How to Collect Rent Online (2026): 6 Setup Steps for Small Landlords

To collect rent online, pick an app that fits the other jobs you need done, decide who pays the bank and card fees, check how fast rent reaches you, set your due-date and late-fee rules, then invite tenants and turn on autopay. For a landlord with a few units, that takes one sitting.

Best for: landlords with 1–20 units switching from checks, cash or payment apps to a dedicated rent tool. This is a setup checklist. For app rankings, see best rent collection apps, and for yearly fee totals, see rent collection cost per unit.

Fees and timing come from each vendor's own pages, checked October 28, 2026. We haven't tested these tools hands-on.

Step 1: Decide what you need besides rent

Pick the app around the other jobs you want it to do:

• Just rent, lowest cost: Zillow Rental Manager is free for landlords, and tenant bank (ACH) payments are free too.
• Rent plus bookkeeping: Stessa and Baselane put rent straight into your property books.
• Rent plus listings, screening and leases: TurboTenant, Avail, Innago and RentRedi cover the whole rental workflow.

Baselane is a financial technology company and is not an FDIC-insured bank.

Step 2: Compare the fees and who pays them

There are usually two fees: one for bank transfers (ACH) and one for cards. On most apps the tenant pays by default, and some let you absorb the fee instead. Four examples show the range:

For every app's fees, and what they add up to per unit per year, see rent collection cost per unit.

Three questions settle this step:

1. Will you absorb ACH fees? Covering a $1–$2.50 bank fee makes autopay an easy sell, and the cost is predictable.
2. Will you allow cards at all? Card fees are a percentage of rent, so they cost far more than ACH. Some apps, such as RentRedi, let you accept ACH only.
3. Do you want rent in a new bank account? Stessa waives its outside-bank ACH fee when rent goes into a Stessa account, and Baselane waives its fee for rent into Baselane accounts. That saves fees but adds an account to manage.

Step 3: Check how fast rent reaches you

Payout time matters if your mortgage is due soon after rent.

New accounts and first payments are often held longer while the provider verifies them. Hemlane, for example, says first or unverified payments can take up to 10 business days.

Step 4: Set your rules before inviting tenants

Most apps let you set these per lease:

1. Due date and amount, including any recurring charges such as parking or pet rent.
2. Late fees. Check your state and local limits before you set one.
3. Partial payments. Stessa lets you toggle these, and Landlord Studio leaves them off unless you allow them.
4. Card payments. Some apps, such as RentRedi, let you accept ACH only.
5. Who pays the fees. If you absorb them, include them in your budget.

Step 5: Invite tenants and turn on autopay

Send each tenant an invite from the app, have them link a bank account, and encourage autopay. Stessa, for example, sends reminders 10 days before rent is due and on the due date.

For current tenants, set a switch-over month, ideally after a full payment cycle so nobody pays twice. A short notice works best when it covers:

• The start month and the app name, with the invite link.
• Which payment methods are free, which carry a fee, and who pays it.
• The due date and late-fee rule, matching the lease.
• What happens to checks after the switch: whether you still accept them, and for how long.

Expect the first payment to take longer. Several apps hold first payments or new bank accounts while they verify them, so don't schedule the switch for a month when you need rent on the 1st.

Step 6: Connect it to your books

Rent that flows into your ledger automatically saves the most time at tax season.

• Stessa and Baselane do this natively.
• TurboTenant includes accounting on its Pro plan.
• With other apps, export payment records or connect your accounting tool. See Stessa vs QuickBooks and Baselane vs Stessa.

Common mistakes

• Picking on landlord price alone. Free for you can still cost tenants $2–$2.50 per payment.
• Ignoring payout time. A 5–7 business day ACH window can push rent past your own due dates.
• Allowing cards without thinking about cost. A 3% card fee is many times the ACH fee.
• Forgetting a new bank account. Stessa and Baselane are cheapest when rent lands in their own accounts (banking through Thread Bank), so that's one more account to manage.

How we checked

On October 28, 2026, we read each vendor's own pricing and help-center pages for ACH and card fees, who pays them, and payout timing. The vendors were Zillow Rental Manager, Stessa, Baselane, Innago, TurboTenant, RentRedi, Avail, Hemlane and Landlord Studio. Where a vendor's pages disagree, the figures and sources are in rent collection cost per unit. We haven't used these apps with our own rentals, and no vendor paid for placement. Fees change often, so confirm on the vendor's site before you sign up.

FAQ

What's the cheapest way to collect rent online?

Zillow Rental Manager charges landlords nothing, and tenant bank (ACH) payments are free. Card payments still carry a fee.

Should I let tenants pay rent by card?

Only if you're happy for someone to pay a percentage fee. Card fees run about 3% on the apps above, versus $0–$2.50 for ACH.

How long does online rent take to arrive?

Usually 1–5 business days by ACH on most apps, and up to 7 on some. First payments and new bank accounts are often held longer while they're verified.

Can I make tenants use autopay?

Check your lease and your state and local rules first. Most apps let tenants set up autopay, and covering the ACH fee is a simple incentive.

Do I need a separate bank account for rent?

Not usually; most apps pay out to an outside bank account. Stessa and Baselane waive their ACH fee when rent goes into their own accounts.

Related

• Rent collection software
• Best rent collection apps
• Best free landlord software
• Sign the lease online first
• Rent collection cost per unit