Today’s financial climate places a burden on all of us as money becomes tighter. One challenge for a landlord during this time s making sure rent is paid and collected on time. These are the best apps for landlords to collect rent.
Fortunately, there are many apps designed for landlords to collect rent easily. In addition, some apps are easier to work with and have more beneficial features
What are the Best Apps for Landlords to Collect Rent?
These are some of the best apps for landlords to collect rent. Easy to use with powerful features that make rent collection a breeze.
Avail Landlord Software
One of the best apps for collecting online rent, Avail, is an easy-to-use rental collection platform. It is also a mobile app for Android or iOS devices for busy tenants who like to pay online when on the go.
Avail gives your tenants the opportunity to fund security deposits, cover rent, and foot the bill for other fees online. Funding is available via account transfer, debit card, or credit card payments, depending on what’s more convenient.
Although Avail is excellent for the landlord to track rental payments history, one caveat is associated with paying rent online because of transaction fees for online payments.
What makes Avail one of the best landlord rent collection apps:
- Cost of subscription fee: Subscription in two pricing tiers: 1. Unlimited (limited features) – $0.00 monthly or 2. Unlimited Plus (full-featured) – $5 a month
- Deposit type: ACH
- Deposit times: 2 to 5 business days
- Landlord charges: None
- Tenant credit/debit card fees: Yes, 3.5%
- Tenant bank transfer fees: Yes, $2.50 per transaction
- Autopay: Yes
- Late fee charges: Yes
- Real-time updates: Yes
- Automatic accounting: Yes
- Mobile apps option: Yes
- Reporting and Tracking: Yes
Avail has an Unlimited Basic Plan that doesn’t charge a dime. However, the premium option costs $5 per property but waives any payment transfer fees. In addition, ACH payments hit your account the following day, not the typical 3-5 business days. You can also edit your own webpage to advertise your properties.
Avail’s basic Unlimited service is free to use. The premium version, Avail Unlimited Plus, is $5 per unit and includes features such as waived ACH fees, next-day rental payments, and customizable web pages to create your own property marketing site.
What We Like About Avail
- Free software gives you a chance to post listings on popular real estate sites, handle tenant screening processes, create air-tight leases, handle rent payments, and track maintenance.
- The Premium version gets you paid the next day, waives fees for tenants, and allows you to create brand-specific applications and update your landlord/brand website.
- Charges tenants’ application fees automatically, in addition to screening charges and usage fees for paying rent. Each ACH transfer is $2.50.
Pros:
- The free plan has lots of helpful features
- Tenant screening is a game-changer
Cons:
- You can only get your rent money the next day with the Premium plan
- No direct communication with tenants; must use email
Baselane
If you’re looking for a free tool that makes life easier for landlords, Baselane is probably what you’re looking for. It even comes with a free bank account.
Baselane gives tenants the opportunity to pay rent using various methods, including direct transfers or through a debit or credit card. There’s the option for the standard one-time payment, but your tenants may also opt for auto-pay, making it easier to guarantee you get your rent on time every month.
The auto-pay feature allows money to transfer directly from a tenant’s account to yours and even allows for specific accounts focused solely on security deposit funds. Baselane is more than just a payment portal – it’s also a personal accountant for landlords. Detailed charts and data allow you to track your expenses against your revenue and optimize your entire rental process.
Taking advantage of the free bank account gives you the free Baselane debit card, which offers a generous 1% cash back and also helps categorize expenses for your taxes. When you’ve built up some history, leverage Baselane’s partnership with Lendency and obtain a real estate loan to add to your portfolio.
You can even take advantage of landlord insurance that covers loss of rent payment, dwelling and liability, and other unfavorable situations. Whether you have one property or one hundred, there’s no limit to the number of houses you can manage with Baselane. If you decide to use Baselane as a solution for your tenants to pay rent, they’ll have to foot the 2.99% fee for credit and debit card payments.
What We Like About Baselane
- Provides a comprehensive system to manage your properties, tenants, and finances
- Offers a no-fee bank account
- For additional fees, you may access bookkeeping, analytics, and more.
