Payment Processing

Collections Simplified

By Erica Rascón on Feb 10, 2015 in News

For managers, collections can be the most tedious part of the job. Skips, delinquencies, bounced checks, NSF alerts—there are few pleasantries surrounding the process. Fortunately, there are several tools in place to streamline collections, resulting in hands-free, automatic transactions. Say goodbye to the antiquated practice of depositing checks and say hello to the digital future of collections.

Property managers have several options when selecting a check-free payment system, each with unique benefits and challenges. Many properties have the best success by offering a combination of payment options from which residents can choose.

Rent from Payroll An NAA Education Conference and Exposition study suggests that rent from payroll can decrease delinquencies and rent-related evictions by 77 percent. For managers, withdrawing rent directly from payroll assures that rent funds won’t become discretionary income for renters. The process also minimizes human error and complications during the transaction.

While those points may be enough motivation to explore this option, the benefits don’t stop there. For residents, rent from payroll can take the place of traditional credit qualifications. Some properties use rent from payroll in lieu of a cash deposit, which is appealing to many renters since cash can be tight during relocation periods.

The downside is that some renters will not want to enroll. 65 percent of the time, rent from payroll holds 74 percent of the next month’s rent, reports Units Magazine. Not having access to those funds could be a deterrent for renters.

Automated Clearing House (ACH) More than 22 billion ACH transactions are completed each year, making it one of the most popular options for electronic bill payments.

As with rent from payroll, you’re still eliminating the human-to-payment interaction, decreasing the margin of human error and freeing up time for onsite staff. The greatest difference is that rents are withdrawn directly from residents’ bank accounts or from a credit card. With an ACH, residents can set up a reoccurring system that makes payments of the same amount on the same day each month. This is ideal, as the consistency promotes timely, complete payments.

Renters can make ACH transactions on a month-to-month basis. This makes them less dependable than rent from payroll or scheduled ACHs but they are still less expensive and time consuming than cashing paper checks from a manager’s perspective.

Payments by Text Paying by text message is one of the newest payment options, permitting residents to text a code to a designated number and initiate an ACH from a pre-established account. This method is growing in popularity, particularly among Millennials and other tech-savvy renters. For managers, the benefits are comparable to month-by-month online payments since payments via SMS texts cannot be scheduled in advance.

Yardi’s full suite of Payment Processing includes online ACH payments as well as SMS text messaging, offering a package of payment options that are efficient for onsite staff and convenient for residents.

Automatic Check Processing For those tenants who aren’t ready to abandon their checkbooks, managers can still save time and money by using CHECKscan. CHECKscan offers an instant, easy way to process checks. Scan up to 50 checks at a time, instantly convert them into electronic transactions, and auto-match payments to the residents’ general ledger. You receive payments by EFT the next day. This is a great option for traditional renters who may find online and text services confusing.

Walk-in Payments Another option for residents who want to pay in cash is Yardi’s Walk in Payment System (WIPS™). Accepting cash has been phased out by many owners and managers, but for some residents, it is still the preferred or convenient method of payment. Residents can pay in cash at participating retail partners and the transaction is posted to your Yardi Voyager system the next day. Funds are made available within 3 business days.

“With WIPS, our residents can pay their rent at retail locations across town using a variety of payment types. WIPS is not only convenient for residents, but also a big time saver for our property managers,” said Alex Ruiz of Picerne Real Estate Group. His company is adopting the system at 35 properties in the Southeastern U.S.

Which combination of payment options works best for your properties?