ACH Processing for Property Management
Waiting on tenants to come around to pay their rent, or mail you a check. Not fun at all and I speak from experience. So what to do?
It would be nice (real nice) if they just paid you like clockwork without any work on your part. But that’s not always the case, right? Well if you implement an ACH Payment Processing program you can sit back and relax knowing the rents are paid.
What do I need to do? First you need a 3rd party payment processor. They will have a front end tool (usually a Virtual Terminal-web based platform) allowing for recurring and one-time payment set up. Most allow you to upload payment data if you already have a management software. Once you have your tenant complete an Authorization form (giving you permission to electronically debit their account) you set them up for the recurring rent debits. Monies are deposited into your bank account and transaction reporting is provided for reconciliation.
Costs? An ACH transaction shouldn’t cost much more than .40 (forty cents) which is less than the cost of a postage stamp. You can even take credit cards but credit cards charge a percentage (eg 2.19%) of the rent amount. You can pass all or a portion of this fee along to tenants as a convenience fee. However, we have found more renters participate in automatic rent payment when there are no additional fees. In other words, include the cost in your rent price.
So why not make your life easier and offer the convenience of ACH and credit card payments to your tenants? You’ll get a 60 day Guarantee and the best tools in the rent payment industry.