Pros
- Cash back on debit card purchases
- Delivers property values via Zillow
- Free bank account with high-yield
Cons:
- No tenant screening is available
- Doesn’t allow you to list rental properties
Pay Rent Property Management Software
Many landlords use this rental collection software to provide a method for tenants to pay online. When tenants use Pay Rent online, there are transaction fees for either credit cards or bank transactions. An attractive feature of Pay Rent is for tenants to report automatically to credit bureaus and help build their credit.
Payment processing is within seven business days based on their various subscription fees. In addition, Pay Rent provides the following:
- Tenant payment tracking and reporting.
- Automated rent reminders are issued to tenants.
- The ability to process complete or partial rental payments.
Some of Pay Rent’s best features are:
- Cost of subscription fee: Subscription fees have three pricing tiers:
- Pay-As-You-Go (part-time landlords with less than 10 units) – $0 a month
- Do-It-Yourself (full-time landlords with more than 10 units) – $19 a month
- Go-Like-A-Pro (professional property managers with 25+ units – $49 a month
- Deposit type: ACH
- Deposit times: 2 to 5 business days
- Landlord charges: $5 per transaction on the Pay-As-You-Go plan, $2 paid by the landlord or tenant with the Do-It-Yourself plan, and $0 transaction fees on the Go-Like-A-Pro plan
- Tenant credit/debit card fees: Yes, 3.5% + $.30 per transaction fee
- Tenant bank transaction fees: Depends on landlord setup fees.
- Autopay: Yes
- Late fee charges: Yes
- Real-time updates: Yes
- Automatic accounting: Yes
- Mobile apps option: Yes
- Reporting and Tracking: Yes
Most applications for rent payment are geared towards making the landlord’s life easier. However, in the case of PayRent, it’s proof that this software can be advantageous to tenants and landlords alike.
PayRent has a feature known as RentDefense, which guarantees landlords’ rent payments are always on time. The application forwards reminders along with invoices to tenants throughout the month. If applicable, they’ll also receive past-due memos and any late charges they owe.
Landlords can also manage their finances by tracking tenant balances, partial payments, and occupancy rates. Bank transfers are the primary method of payment – however, credit cards are available in addition to scheduled advance payments.
If your tenants make a habit of paying rent on time, PayRent rewards this behavior with a positive report to the three major credit companies. Tenants can pay rent on time and boost their credit as a reward – not bad for simply doing your job.
But that’s not all the help that favors tenants. If a good rapport is built, the tenant may tap into non-interest money to help them financially. The fees are a little steep, and the financials are based on different subscription tiers. The PayRent Tier charges tenants 3.5% plus .30 cents per credit card payment. This is also included in the Pay-as-You-Go Tier, which also tacks on $5 if a tenant pays with a bank transfer.
There’s a Do-it-Yourself Tier that’s $19 each month plus an additional $3 for every unit beyond 25. Every bank transfer is an additional $2 with this tier. There is the Go-Like-a-Pro Tier, costing $49 monthly and $3 per unit beyond 10. With this tier, there’s no charge for transfers.
What We Like About PayRent
- Nice selection of tools that make rent collection simpler
- RentDefense protects you from late or lack of rent from tenants
- The paid tiers have free trials
Pros
- Simple to use interface
- It has advantages for tenants as well
- Track your occupancy rates
Cons
- Fees can get hefty
- Charge for almost every type of transfer or payment
Hemlane
Hemlane provides property management software that’s a mix between full service and do-it-yourself. As a landlord, you can select your level of involvement in the collection process.
Hemlane delivers an online rent payment service that allows tenants to pay through bank transfer, debit card, or credit card. Several automation tasks are available that allow you to operate as hands-on or hands-off as you choose.
When tenants pay late, Hemlane can be set to automatically generate letters to request late fees. These can be accrued daily or as one-time charges. Tenants can also take advantage of recurring payments to automate their end of the process.
If you have properties that have multiple tenants who all pay a different portion, the total rent amount can be split between the separate tenants. Or, they can opt to pay in one lump sum. Hemlane also integrates with all your accounts to track your finances automatically.
This ends up becoming useful if you operate a different account or business for each property. But partial rent payments and rent collection is just the beginning. Hemlane also acts as a marketing and advertisement software. If you need real estate agents to handle any walkthroughs, Hemlane will contact local professionals for you. In addition, when your inspections are due, Hemlane can automatically schedule any necessary compliance appointments.
