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 for a Tenant

Once your Cash Management account is set up:

Go to the Leases & Tenants page.
Click on the tenant/unit you'd like to enable for rent collection.
Confirm the tenant's name and email address are accurate.
Click “Enable Rent Collection” at the top right of the tenant ledger (next to “Current Balance”).

Tip: Review and update the tenant ledger before enabling rent collection—this will determine the starting balance due.

Step 3: Invite Your Tenant to Use Stessa Rent Pay

Rent Pay is available to tenants by email invitation only.

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.

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://tenant.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.

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.