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:

We encourage all Landlords and Property Managers who are scheduling payments on behalf of tenants to obtain an authorization form.

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

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


Scheduling Online Payment Transactions for Tenants 

If you've received an authorization form back from your tenant, scheduling payments for that tenant is simple. 

In your Rentec Direct account: 

  1. Click on Tenants
  2. Right-click on the tenant's name and select Online Payments
  3. Click on Payment Accounts to select which of the tenant's bank account options will be used for the payment, or click on +Bank Account to add the tenants' bank account information. If a new account is being added:
    1. Enter the Routing and Account Number
    2. Click on Add Account to save changes
    3. Click on Back to go back to Online Payments for that tenant
  4. Verify all the options on this page are set to your specifications, such as the Payment Policy, Tenant ACH fee
  5. Check the option for Recurring Transactions to schedule monthly transactions or One-Time Transactions for a single transaction, which will occur on a future date
  6. Click on Save Changes

System Note: The ACH payment option is automatically enabled on Rentec Direct accounts with active merchant accounts. Learn more about Payment Processing Settings | Preferences

Payment Scheduling and 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.   

Recurring Payments Schedule 

For Recurring Transactions, 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. 


Important Notes: 

  • Recurring Transactions must be scheduled with a future begin date. For example, if you would like the tenant's payment to be pulled on the 1st of each month, you would enter the Frequency as Monthly and Interval Day (Day of the month)1

One-Time Payments Schedule

One-time payments can be scheduled at a future date. 

Pro Tip: If a one-time payment needs to be made the same day, use Rentec Direct's convenient Instant Tenant ACH Debits option. The transaction will be documented and submitted that day, but the banking standard of 1-3 days for funds to transfer applies.

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 include 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

In the event of a failed transaction, you will receive a failure notice directly from CSG Forte, your merchant provider. You must post this failed transaction within the program in the tenant's ledger. 

Note: 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.

Information on posting an NSF transaction can be found here:  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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