The app also sends potential tenants’ applications, handles tenant screening, and even performs income-to-expense ratio reports. Tracking your maintenance requests is streamlined with this application as well.
You’ll have a month to try Hemlane for free – you don’t even need a credit card. Once your trial is over, you’ll need to select your desired plan. The standard offering is $28 per month, but you’ll need to fork over between $2 and $32 for every unit you track with the application.
What We Like About Hemlane
- Property management software offers three tiers of service without a minimum per unit. It’s all based on the services you select.
- Leasing tools help you find the most appropriate tenants with resources for real estate professionals and inspection coordination.
- 30-Day Trial offered with no credit card required
Pros:
- Pricing is upfront and honest, no hidden fees
- Lots of national resources because of partner programs
- Repairs possible 24/7
Cons:
- If you want a property management solution, this isn’t it
- Only optimal for full-time rental properties, no Air BnB
- Extra large portfolios may be too much for the app to handle
RentRedi
If you’re looking for a mobile solution for rent collection, RentRedi is probably your best option. It’s also tenant friendly and offers several ways for payment collection.
This property management software comes well-reviewed, allowing renters to pay using multiple options. Auto-pay is available to help tenants set it and forget it when it comes to monthly payments.
Another cool feature is the fact that RentRedi has 90,000 physical locations that allow renters to pay with cash deposits. We thought this was an extremely beneficial highlight for this application.
Besides online rent payments, there are ways for landlords to collect rent partially if the full amount isn’t readily available. In addition, automatic rent reminders go out for collecting rent that’s not paid on time. Monthly rent payments can be made using an unlimited number of accounts for tenants.
You can accept rent payments easily through ACH, credit, or debit card, or tenants can schedule rent payments four or five days out. The online rent payment does come with minor fees. When tenants pay using ACH, it’s $1 or 2.9% plus $0.30 for credit cards. When collecting rent online, landlords can choose to pay these fees or pass them to the tenant. If a tenant falls behind on their payment method, landlords can deploy automatic late penalties.
If you only want rent in full, you can also block partial rent payments. Automatic payments are available for tenants who want to create recurring rent payments each month without manually paying. All of this can be done through a convenient tenant portal.
Remember, if you don’t accept partial payments, you’ll be levying late fees after the 5th. Encouraging tenants that set up recurring rent payments is the easiest way to avoid this. You can even reward your on-time tenants by waiving their ACH fees.
RentRedi also will report rent payments to credit bureaus for responsible tenants.
Why We Like RentRedi
- Helps landlords manage their rental properties
- Allows landlords to collect payment online in multiple ways
- Help with tenant screening and application process
Pros
- Tenants can boost credit
- Lots of different features, very customizable
Cons
- Either way, someone is paying a fee
Turbo Tenant Landlord Software
A rent collection software provides rent payment via a bank transfer or credit card. Tenants can also have free reporting of their rental payments to TransUnion and build their credit reporting using Turbo Tenant.
Another exciting feature is the ability to spread rental payments across each responsible person rather than one person responsible for the complete rental payment collection.
Some of Turbo Tenant’s best qualifying features are:
- Cost of subscription fee: Subscription fees have two pricing tiers:
- Free (full-featured but with some paid options) – $0 a month
- Premium (includes all features and options) – $8.25 a month
- Deposit type: ACH
- Deposit times: 2 to 5 business days
- Landlord charges: None
- Tenant credit/debit card fees: Yes, 3.5% credit card transaction fees.
- Tenant bank transaction fees: Depends on landlord setup fees.
- Autopay: Yes
- Late fee charges: Yes
- Real-time updates: Yes
- Automatic accounting: Yes
- Mobile apps option: Yes
Zillow Rental Management
This inexpensive rent collection software is designed for the monthly collection of rental fees. Zillow Rental Management has limited features but is relatively easy to use and does provide a method for rental payments with a credit or debit card. Although the Zillow Rental Management app is relatively free, it has many fee options that can add to the operating cost.
Some reasons Zillow Rental Management is one of the best:
- Cost of subscription fee: Subscription fees have two pricing tiers:
- Free to landlord and tenant for first listing
- Each additional listing after that is at $9.99 per week.
