How do you set it up for your tenants to make rent payments online?

Question

I have been reading a lot about of posts lately where people are saying they get payments from their tenants online rather than having them mail a check.

Obviously that sounds ideal but how do you set it up? Are there companies that provide this as a service or do you arrange it through your bank? Can you do this without having a company/LLC?

Nathan Eberly · Answer

Sorry, forgot about links. Look up Lease Runner (I am not affiliated or receive any compensation for such recommendation) ;-)

Its something I have used for a while now. Plus side is background checks, etc. Online applications. Good stuff.

Account Closed · Answer

@Corey Demuth $42 for full screening is dirt cheap.  In fact, cheap enough, be sure they're checking criminal, evictions, employment, landlords, credit, etc. Many of them have different report options, where you can pick and choose what they'll do for you.  It's worth the money to get as much info as you can.

For rent payment services, I love the idea of the ones that report rent payments to the bureaus.  Scroll down to the bottom of this page.  Experian gathers tenant payment reports to the rent payment services listed at the bottom:

http://www.experian.com/rentbureau/rental-reportin...

I know TransUnion offers a similar deal, not sure about Equifax.

Roy N. · Answer

No, and I do not reduce a tenant's rent by $0.50 - 0.75 if they paid by cheque.

For the two tenants we have remaining who pay cash, they have been given their own deposit cards and are to take their rent to the bank themselves.

Roy N. · Answer

Yes ... paid by the tenant.

Corey:  In the U.S.A., you banking system is differs considerably.  However, you can look into ACH payments and/or using a third-party service provider.

Account Closed · Answer

@Roy N.

Do you reduce your rent by the $1.50 if they complain? I imagine some people might put up a fuss.

Account Closed · Answer

Our banks in Canada offer email bank transfers. Very convenient.

There's usually a small transaction fee.

Yishi Garrard · Answer

I don't know how many properties you're managing, but look into property management software like Propertyware or Buildum. My company manages over 300 units, and we use Propertyware. I know some small time landlords that use Propertyware as well.

With PW, we pay $.35 per online payment that we receive from tenants. However, we charge them $2.50 for each payment, so that's a nice extra bit of money we make. PW also does tenant screening for $16.95, including a full credit report with FICO score.

PW is a great tool, and worth every penny.

Ralph Pena · Answer

you can set up a paypal, or give them a account and routing number have them send it these ways. it's free. Paypal depends, u have to set it up like giving money to friends or you'll be charged. you can get 12 deposit slips have them mail it to your bank, but bank must know what to do with them.

and if you accept electronic payments it may delay your eviction time. Due to you accepting the payment. check with your local laws for the rules on accepting partial payment.

Corey Demuth · Answer

Thanks a lot guys, I appreciate the help. Lease runner looks good, are there any other services that offer both online payment and tenant screening services? It looks like it's $42 to get the full screening from Lease Runner which seems a bit high.

Also, I'd be curious to find out if any/most/all of these services have insurance and guarantees in case they have a data breach... Could be a way to get sued by the tenant down the road... These massive hacks to steal personal data have become disturbingly common recently.

Nathan Eberly · Answer

Look into leaserunner.com.  Good online software.  It does cost $4 per transaction, but if you have solid volume, and you bake in your costs as well as you can into your market rents, not that big of a deal.  Plus side is all the other items that come along with it.  I'm still exploring Point2 Property manager, but haven't seen tenant online payment capability yet.

How do you set it up for your tenants to make rent payments online?

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