Scheduling Online Payment Transactions For Tenants

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.  

Enable Tenant ACH Payments

Before you or they schedule payments, you will need to first enable ACH payments for your Tenant Portals. Then, you can choose whether to allow tenants to set up and manage their own payment schedules or require them to submit a form to you so you can control the schedule on their behalf. These instructions cover both scenarios. 

In your Rentec Direct account:

1. Click Settings.
2. Choose Online Payments.
3. Under the ACH Options Select YES next to Enable ACH Payments in Tenant Portals.
4. Then choose which option the Tenant Provides ACH by:
    
   1. Tenant Portal -- Choose this if you wish to allow tenants to set up and schedule their own payments. When you select this option a text box appears with a general authorization that you are welcome to edit and/or provide additional agreements and disclaimers. The text you enter here will appear in the tenant portal below the data entry fields, ensuring tenants have the opportunity to read and agree to it before submitting their ACH details.
      
      Note: Default text is provided, which you can later retrieve using the Reset button if needed. 
   2. Written Documentation -- Choose this if you wish to manage the setup and payment schedule on their behalf. This option requires you to upload an authorization form which will appear in their portal. When they returned the signed form you will have the authorization and information to schedule payments for that tenant. 
      
      Note: We have provided Sample Authorization Forms in the upper right corner of your software and below. 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:  Tenant Resources for Rentec Direct Clients

Scheduling Tenant Online Payments 

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

In your Rentec Direct account: 

1. Click Tenants. 
2. Right-click on the tenant's name and select Online Payments.  
3. In the section click on 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 Add Account to save changes. 
6. Then click Back which will take you back to Online Payments for that tenant. 
7. Verify all the options on this page are set to your specifications (such as the Payment Policy, Tenant ACH fee, etc.) and choose either Recurring Transactions to schedule monthly transactions or One-Time Transaction for a single transaction to occur. 
   
   Important Note: Reference the Payment Scheduling and Timing section below when choosing the Recurring Start Date, Frequency, and Interval Day. 
8. Click Save Changes 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
• 4:00 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. 

Recurring Transactions 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 Recurring Transaction 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.

If you have set the Online Payment Enabled to YES for that 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

One-Time Payments Schedule

One-time 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 one-time 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

In order for online payments to process, a  phone number must be 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

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

Note: If a scheduled ACH or Credit 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, 

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 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.

Tip: To track your online scheduled payments, you can pull Financial Reports such as the Completed Online Payments report and the Upcoming Payments report.  

Training Video

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