What Is Stessa Rent Collection?
Stessa Rent Collection makes it easy to collect rent online from your residents. Payments are reliable, tracked automatically, and eliminate the need for checks, Zelle, Venmo, or PayPal. There are no landlord fees for using Stessa Rent Collection. Fees (detailed below) may apply to residents.
First, decide where rent payments should be deposited:
Option 1: Stessa Cash Management account
Option 2: Your own external bank account
Step 1: Choose How You Want to Receive Rent
Option 1: Stessa Cash Management Account
Open a free Stessa deposit account (or open multiple accounts if you like).
Rent payments are deposited into this account.
Landlords never pay fees.
Residents can pay by ACH, credit card, or debit card.
ACH into Cash Management = no convenience fees for tenants!
You can then transfer funds to your external bank account if you wish.
Cash Management accounts don’t require initial funding before collecting rent payments, so you can request and receive rent immediately after setup.
Funds deposited into the Cash Management account can be transferred to a linked personal or business bank account for added flexibility.
Option 2: Your Own External Bank Account
Rent payments go directly into your existing U.S. bank account.
Residents can pay by ACH, credit card, or debit card (convenience fees apply).
Landlords never pay fees.
External bank account requirements for rent collection:
U.S.-based checking account (personal or business)
SSN or EIN
Mailing address (no PO boxes), phone number, and email
Mobile phone for verification
Business info if using an LLC or company
For full details, see Collect Rent Using Your Bank Account.
Step 2: Enable Rent Collection for a Resident
For a new resident
Go to the Properties tab.
Select the property.
Click the Leases tab → Add New Lease.
Complete the lease setup flow.
In the rent collection step, choose your type of deposit account and follow the prompts to connect your account.
Once set up, the resident will receive an email invitation to set up their Resident Portal account.
For an existing resident
Go to the Rent Collection tab.
Find the resident.
Under Rent Collection, click the pencil icon.
Under Actions, enable rent collection and select your deposit option.
The resident will receive an email invitation to set up their Resident Portal account.
Tip: Review and update the resident ledger first. This sets the starting balance.
Step 3: Resident Setup
Residents automatically get an invite by email.
Residents are prompted to create an account in the Resident Portal.
If a resident can’t find their invite:
Have them check spam/junk for “Stessa Rent Collection.”
Confirm the email on file is correct.
Collecting Rent for the First Time
The resident chooses their payment method and can optionally set up autopay.
Payments can be made by ACH, credit card, or debit card (always free for landlords).
Ongoing Rent Collection
Residents get an email reminder 10 days before rent is due.
Another reminder is sent on the due date.
Residents can’t pay earlier than 10 days before the due date.
Reminders are automated and sent even if the rent is already paid, prepaid, or set to autopay.
Payment Methods
Payment Method | Who Pays Fees? | Notes |
ACH → Cash Management | No fees | Always free for landlord & resident |
ACH → External bank | Resident | $2 per transaction |
Credit Card | Resident | 3% per transaction |
Debit Card | Resident | 3% per transaction |
Bank Connection Updates
If a resident’s bank connection expires or breaks:
Send them to resident.stessa.com.
They can refresh, remove, or add a new connection.
Timeline for Payments
Account limits set by Stessa don’t affect incoming rent deposits. These limits only apply to transfers started from the Cash Management page using the transfer or wire buttons.
ACH: Up to 5 business days. The cutoff is 3 PM ET; after the cutoff, the timeline starts on the next business day.
Credit & debit card: Up to 2 business days. Some banks offer instant payments. In those cases, you’ll see “Instant Eligible” during setup.
Declined or Missing Payments
If a payment fails, the resident gets an email.
Stessa doesn’t retry automatically.
The resident must fix the issue (for example, insufficient funds or a closed account) and resubmit the payment.
Partial Payments
Residents can make partial payments by entering an amount in the portal and submitting it, as long as partial payments are enabled for their lease. Residents can’t pay more than their current balance.
How to Enable & Disable Partial Payments
Click Rent Collection in the left menu.
In the Rent Collection list, find the tenant you want to update. Use the search box if needed.
Click the tenant's name to open their rent details.
Choose the Summary tab at the top of the tenant details view.
On the Summary page, click Edit. A pop-up with lease options will appear.
In the pop-up, click Edit again next to Lease Details to open the lease form.
Scroll down in the Lease Details form until you see Partial Payments.
Use the toggle to turn Partial Payments ON (allow partial payments) or OFF (require full payment).
Click Save or Update Lease to apply the change.
You’ll return to the Summary page. Confirm the setting is updated.
Incorrect Balance?
Go to the Rent Collection tab.
Open the resident ledger → Ledger & Charges tab.
Edit the balance.
The updated balance appears the next time the resident logs in.
Switching Deposit Options
You can switch between a Cash Management account and your own external bank account at any time. Go to Lease → Rent Collection settings.
Accounting & Reporting
All payments, no matter the method, are tracked in Stessa:
Transactions update in real time.
Reporting and reconciliations work the same.
FAQs
Is rent collection free for landlords?
Yes. Landlords don’t pay fees for successful rent payments. Residents may pay convenience fees for certain payment methods.
What, if any, are the resident fees?
No fee for ACH payments into a Stessa Cash Management account.
Otherwise, residents pay convenience fees:
ACH: Up to $2 per transaction
Credit card: 3% per transaction
Debit card: 3% per transaction
Can residents pay by card?
Yes, residents can pay by debit or credit card. Convenience fees apply for the resident.
Can I use different banks for different leases?
Yes. You can link different external bank accounts to each lease if you like.
Do residents see a different payment experience depending on where I choose to have the funds deposited?
No. All residents can pay by bank transfer or card. The only difference is the convenience fee amount, depending on the payment method they choose.