- Deposit type: ACH
- Deposit times: 3 to 5 business days
- Landlord charges: None
- Tenant credit/debit card fees: Yes, 2.95% for credit cards and $9.95 for debit card payments.
- Tenant bank transaction fees: Free
- Autopay: Yes
- Late fee charges: Yes
- Real-time updates: Yes
- Automatic accounting: Yes
- Mobile apps option: Yes
Buildium Property Management Software
Buildium is most beneficial for landlords with 50 properties or more with a full-featured suite of rental management products. Buildium services include budgeting, accounting, reporting, lease management, tenant screening, and reporting online rent payments. Also, for those who like paying with a bank or credit union, the Buildium core package costs users $1.00 per EFT transaction or 2.95% per credit card transaction.
These are some features that make Buildium one of the best choices:
- Cost of subscription fee: Subscription fees have three pricing tiers:
- Essential – starts at $52/month for landlords just starting.
- Growth – starts at $166/month and includes essential features plus additional support, features, and performance.
- Premium – starts at $479/month and includes all features of Essential and Growth, intended for the professional landlord.
- Deposit type: ACH
- Deposit times: 3 to 5 business days
- Landlord charges: $99 bank account setup fee for each bank
- Tenant credit/debit card fees: Yes, 2.95% for credit cards and $1.00 for EFT transactions.
- Tenant bank transaction fees: $1.00
- Autopay: Yes
- Late fee charges: Yes
- Real-time updates: Yes
- Automatic accounting: Yes
- Mobile apps option: Yes
Rentec Direct Property Management Software
One of the reasons Rentec Direct is one of the best apps for property management, especially with the unique Tenant Portal function. This portal allows tenants to go online and pay rent free of charge or have nominal fees for credit or debit card transactions. The rent payment fees for card transactions can be paid either by the landlord or tenant. Also, the tenant can set up automatic recurring payments or a one-time payment either online or with a telephone call.
Some of the features that make Rentec Direct one of the best online rent collection apps:
- Cost of subscription fee: Subscription fees have two pricing tiers:
- Rentec Pro – starts at $35/month, a full-featured suite of products, including the Tenant Portal.
- Rentec PM starts at $40/month and includes Rentec Pro features, an automated owner portal to accept rent payments, and CAM (Common Area Maintenance) charges.
- Deposit type: ACH
- Deposit times: 1-2 business days
- Landlord charges: Free setup and $.50 per ACH outgoing payment
- Tenant credit/debit card fees: Yes, 2.95% for credit card transactions.
- Tenant bank transaction fees: $3.99
- Autopay: Yes
- Late fee charges: Yes
- Real-time updates: Yes
- Automatic accounting: Yes
- Mobile apps option: Yes
AppFolio Property Manager
A higher-tiered product, AppFolio, is most effective when landlords have a minimum of 50 units, up to 500 or more. Besides the online rent collection feature, AppFolio has many additional high-end features appropriate for larger rental companies.
Some additional solutions make AppFolio one of the best apps for landlords due to various property management features, including Revenue Management, Advanced Performance Insights, Strategic Account Management, and Data Export options.
Some of the features that make AppFolio one of the best rent collection apps:
- Cost of subscription fee: Subscription fees have two pricing tiers:
- AppFolio Property Manager – starts at $1.40/unit per month and minimum of $280 per month (minimum of 50 units)
- AppFolio Plus – starts at $3.00/unit per month with a minimum of $1,500 units (designed for more extensive portfolios)
- Deposit type: ACH
- Deposit times: 3 to 5 business days
- Landlord charges: Based on the size of the portfolio
- Tenant credit/debit card fees: Yes, 2.99% for credit cards and $9.99 for debit card transactions.
- Tenant bank transaction fee: $3.99
- Autopay: Yes
- Late fee charges: Yes
- Real-time updates: Yes
- Automatic accounting: Yes (advanced accounting and reporting)
- Mobile apps option: Yes
SimplifyEM Property Management Software
An easy-to-use app to collect rental payments, SimplifyEM is perfect for smaller portfolios. This rent collection app has many powerful features and is an affordable online rent payment service.
Notable features that make SimplifyEV one of the best solutions:
- Cost of subscription fee: Subscription fees are based on how many units are in the portfolio, beginning with 10 units and up to 2,000 units :
- P10 manages up to 10 units – $25 a month
- P20 – P2000 units manage from 20 to 2,000 units, with the price increasing by $10 for every 10 units.
