How to Choose an Online Rent Payment Service
When looking at the variety of online rent payment services available, there are certain factors that you should consider:
- Price. Of course, you want to make sure that you have a budget for online property management services or software. When looking at rent payment methods, the total price includes any purchase or subscription charges, as well as any fees for service use during the multiple stages of the rental payment transaction.
- User-friendliness. The online service you choose should be easy for you and your tenants to use. How quickly landlords can implement a rent payment system and how easily tenants can use the online service to pay their rent.
- Methods of payment accepted. You want to know what types of payment are accepted so that your tenants can pay easily. Our review analyzes different online providers’ payment methods, such as credit cards and checking account transfers.
- Ability to implement late fees. Late fees are a great way of enforcing on-time rent payments from your tenants. It gives them the incentive to pay their rent punctually and in full. The ability to implement an automatic late fee that is applied when a payment is overdue is an extremely convenient feature that you should look for.
- Notification of payment. It’s nice to know when your tenants have submitted their rent payment. Whether that be through an email or app notification depends on the online service.
- Automatic payment options. Tenant’s rent payments can be more consistent if they have the option to schedule automatic withdrawal. You’ll also be sure that they won’t forget to pay their rent on time and in full.
One-time payment options. Certain tenants may benefit from a one-time payment option for security deposits, late fees, utility bills, or bi-weekly rent payments.
- Ability to add utility bills. It’s a lot easier to bulk all of your tenant’s payments into one transaction. Being able to add utility bills to the payment is very helpful since it saves time and effort.
The option to credit the tenant. Sometimes online payment services will give you the ability to give your tenant a rent reduction for whatever reason. Often tenants will do some minor maintenance around the property to get credited a portion of their rent payment.
- Any additional features. This includes any additional features the platform offers, both in rent collection and in rental management overall. Elements like rental application, applicant screening, maintenance request ability, and others may be mentioned in this area.
Why You Should Have Tenants Pay Online
Pretty much everybody has some sort of electronic device — whether it’s a computer, tablet, or mobile phone. Mostly everything is done online since it’s hassle-free, easy, and paperless. Having your tenants pay rent online will streamline the payment process and make it easier on both you and your tenant. This way, all of the payment information is in one place and you don’t have to deal with receiving mail, cashing checks, or processing direct deposits.
Here’s a breakdown of the benefits offered by online rent payment services:
- No more late payments. Tenants will never forget to pay their rent on time and in full since most online services allow you to set up automatic late fees. This will give them the incentive to set up autopay or remember to log in on time to pay rent every period. Tenants also don’t need to worry about dropping a check in the mail or giving you cash. They simply set up an automatic transfer. I haven’t had one late payment since I’ve switched my rentals to online rent collection.
- Convenience for both the landlord and tenant. No more trips to the bank or dropping by the property to collect rent checks. Everything is in one place online and it requires minimal effort on both parties’ ends.
Competitive advantage. Standout from other landlords in your market and appeal to younger renters by offering a convenient, modern rent payment solution.
- Easy rent tracking. No need to track rents in an offline spreadsheet. Online rent collection services make it easy to see which tenants are paid up. Hint: all of them will be paid up!
Security. Financial transactions run through the ACH network rather than a paper check, which can be used to gather tenant bank account information.
Just like with anything, there are some downsides to having your tenants pay rent online. Remember, sometimes online rental payments aren’t the best option. It all depends on you and your tenant. For instance, if you have an elderly tenant who prefers to pay in cash or by check, you should consider accommodating them. Although, in today’s day and age, online payment will most likely be your tenant’s preference.