time, the landlords and property owners should be recognize that transition to an online system may entail some challenges.  The administrative changes involved in the change can be frustrating at first for staff members.  For example, integrating the new system with the current software used to manage accounting and property management must be coordinated. In some cases, the office still employs somewhat dated software that possesses far less flexibility than web-based platforms. If the two systems remain poorly integrated, landlords may find that the time they save in collecting rent online is spent in other tasks, such as reconciling account ledgers or having to enter payments manually into the existing property management software.

Still, as online providers create new techniques that provide seamless integration, these glitches will fade.

Transaction fees also present a challenge for landlords as they implement their decision to begin collecting rent online. If tenants pay by credit card, the typical transaction fee of approximately 2% to 3% may affect profit margins. For larger complexes, the fees can add up to significant amounts. Since research indicates that renter dislike paying convenience fees if those fees are added to the cost of rent.
Given the fact that neither side enjoys paying convenience fees, the market is likely to correct itself via shared fees.  Alternatively, landlords may find ways of building in the cost of transaction fees to other parts of the rental process, so that the cost appears more palatable to new renters.

Even in the face of fees, one thing remains certain with regard to collecting rent online: the process is here to stay.  College students have already embraced the idea fully, for example, which portends a growing trend for the future.  As the transition to a completely digital society intensifies, collecting rent online will simply be a part of the mobile, digital economy.