- Deposit type: ACH
- Deposit times: 3 to 5 business days
- Landlord charges: Based on the size of the portfolio
- Tenant credit/debit card fees: Yes, 2.99% for credit cards and $9.99 for debit card transactions.
- Tenant bank transaction fee: $3.99
- Autopay: Yes
- Late fee charges: Yes
- Real-time updates: Yes
- Automatic accounting: Yes (advanced accounting and reporting)
- Mobile apps option: No
Stessa Rental Collection Software
With a user-friendly interface for the landlord and tenant, the Stessa rent collection app is considered one of the best property management apps. Stessa provides a method for collecting online rent payments or for tenants to pay rent online easily. In addition, Stessa provides collecting rent with recurring payments to automate collecting monthly rent payments efficiently.
Among the features that make Stessa one of the best property management apps are:
- Cost of subscription fee: Subscription fees are free as Stessa’s profit model generates income from referrals to various service providers such as mortgage lenders and insurance companies. The only optional fee is $19.99 to create a rent estimate service report.
- Deposit type: ACH
- Deposit times: 2 to 5 business days
- Landlord charges: None, except for the optional rent estimate service report at $19.99 per report
- Tenant credit/debit card fees: Stessa does not accept credit or debit cards.
- Tenant bank transfer fee: None
- Autopay: Yes
- Late fee charges: Yes
- Real-time updates: Yes
- Automatic accounting: Yes
- Mobile apps option: Yes
Yardi Breeze Property Management Software
A full-featured, cloud-based property management app for a rental business, Yardi Breeze, has some of the best features for landlords to create automated rent payments.
One of the best apps to manage recurring rent payments or report rent payments, and is accessible from any device. Yardi Breeze is perfect for landlords wanting to manage their rental income with extensive reporting capabilities.
Among the many Yardi Breeze features that position it as one of the best are:
- Cost of subscription fee: Subscription fees are based on how many units are in the portfolio, beginning with one unit:
- Yardi Breeze Core (Residential) subscription is $1 per unit per month with a minimum of $100 monthly.
- Yardi Breeze Premium (Commercial and Residential) subscription is $2 per unit monthly and a minimum of $400 per month.
- Deposit type: ACH
- Deposit times: 2 to 5 business days
- Landlord charges: None
- Tenant credit/debit card fees: 2.5% per transaction
- Tenant bank transfer fee: $0.95 per ACH transaction
- Autopay: Yes
- Late fee charges: Yes
- Real-time updates: Yes
- Automatic accounting: Yes
- Mobile apps option: Yes
MRI Property Management Software
This feature-rich property manager’s software collects rent from multifamily, condos, and affordable housing properties. MRI Software is one of the best-rated software solutions for online rent collection and provides a method for splitting rent payments during challenging financial situations.
Tenants can pay with multiple options provided by the MRI property management software, including linking personal bank accounts. In addition, the online rent payment services offered by MRI Software have an intuitive user interface to configure automatic payments and the ability to create recurring rent payments.
Some of the best features of MRI Software are:
- Cost of subscription fee: Subscription fees are on a quote-based plan and not publicly available
- Deposit type: ACH
- Deposit times: 3 to 5 business days
- Landlord charges: None
- Tenant credit/debit card fees: Unknown
- Tenant bank transaction fee: Unknown
- Autopay: Yes
- Late fee charges: Yes
- Real-time updates: Yes
- Automatic accounting: Yes
- Mobile apps option: Yes
FAQs About Best Apps for Landlords to Collect Rent
What landlord expenses should I consider?
Although most of your time you will be on collected rent payments, other expenses will have to be addressed. These upfront expenses for rental properties can include the following:
- Property inspection fees
- Advertising rental property expenses
- Property preparations to get ready for rental
- Insurance fees
- Background and credit check expenses
- Required legal documents for collecting online rent payments
Does the landlord pay for property rental maintenance?
Typically, the landlord is responsible for maintenance requests unless it is evident the tenant caused property negligence or damage.
Is the landlord responsible for mold, and how can mold be inhibited?
Yes, the landlord is responsible for controlling mold and should be diligent about eliminating or inhibiting mold growth. In addition, guidelines issued by CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) suggest recommended steps to control mold growth.
