Automate and simplify your rent collection with Stessa Rent Pay. Skip the hassles of checks, Zelle, Venmo, and PayPal. With Stessa, tenants pay the right amount at the right time—and everything is tracked automatically in one place
Step 1: Set Up a Stessa Cash Management Account
Before you can collect rent through Stessa, you'll need a Stessa Cash Management account. This is a free checking account used to receive rent payments directly from your tenants.
You can open an account online in your personal name or under a property ownership entity (LLC, partnership, etc.).
To get started:
Log in to your Stessa account.
Go to the Cash Management page.
Complete the application (some are approved instantly; others may require additional documentation).
For more info, visit: Stessa Cash Management Accounts FAQ
Step 2: Enable Rent Collection
Enabling Rent Collection for a New Tenant
Once your Cash Management account is set up:
Go to the Properties tab and select the Property
Click the Leases tab
Click Add New Lease
Complete the set up flow for adding a new tenant.
The final step up the lease set up will be rent collection. Once you reach this step you can select to collect rent with Stessa.
Once this is complete, the tenant will receive an email invitation to create their resident account and set up rent pay.
Enabling Rent Collection for an Existing Tenant
Once your Cash Management account is set up:
Go to the Rent Collection tab
Locate the tenant you would like to enable rent collection for
Under the Stessa Rent Pay column, click the pencil icon
Choose to collect rent with Stessa and complete the necessary steps.
Once this is complete, the tenant will receive an email invitation to create their resident account and set up rent pay.
Tip: Review and update the tenant ledger before enabling rent collection for an existing tenant—this will determine the starting balance due.
Step 3: Tenant Acceptance and Rent Pay Set Up
Once you have enabled rent collection for a tenant, they will automatically receive an email invitation.
If your tenant can’t find the invite, have them check their spam/junk folders for “Stessa Rent Pay.”
Confirm you’ve entered the correct email address on file.- If emails are still not received after confirming, verify the email address with the tenant directly.
Email link expired?
Links expire after 5 days.
Tenants can still click the “Get Started” button in the expired email to generate a new login link
Collecting Rent for the First Time
Tenant setup process:
Tenant connects a checking or savings account via Plaid.
They can then make payments via ACH (no fees for one-time payments).
You’ll receive funds in your Stessa checking account within 3–5 business days.
Tenants can get help anytime by clicking the blue chat icon at the bottom right of the screen.
Ongoing Rent Collection Process
Tenants receive a reminder email 10 days before rent is due.
Another reminder is sent on the due date with the current balance and payment link.
Tenants cannot pay earlier than 10 days before the due date.
Important Notes About Tenant Payment Methods
Payment Method | Supported? | Notes |
ACH (bank transfer) | Yes | No fees for one-time payments |
Credit Cards | No | Not yet supported |
Paper Checks | Yes | Via mobile app only |
Bank Connection Updates
If your tenant’s bank connection expires or breaks:
They should visit https://resident.stessa.com
Follow the prompts to refresh, remove, or add a new bank connection.
Timeline for ACH Payments
Rent payments via ACH can take up to 5 business days after initiation to post to your account. Transfer requests made after the cut-off time of 3:00 PM ET, or on a non-business day, will be considered initiated the following business day. Business days are Monday–Friday, excluding holidays. You can track progress on the Transactions page, where incoming funds will show as "Pending" until they clear. Once rent payments are collected in your Stessa Cash Management account, you'll need to manually transfer these funds to your personal or business bank account:
Log in to your Stessa dashboard.
Navigate to your Cash Management account.
Initiate a transfer to your linked external account. Note: The manual transfer step provides additional security and allows you to review deposits before moving funds.
Example 1:
Tenant pays rent on Tuesday at 10:00 AM ET.
→ Payment is initiated Tuesday (Day 0).
→ Funds arrive by the following Monday.
Example 2:
Tenant pays rent on Friday at 7:00 PM ET (after cutoff).
→ Processing starts Monday (Day 0).
→ Funds arrive by Friday.
If there’s a federal holiday during the week, expect a delay of at least one additional business day.
Tip: If you prefer to receive your rent on the 1st of the month, you may want to direct your tenant to complete payment well before the 1st of each month, based on the 10-day "heads up" email that Stessa sends automatically each month.
Declined or Missing Payments
If a payment fails:
Tenant receives an email notification.
Stessa does not retry the payment automatically.
Tenant must resolve the issue (e.g., insufficient funds, closed account) and submit a new payment.
Encourage tenants to communicate promptly and reinitiate payment after resolving banking issues.
Partial Payments
Yes! Tenants can pay a portion of the rent amount:
Enter the desired amount in the payment portal.
Click “Submit Payment.”
Incorrect Balance?
If a tenant sees the wrong balance:
Review the tenant ledger by visiting the Rent Collection tab and clicking on the tenant
On the Ledger & Charges tab edit the balance.
The updated balance will appear next time the tenant logs in.