Scheduling Online Payment Transactions For Tenants (Legacy)

This help article contains instructions for the Legacy Version of Rentec Direct. More information about the latest version of Rentec Direct can be found here: The Remodel | Rentec Direct’s Newest Software Update

Once your Rentec Account is enabled with access to online payment processing, you will want to begin allowing your tenants to schedule payments or schedule payments on their behalf.  

1) Allow your tenants to set up their online rent payments themselves. 

If you would like your tenants to be able to log into their online portal and schedule their own rental payments, those instructions can be found here: Online Rent Payments

2) Enter your tenant's payment information and schedule their payments for them.

In your Rentec Direct account:

1. Click Settings. 
2. Choose the Online Payments option. 
3. Under the ACH Settings select Written Document. This will require your tenants to download a form directly from their tenant portal to provide authorization to you to set up their online payments for them.

We have provided you with two Tenant ACH Application examples of the authorization form both here and on the settings screen directly. Feel free to download these examples and customize them for your use:

Note: After uploading an authorization form, tenants will only be able to download the form if ACH Payments is disabled on their account. Once you enable their account for ACH Payments, the form is no longer able to be downloaded.   

A downloadable sample welcome letter explaining the portal/payment processing to your tenants can be found here : Welcoming Tenants

Scheduling Tenant Online Payments 

Scheduling payments for a tenant is simple. 

In your Rentec Direct account: 

1. Click Tenants. 
2. Right-click on the tenant's name and select Online Payments.  
3. On the Edit Online Payments screen, click on Manage Payment Accounts.
4. Click Add Bank Account and enter the routing number and account number the tenant provided on their voided check and authorization form. 
   
   

   

5. Click the Add Account button to save changes. 
6. Then click the Return to Tenant button which will take you back to the Edit Online Payments screen.
7. Verify all the options on this page are set to your specifications such as the Payment Policy, Tenant ACH fee, etc.
   
   Important Note: Reference the Payment Scheduling and Timing section below when choosing the MultiPay Begin date, Frequency, and Interval Day. 
8. Click on either MultiPay Enabled to schedule monthly transactions or SinglePay Enabled for a one-time transaction, or allow the tenant to log into their portal to schedule.   
9. Click the Save Changes button when finished. 

Payment Scheduling and Transaction Timing

Payments scheduled in Rentec's system are submitted for processing three (3) times each day:
3:00 am PST
4:30 pm PST
9:00 pm PST 

Payments batch from CSG Forte's system one (1) time each day at 4:30 pm, PST.   

Scheduling MultiPay Payments

For MultiPay, the frequency day is the day of the month/week this transaction will occur. With monthly transactions, the frequency day should be the actual day it is to pull. For weekly transactions, the frequency day corresponds to a day of the week: 

1  = Sunday  2 = Monday, 3 = Tuesday, 4 = Wednesday, 5 = Thursday, 6 = Friday, 7 = Saturday. 

MultiPay Payments are intended to be scheduled for a later date. For example, if you would like the tenant's payment to pull on the 1st of each month, you would enter the Frequency day as 1 and their payments would begin to pull on the 1st day of the following month.  

Important Note: If you schedule a MultiPay payment for the same day, keep in mind that the payment must be entered before the last processing time for that day (9 pm, PST), or the payment will not pull until the following month.

Scheduling SinglePay Payments

SinglePay payments can be scheduled on the same day that the pull is to happen, however, they must be entered before 9 pm PST. If you or the tenant attempts to enter a same-day SinglePay payment after 9 pm, PST an error message will be displayed suggesting that you try to enter the payment again the following day.

Troubleshooting Online Payments

To set up tenant payments, be sure to first have a phone number listed in the tenant file and a property address (including zip code) listed in the property details as transactions will not process without either of those details. Additionally, Tenants must be placed into a property (unit) in the software in order for their online payments to process. Payments will not process if a tenant's status is listed as "inactive" or "archived".

Fixing Common Errors: 

Property Address Invalid
You can fix this by logging into your Rentec Direct account and edit the Property. Add the address, city, state, and zip code (all fields have to be completed). 

No property linked to the renter
The tenant needs to be placed in a property for the transaction to process. If you moved the tenant out you will have to place this tenant back into the unit. 

Renter must have first [xxxx], last [xxxxxx], and phone [xxx-xxx-xxxx]
The first name, last name, and/or phone number are missing and you will need to make corrections by editing the tenant profile. The phone number may be placed in the home phone or mobile field, or both. 

If your error code is not listed in this article, more codes can be found here:  Common Payment Processing Error Codes

Important Note: The interface is set to handle ACH transactions from checking accounts, however most banks will accept an ACH draft request from a Savings account. The routing number for ACH transactions with a savings account should be verified with the tenant's bank as this is not always the same number that is listed on their deposit slip.  If the transaction fails, a possibility could be that your tenant's bank will not accept the standard ACH draft and in that instance, another arrangement should be made with your tenant.

Once you have enabled a tenant's online payment schedule, they will be able to edit their payments from their portal. 

Detailed tenant portal instructional videos can be found here: Tenant Portals.

To track your online scheduled payments, you can pull the Financial Reports "Completed EasyPay" and "Upcoming EasyPay".  

In the event of a failed transaction, you will be emailed a failure notice directly from CSG Forte, your merchant provider.  Once a transaction has failed, there will not be any subsequent attempts. You will need to post this failed transaction within the program in the tenant's ledger. 

Information on posting an NSF transaction can be found here: Returned Check, NSF, Failed Payment