Automatic Rent Payments
by Electronic Check or Credit Card

When looking for an online rent payment program, it should allow you to schedule automatic rent payments for the term of your lease agreement. A convenient rent payment solution allows you to pay by electronic check from your bank account (e-check), or by credit card. There should be a secure online payment form that allows you to make payments from any computer with internet access. This gives you flexibility especially when you travel.

Another important feature for an automatic rent payment program is that you receive a receipt for your payments. You should receive an e-mailed receipt whenever a scheduled rent payment takes place. Your rent payments will also be recorded on your monthly bank statement or credit card statement depending on how you pay.

Can I pay my rent through a rent payment program if my landlord is not signed up? The answer to this is, “No.” The reason is because funds have to be delivered through a payment processor that your landlord has chosen. You need to talk to your landlord about whether they have automatic rent payment set up, then find out how to use it. As a convenience, your landlord may have a payment authorization form ready for you to sign with your lease agreement.

Are there convenience fees for using automatic rent payment? Some landlords don’t charge any extra fees and others do. We have seen fees as high as 3% of your payment for using a credit card and $2.20 for payment by e-check. Talk to your landlord and find out if there are any convenience fees in their automatic rent payment program.

If your landlord is not set up for automatic rent payment, we invite you to have them talk with us. We provide all the services mentioned above. Fees are determined by your landlord. Some don’t charge anything for using the program, others may charge up to 40¢ for e-checks (less than the cost of a postage stamp) or up to 2.5% of payment for credit cards.

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.