4 Myths about Online Rent Collection

Countless businesses have turned to the internet as a platform, and the real estate industry is no exception. In recent years, landlords have taken advantage of property management software to make several elements of their jobs easier. Rent collection, which is a primary income source for every landlord, is one of these opportunities.

As a landlord, you have probably heard about the benefits of online rent collection and might be considering using property management software to collect rent. You may also be considering the risks of such a big change, especially if you have heard one of many myths that are circulated about the challenges of online platforms.

In this article, a handful of these myths will be discussed and refuted in the hopes of easing your hesitancy about moving rent collection online.

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   Myth: Moving Online Makes the Process Too Complicated

At first glance, having to operate and update software in order to collect rent can seem like it introduces much more complexity when compared to a good-old-fashioned check. While there is a little work involved in making the change, once the software is up and running, the number of steps that become automatic ultimately makes the process a lot simpler in the long run.

For example, tenants who pay rent online through property management software are able to set up automatic renewing payments whenever their rent is due. With automatic payments, the process becomes easier than walking a check over to a mailbox because the tenant doesn’t have to do anything.

On your end, once a payment made, you are able to view it from a laptop or mobile device, meaning the transaction can happen anywhere. Not only is the process easier, but it’s more flexible for both parties, too.

2. Myth: Online Payments are a Security Risk

With an online platform acting as an intermediary between you and your tenants, there might be some concerns about the security of sensitive client information during transactions.

Paying online is incredibly safe, however. National regulating bodies often require sensitive information like routing, account, and credit card numbers to encrypted.  This means that it is standard for software to encode personal information in order to protect against cyber-attacks and leaks.

If you are using a mobile platform, there are also industry standards in security and reliability that must met in order for an app to accepted into company app stores. Unreliable or unsafe platforms usually aren’t able to make the cut.

3. Myth: Online Rent Collection Harms Transparency 

On the surface, in-person payments where a tenant is able to see their money go into your hands might seem like a better avenue for transparency than doing business behind a screen. However, property management software has built-in features that help with clear communication for both parties during the payment process.

Online platforms make automatic records whenever a transaction submitted, including the creation of a receipt and an invoice that sent both to the landlord and the tenant. This is a feature that ultimately adds transparency to the process and gives tenants a record that shows them where their money went.

4. Myth: Online Payment Means No More Cash or Checks

If you are struggling to make a decision about offline or online rent collection, the fact is that you ultimately do not have to make a be-all end-all decision for one or the other. Framing the introduction of online rent collection as an option for your tenants might even better, as it quenches any potential concern that tenants may lost in the transition or want to stick to traditional methods that they used to.

In fact, property management software often gives you the option to manually input payments in addition to the automatic records generated from online payments, meaning that you can offer both options to your tenants while keeping your records in one place.

Conclusion

When it comes to myths about roadblocks of online rent collection, it is often safe to assume that the opposite is true. Features that seem like drawbacks can framed in a more accurate light to become benefits that save you time and resources in the long run. If you’re looking to make rent collection an easier, more streamlined process, you can’t go wrong with reliable property management software.

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