In order to use ACH transfers to collect tenant payable expenses via Landlord Studio, you need to first have online rent collection enabled on the lease and your tenant will need to set up an account in the tenant portal.
When creating the expense mark the expense as 'unpaid', and 'payable by tenant'. this will make it available in the tenant portal for the tenant to review and pay.
Tenants will need to log in and manually pay tenant payable expenses.
If you'd like your tenants to pay using an alternative method please clearly communicate this with them to avoid confusion. Once you mark the expense as paid in Landlord Studio it will be removed from the tenant portal to avoid duplicate payments.
Below we detail the exact process with screenshots.
How to collect tenant payable expenses with Online Rent Collection
Step 1: Enable Online Rent Collection
In order to collect tenant payable expenses using Landlord Studio, you need to first have Online Rent Collection enabled for this property. You can do this when you create the lease or by editing an existing lease.
Step 2: Create a new expense
To create a new tenant payable expense navigate to the relevant property.
Go to the expense section and select "Add New Expense" to create a new expense.
Make sure to enter all the details such as the expense date and amount.
Step 3: Select “Payable by Tenant”
At the bottom of the new expense page, you will see an option to make the expense Payable By Tenant. Select "Yes" to tell the system that this is a tenant payable expense.
Step 4: Select “Not Paid”
Make sure that the expense is marked as not paid. Marking it as paid will tell the system that no money is owed and no invoice will be issued to the tenant.
Step 5: Email invoice to the tenant
You will need to invoice your tenant to ensure they are aware of how much, when, and how they are to pay. You can use the email invoice function to easily notify your tenant of the amount, the date the payment is due, and the expected method of payment.
To make it clear that you want your tenant to pay via ACH transfer update the existing template before sending. You can copy and paste the following text into the email draft:
"To review and pay this expense please log into the Landlord Studio tenant portal at https://tenant.landlordstudio.com/ using your username and password."
You may also want to follow up with your tenant to make sure they have received the email invoice and are clear on how you'd like them to pay (especially if this is the first time they're using this system).
What does the tenant need to do once they receive the invoice?
Step 1: Tenant logs into the tenant portal
When you enabled Online Rent Collection rent payments your tenants will have needed to create an account on our tenant portal.
The first thing the tenant needs to do to pay an expense using our Online Rent Collection transfer system is log into the tenant portal using their current account login details. This can be done here: https://tenant.landlordstudio.com/
The email invoice they receive will have a link directing them to the tenant portal.
Step 2: Review expense
In the tenant portal, they will be able to review all their current owed expenses and any upcoming and historical rent payments.
Step 3: Select “Pay”
Tenants will need to locate the unpaid tenant payable expense which will be at the top of the page. Selecting “Pay” will open up a review of the expense and ask them to confirm the payment.
Step 4: Select the date to initiate payment.
By default, the date for the payment will be set for today. However, tenants can select the date for the payment to be withdrawn from their bank account. If you need the tenant to pay before a specific date make sure to let them know.
Step 5: Hit “Pay”
Once they’ve reviewed they simply need to hit pay. The amount due will be withdrawn from their account and transferred securely into yours.
Collecting Tenant Payable Expenses via Online Rent Collection FAQs
How long do tenant payable expense payments take to process?
As with all Online Rent Collection transactions, payments will take 3-5 working days to process, clear, and be received into your account.
How much do tenant payable expense payments cost?
Online Rent Collection transactions are charged depending on the plan you are on. We will automatically subtract the fee from the payment amount and log it as a separate expense in the system for you.
Can I pass on ACH fees to the tenant for tenant payable expenses?
If you selected for the tenant to pay ACH processing fees when you enabled online rent collection they will also be assigned to pay the ACH convenience fee when making payments for tenant payable expenses via the Landlord Studio system.
Tenants are charged a flat rate of $2.50 per transaction.
What happens once the payment has been initiated?
Once the transaction is complete the transaction will be marked as paid in the system and show as paid in the tenant portal.
You will receive an email notification from our payment provider Dwolla on completion of the transaction.
Can I send/email a receipt to my tenant?
You can use the existing email receipt system to generate a receipt of payment to send to your tenant once the payment has been completed.
What if my tenant pays the expense using a different system?
If you issue the invoice using our system, but your tenant chooses to pay using an alternative system such as via cash or a cash app, simply mark the expense as paid. This will change the status in the tenant portal as well to ensure the tenant does not double pay for an expense.
To mark a tenant payable expense as paid in the system:
Navigate to the relevant property
Select the expense you wish to edit.
Scroll down
Where it says “Paid?” change the selected option to “Yes”
Hit save.
You will now see an option to email a receipt of payment to your tenant to confirm you have received and logged the payment in the system.
Can tenants view the expense receipt/attachment?
Yes, if you have uploaded a receipt or attachement to the expense, your tenant can download and view the attachment by logging into the tenant portal and finding it next to the expense.
