Scheduling Online Payment Transactions For Tenants

Once your Rentec Direct account has an established merchant account, online payments can be set as an option for tenant payments. Most Rentec Direct clients allow tenants to make payments through the tenant portal, but there is also the option of scheduling payments on their behalf. 

This article will review:

If you came to this article for information Instant Tenant ACH Debits, click here.

This video gives you step-by-step instructions for scheduling online payments for your residents.

Schedule A Payment For Your Tenant | Rentec Direct Training Series from Rentec Direct on Vimeo.

Scheduling Online Payment Transactions for Tenants 

It's simple to schedule online payments for tenants.


In your Rentec Direct account: 

  1. Click on Tenants

  2. Right-click on the tenant's name and select Online Payments

    Note: Information under Online Payments, defaults from your Online Payment Settings

  3. Check the box for:
    1. Recurring Transactions to schedule weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly transactions with a future begin date or
    2. One-Time Transactions for a single transaction, which will occur on a future date
  4. Use the From This Account dropdown to select the tenants account payments are to be made from
  5. Enter the Amount
  6. When payments process
    1. One-Time Transactions - Enter the Transaction Date
    2. Recurring Transactions - Enter a Start Date for the first future payment
      1. Frequency or how often payments are to be made weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly
      2. Interval Day - (The day of the week or month the transaction will occur)

        1. Monthly payments process on the same day of each month as the Start Date

          (Example: If rent payments are to begin June 1, 2025, monthly payments will be made on the 1st of each subsequent month)

        2. Weekly and Bi-Weekly payments process on the same day of the week as the Start Date
  7. Click on Save Changes

Note: If there are no Payment Accounts for the tenant, click on Payment Accounts to add the tenants account information.


Important Note: Landlords and Property Managers who are scheduling payments on behalf of tenants are encouraged to obtain written authorization from tenants.

Feel free to download these sample authorization forms and customize them for your use:

Transaction Timing

Payments scheduled in Rentec Direct are submitted for processing three (3) times each day:

  • 3:00 am PST
  • 4:00 pm PST
  • 9:00 pm PST 

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

It can take the standard 1-3 business days for funds to transfer.

Troubleshooting Online Payments

There are just a few fields that are required for online payments to process:

  1. Tenants must have a first name, last name, and a phone number
  2. Tenants must be moved into a property with a complete address, including city, state, and zip code. To ensure a valid address is indicated, begin entering the address and select from the list of addresses displayed by the verification tool.

System Note: Payments will not process if a tenant's status is listed as inactive or archived

Fixing Common Errors: 

  1. Renter must have first [xxxx], last [xxxxxx], and phone [xxx-xxx-xxxx]
    1. This message indicates that one or all of these fields are empty or incomplete. The portion that is not filled in contains the missing information.

    2. This example indicates the last name is missing: first [Jane], last [xxxxxx], and phone [800-881-5139]


      Solution: This error can be resolved by editing the tenant's profile to update the three required fields

  2. Property Address Invalid

    1. This message indicates that the address of the property the tenant was placed in is invalid


      Solution: This error can be resolved by editing the property and selecting the address from the list of verified addresses.

  3. No Property linked to the renter

    1. This message indicates that the tenant is not currently moved into a property


      Solution: This error can be resolved by moving the tenant into a property

Failed Payments

If an online payment fails:

  • You will receive a failure notice directly from CSGForte
  • Rentec Direct will automatically update the tenant's ledger by posting a debit entry to offset the ACH payment on the date failed payment notification is received to ensure accurate accounting

🌟Newer accounts have been enhanced to automatically post offset entries. If your merchant account was established prior to June 2020, you may want to update your settings by following these steps:

In your Rentec Direct account:

  1. Click on Settings
  2. Under Program, click on Program Defaults
  3. Click on Edit Advanced Settings
  4. Under Payment Options, change the setting labeled 'Set returned tenant ach transactions to zero?' to No
  5. Click on Save Changes

System Notes:

  • If a scheduled ACH, or Credit/Debit Card payment fails to process, the software will attempt to run it again (that same day) if one of the three processing times has not yet occurred.
  • In compliance with csgForte, failed credit/debit / ACH transactions from the same bank account are limited to 3 attempts per day. After the 3rd failure, they will receive a message indicating "TOO MANY FAILURES," and any further attempts must be from a different card or account.
  • You may want to post additional ledger entries for late fees and/or NSF fees at this time
  • If you have automatic management fees set up on the property, you may want to remove the management fee from the property ledger
  • IF you are implementing a convenience fee for ach transactions that are posting tot he property, you will want to make adjustments as needed

Learn more about posting an NSF transactions:  Returned Check, NSF, Failed Payment

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 listed on their deposit slip. If the transaction fails, your tenant's bank may not accept the standard ACH draft, and in that instance, another arrangement should be made with your tenant.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q) How can I tell if an online payment has processed?

A) The Reports Page of your Rentec Direct software includes a section dedicated to checking the status of scheduled and processed online payments

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