What insurance coverage do landlords need?
Landlords need to consider several different insurance policies, each with specific coverage for a rental property. Among the insurance policies to consider are the following:
- Landlord insurance covers property damage due to break-ins, natural disasters, etc.
- Liability insurance includes protection from any possible tenant lawsuits.
- Disaster insurance policies for properties that are in areas prone to earthquakes, floods, etc.
- Tenant insurance policy to cover fires or other incidents that damage renters’ belongings.
The good news for landlords who intend to collect rent online is that many property management apps are available. We have discussed some of the best apps for landlords to collect rent online and make life easier for
Most of these property management solutions have many online credit card payments options and even allow tenants to pay rent directly to a landlord’s bank account. Moreover, collecting rent and the entire property management function can be automated with various cloud-based online services.
The many landlord tasks that property management apps can automate are rent collection, rent receipts, rent reminders, credit reporting, generating reports for payment history and balances, issuing rental reminders, and managing partial rent payments. In addition, most of the landlord apps can download their data to the accounting software of your choice.
Landlords are fortunate to have many productive online rent payment service choices. These rent payment apps are rich in features that address the many challenges a landlord has to deal with daily. In addition, as a side benefit, tenants are more prone to pay on time due to the convenience of online rent payment services, which may boost rental income.
Online Rent Payments: Do I Need a Rent Collection App?
Rent collection apps make it easier to manage online rent payments and streamline the rent collection process. Online rent payments and online rent collection aren’t new – however, the process is becoming optimized as companies invest in technology to enhance the experience for landlord and tenant.
You don’t need to be a computer expert to partake in online rent collection – most of these applications are self-explanatory and pretty much operate themselves. If rent collection has historically been a headache for you as a property owner, leveraging the power of one of these applications could make your life much easier.
In addition, it’s not just online rent collection that comes with these applications and software packages. Many of them are full-service rental management tools, and online rent collection is only a fraction of the benefits of using them.
What Should a Rent Collection App Do for a Landlord?
A rent collection app should – well, collect rent, at the very minimum. There should be an easy-to-use online portal for rent collection and rent payment, making things easier for all parties involved. However, the best apps help with the following:
- Collect rent payments in multiple ways
- Property management solutions
- Online rent payment portals for tenants
- Help with tenant screening
- All-inclusive property management software
- Track tenant payment history
- Allow landlords free bank accounts
- Appoint property managers
- Track cash flow
- Report on time rent payments to credit bureaus
- Fast deposit of rental payments to keep a steady cash flow
- Allow tenants to set up recurring payments
- Allow for splitting rent payments
The Bottom Line On the Best Rent Collection Apps
Depending on how many properties you have, there’s an application for every landlord at any stage of their career. Whether you own two properties or 200, these applications are extremely efficient. And while they won’t replace a full-human property manager who can arrive on-site to handle issues, they’re the closest thing you’ll get to full-service management.
For simple software and applications, the options listed above handle a wide variety of tasks, making your life as a landlord much easier. If you have more than a couple of properties and use your life as a landlord for significant income, you should definitely obtain one of the apps on this list.
Landlord Apps FAQs
Is there a free online rent payment application?
Many of the applications mentioned on the above list have free options available. Avail, Baselane, and PayRent all have packages available that won’t cost a dime.
Do you need a bank account for rent collection apps?
Yes. These applications typically transfer money directly from a tenants’ bank account into a separate account (which would be yours) so owning a bank account is necessary.
How are rent payments automated?
This is an option on most applications as a convenience for the landlord and tenants. However, it’s worth noting that not EVERY application provides this service. If you’re after automated payments, you should make it a point to target an application that provides automated payments as a feature.
If your tenants pay rent using ACH, it’s much easier to set up automatic debts each month. This eliminates the issue of having to send rent reminders manually or through any rent collection apps if tenants forget to pay.
How do I track my rental income?
Many of these applications help track your rental income. This includes any deposits, transaction fees, late fees, and any figures associated with rent payment. Each time you collect rent payments, these applications save every transaction. Payment history is tracked each time tenants pay, in addition to figures sent to any bank accounts. Through the automation and tracking available, it’s not difficult at all to keep tabs on how much you make as a landlord.
