Managing a Name Change and/or EIN Change in Rentec Direct

Changes such as the name of a company, EIN, or the formation of an LLC can impact financial transactions, tax filing, and general accounting. Therefore, it is important to keep your account information current.

If your company is going through a name change and EIN change, you will need to update:

  • Rentec Direct account - Various settings that affect day-to-day communications, reports, and financial documentation
  • Merchant Accounts -  if online financial transactions are processed through your Rentec Direct account
  • Pay Near Me - If your Rentec Direct account is set up to allow cash payments

Updating Your Rentec Direct Account Due to a DBA, Legal Name, and/or EIN Change

One of the ways Rentec Direct helps save you time is by automatically populating information into common processes. To make sure this feature continues to provide this time-saving benefit, you will want to update some data fields in your account with the new information. 

Every client may need to update all areas, but we encourage you to take a couple of minutes to see which fields your company needs to update with a name and/or ein change.

Updating Defaults and Company Fields

In your Rentec Direct account:

  1. Click on Settings
  2. Under Account, click on
    1. Your Account & Subscription
      1. Update the bank account used to pay your Rentec Direct subscription if it has changed
    2. Your Contact Information
      1. Name
      2. Email address
      3. Website
      4. Tax ID
    3. Login & Password if the previous company name or email was used
  3. Under Financial, click on
    1. Accounting Defaults
      1. Update messages for invoices and receipts
    2. Online Payments
      1. Update Payment Notification Email Address
  4. Under Program, click on
    1. Message Templates to update references to the previous name
    2. Forms to update any reference to company name and/or emails
    3. Rental Applications to update instructions for sending supporting documentation
  5. Under People, click on
    1. Managers & Users to update company name, email, and user names as needed

If you use the Check Printing feature in your Rentec Direct account, you will also want to verify the name and address indicated to print on checks are correct.

In your Rentec Direct account:

  1. Click on Banking
  2. Right-click on the Account and select Edit Account
  3. Under Check Printing update Name and Address on Checks
  4. Click on Save Changes

Updating Merchant Accounts Due to a DBA, Legal Name, and/or EIN Change

If your company has a merchant account used for settlement funding and is changing any of the following, a new merchant account is required to ensure payments are deposited into the correct account.

  • Legal name change
  • EIN change
  • DBA and EIN change
  • Update signers on the application
Important note: For a DBA only change, contact partnersupport@forte.net and allow Forte to guide you through the process.

You will want to consider the timing of changing bank accounts used for online payments that may be used for automatically scheduled transactions, such as rental income.(Example: If rent is due by the 5th of the month, you will want to allow time for the transition of the accounts for payments to settle)

The three changes that will need to take place are:

  1. Establishing a new merchant account
  2. Cancelling the merchant account no longer being used and
  3. Update your Rentec Direct account

The following directions will guide you on how to make these changes.

In your Rentec Direct account:

  1. Click on Banking
  2. Click on +Add an Account
  3. Enter new account information
  4. Click on Add Account (this will end back at the list of bank accounts)
  5. Right-click on the new Bank Account and select Edit Account
  6. Under Online Payment Processing, click the link to Apply Now to apply for a new merchant account

    Note: If Forte needs more documentation, they will respond to you and copy Rentec Direct within 14 days.
  7. Email success@rentecdirect.com the last four digits of the new bank account that was added for the new merchant account, letting them know you have applied for a new merchant account that will replace an existing one.
  8. After the new merchant account is approved
    1. Wait at least five days for pending transactions to clear the account to be closed
    2. Email success@rentecdirect.com, the last four digits of the bank account tied to the old merchant account, letting them know you would like to close it

      Note: You will receive an email confirmation from Rentec Direct in 2-5 days, letting you know your account has been updated.
  9. Update the Income Account and Expense Account in your properties with the bank account used for the new merchant account.

Updating Default Income and Expense Accounts

The following steps will walk you through updating the default Income and Expense accounts to ensure rental income, vendor payments, and owner disbursements are processed through the new merchant account.

In your Rentec Direct account:

  1. Click on Properties
  2. Right-click on the property and select Edit Property
  3. Under Financial using the dropdown, select the Income Account and Expense Account
  4. Click on Update Property

Important Note: There is a $150 early termination fee for merchant accounts closed within the first 12 months of its opening date.

For information on other types of changes to your merchant account, check out the Merchant Account Support Reference Guide | CSG Forte

Updating PayNearMe Due to a DBA, Legal Name, and/or EIN Change 

If your company has a PayNearMe account used for settlement funding and is changing any of the following, the existing PayNearMe account will need to be closed and a new account applied for:

  • Legal name change
  • EIN change
  • DBA and EIN change
  • Update signers on the application

Important Note: For a DBA only change, contact support@paynearme.com and allow PayNearMe to guide you through the process.

You will want to consider the timing of changing bank accounts used for PayNearMe. (Example: If rent is due by the 5th of the month, you will want to allow time for the transition of accounts for payments to settle)

To change the bank account where the PayNearMe funds are deposited and there are no changes to the name or EIN:

  • Complete this PayNearMe Deposit Account Change form and email it to docs@rentecdirect.com with a letter from your bank that indicates the bank account and routing number, stamped by a bank employee. 
Note: A $75 bank change fee will be billed to your Rentec Direct account to process this request.

The three changes that will need to take place are:

  1. Close your existing PayNearMe account
  2. Apply for a new PayNearMe account
  3. Enable Cash Payments for Tenants

Important Note: New payslips will need to be used for transactions

The following directions will guide you on how to make these changes.

  1. Close your PayNearMe account
    1. Send an email request to success@rentecdirect.comfrom the Rentec Direct account Administrator's email on your account and provide
      1. Contact information
      2. A daytime phone number so that we can verify the validity of the request

    Important Notes:

    • The email will not be deemed delivered until you have received confirmation from Rentec Direct that it was received
    • Alternatively, you can close your account by sending a letter first-class mail to Rentec Direct, 231 SW I St, Grants Pass, OR 97526-2814
    • You will receive an email confirmation in 2-5 days, letting you know your account has been updated.
  2. Apply for a new PayNearMe account

    In your Rentec Direct account:

    1) Click on Settings
    2) Under Financial, click on Cash Payments
    3) After reading the helpful information, click on Apply Now
  3. Enable Cash Payments for Tenants

    In your Rentec Direct account:

    1) Click on Tenants
    2) Right-click on a tenant and select Online Payments 
    3) Click the Enable Cash Payments button
    4) Confirm the tenant information is correct and click on Enable Cash Payments

PaySlips 

  • Tenants can log in to the tenant portal via their Resident Connect Mobile app to show their PaySlip to clerks
  • Tenants can print out their PaySlip from the tenant portal
  • Rentec Direct clients can print tenant payslips or text it to them from the Online Payments page

Click here for more information about Electronic Rent Collection for Cash Paying Tenants (PayNearMe)

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