When you are running a rental business, the majority of your regular income is going to come from your tenants’ rent payments. No matter what the shape or size of your business may be, it is always important to make sure that your method of collecting rent is reliable, effective, safe, and streamlined as possible. Traditional methods of collection like using cash or a check have their own respective benefits, but they are vastly outdone by the benefits of online rent collection. When you decide to collect rent online, you make this incredibly important part of your job easier both for you and your tenants. Here are four reasons why adopting online rent collection is definitely your best option.
Avoid Late Payments
Because you rely on rent payments, you don’t want to have to deal with your tenants being late with rent. If you enforce late fees, your tenants won’t want to deal with them either. Imagine a scenario where a tenant is out of town on the first of the month but realizes that they have forgotten to pay rent. They need to get their payment through fast or it will be considered late. If their only options are to pay through cash or check but they have no practical way to hand-deliver it, their only option may be to send it through the mail and hope for the best. If they can pay online, however, all they have to do is log onto their computer and they can pay from anywhere. Submitted payments can be viewed immediately and are processed in as little as one business day, much faster than cash or a check could travel through the mail. Furthermore, tenants can set up an ACH rent payment, in which money is automatically withdrawn directly from their bank account whenever rent is due. This means that forgetfulness is no longer a factor and the process of paying rent becomes easier than ever for tenants. Knowing your rent is more likely to come in on time is undoubtedly a positive for you.
Take Your Business with You
The flexibility afforded by online platforms is not just a positive for your tenants. Property management software will allow you to see submitted payments as soon as they go through from anywhere where you have a reliable internet connection. If the platform you are using has a mobile version, there is even more portability. Having this kind of access wherever you are is also a huge benefit because it can allow you to communicate with your tenants remotely. For instance, if you want to send a message to your tenants about an upcoming payment, you can take advantage of a messaging and notification system from wherever you are, and it will reach them right away.
Increase Transparency
One of the biggest benefits of using property management software is the amount of time it can save you manual accounting work. It is incredibly important to keep records of all business transactions, and this includes rent. With traditional methods, this bookkeeping is a manual process that can be susceptible to human error. Online platforms produce these records instantly, automatically, and accurately. This can save you a lot of time, but more importantly, it increases transparency between you and your tenants. They will receive a copy of these records in the form of a rent payment receipt, which means they can be referenced in order to avoid any potential disputes that you may have going forward.
Learn Quickly
Considering all of the benefits of property management software, you may expect a steep learning curve or a need for deep industry knowledge in order to take advantage of all they have to offer. However, the opposite is true. The business model of these platforms relies on keeping them accessible, understandable and navigable, meaning that any landlord can learn how to use them very quickly. What’s more, many of these platforms are very cheap, and some offer their rent collection services without requiring any payment. The ability to collect rent online free while also having access to all of these benefits is a pretty good deal.
Conclusion
All of these reasons among others explain why making the switch to online rent collection is undoubtedly your best option. Rent collection is one of the most important parts of your job, and when effective online solutions are open and accessible, you have every reason to leave traditional methods in the past and take advantage of what property management software has to offer.
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