Top 8 Rent Collection Apps for Landlords in 2024

Managing rental properties can be difficult and time-consuming. It comes with several responsibilities that require a lot of organization and patience. Among all these tasks, one of the toughest is collecting rent and ensuring everyone pays on time.

Doing this every month can become a hassle, especially if you rely on traditional methods like cash and cheques. This approach can lead to confusion, delays, and even disputes. Fortunately, property managers and landlords can tackle these issues by using online payment methods that simplify the process.

In this blog, we will explore the top eight rent collection apps available for landlords in 2024. We’ll also discuss what makes a good rent collection app and the benefits of using one.

The 8 Best Online Rent Collection Apps 

Here's a list of the top eight rent collection apps to help you choose the best one for your needs:

1. Crib

Crib is a comprehensive property management software designed to support landlords every step of the way. It streamlines the entire rental process, from move-in to move-out, so that you can focus on building strong tenant relationships and maximising your property's potential. 

It caters to various portfolios, including residential properties, student housing, co-living facilities, co-working spaces, and PG hostels.

One of Crib's notable features is its online payment system, which fully automates rent collection. With options for multiple payment methods and smart banking features, Crib makes it easy for tenants to pay on time while keeping you in control of all transactions.

Here’s a look at some of its standout features:

• Automated Rent Reminders: Crib sends timely reminders to tenants about upcoming rent due dates via WhatsApp and SMS. Each reminder includes a convenient payment link, making it easy for tenants to pay with just a few taps.

• Automatic Rent Collection: With Crib, you can automate the collection of rent payments. This means no more chasing tenants or dealing with late checks - rent simply arrives in your account on time, every time.

• Real-Time Payment Tracking: Crib allows you to monitor payments as they come in, giving you instant updates on your rent collection. This feature ensures accuracy in your accounts by eliminating manual errors.

• Multiple Payment Options: Let your tenants pay rent their way. Crib accepts all popular payment methods, including UPI, bank transfers, credit cards, and debit cards. It charges a transaction fee of 1.8% plus GST for credit card payments.

• Smart Banking Integration: With Crib's advanced banking options, you can effortlessly collect rent from multiple banks. The app also offers instant settlements for quick access to funds and automatic reconciliation for hassle-free transaction tracking.

• Automatic Late Fees: Crib automatically adds late payment charges when rent is overdue, helping you discourage late payments and maintain a healthy cash flow.

• Tenant Portal: Crib features a user-friendly tenant portal that allows tenants to pay their rent quickly and conveniently.

• Automated Invoicing: Crib automatically creates branded, error-free invoices for all rent payments. It ensures accurate calculations and sends them to tenants with built-in tax compliance.

• Powerful Integrations: Crib integrates with accounting software like Tally, QuickBooks, and Zoho, making financial management more effortless.

Crib also provides detailed financial reports for better insight into your earnings. It ensures that all your transactions are secure with industry-grade encryption and authentication. After all, it’s about safeguarding your money.

While the rent collection features alone are impressive, Crib goes a hundred steps further and provides an entire ecosystem of powerful tools designed to make property management a breeze, including tenant screening, maintenance request tracking, and automated rental agreement creation. This makes it ideal for property managers who are looking for a fully integrated platform.

Pricing for Landlords: Crib offers customised pricing tailored to your specific needs. To receive a suitable quote, you can get in touch with our experts. 

2. Buildium

Buildium is a cloud-based property management software that’s designed to make life easier for property managers and landlords. Since its launch in 2004, Buildium has helped property managers oversee a wide range of properties, from single-family homes to multi-family units and community associations. 

With tools to manage everything from accounting and tenant communication to maintenance and marketing, Buildium offers an all-in-one solution for property management.

Features:

• With Buildium, payment processing time is cut by up to 70%,

• Landlords can set up automatic rent payments and also accept one-time payments.

• The user-friendly Resident Center app allows tenants to make rent payments and track their requests seamlessly, enhancing their overall experience.

• Payments are generally transferred within the same day. However, processing times can vary.

• Buildium offers automated payment tracking, which simplifies rent management and improves financial visibility.

• Buildium allows rent payments via credit card, with a 2.95% processing fee.

Pricing for Landlords: Buildium provides three pricing tiers: the Essential plan begins at $50 per month, the Growth plan at $160 per month, and the Premium plan at $460 per month.

3. TenantCloud

TenantCloud is an online property management platform that provides personal portals for landlords, tenants, and service professionals. This makes it easier for everyone to communicate and manage tasks.

It was founded in 2014 and includes several standard property management features, including lease management, tenant screening, and property listing. TenantCloud is ideal for smaller property managers who want to start with basic features and add more as they grow. 

Features:

• Using TenantCloud, landlords can allow partial rent payments before the due date, making it easier to handle different payment situations.

• Landlords can set late fees for overdue rent and send automated reminders to encourage timely payments.

• Tenants can set up recurring payments through Auto Pay, ensuring their rent is automatically deducted each month.

• Tenants have round-the-clock access to their payment history and can view receipts anytime.

• Landlords can compare their listings with similar properties nearby and access rent trend reports to stay competitive.

• TenantCloud's Roommate feature makes managing shared rentals easy. It allows you to verify each roommate and collect their payments individually.

Pricing for Landlords: TenantCloud provides four pricing plans. The Starter plan starts at $17 per month, the Growth plan is available for $32 per month, and the Pro plan costs $55 per month. (billed annually). 

For those needing more extensive options, the Business plan is customisable, and you can reach out to them directly for pricing information. 

4. NoBroker

Started in 2014, NoBroker is a brokerage-free real estate platform that removes intermediaries from property transactions. It lets users buy, sell, and rent properties directly without requiring any middlemen. With its innovative NoBroker Pay feature, tenants can pay their rent directly through the app. 

Features:

• The rent payment is credited to landlords within two working days.

• NoBroker offers instalment options. This means tenants can pay in smaller parts, helping them balance cash flow without stress.

• Using NoBroker Pay, tenants can also pay for their other expenses, including security deposits, token charges and maintenance fees.

• It supports major credit cards, such as Visa and Mastercard, as well as other payment options, including debit cards and UPI.

• A fee of 1% plus GST is charged for credit card payments per transaction.

Pricing: Users are charged a small fee when making payments through NoBroker Pay. This fee is shown on the payment page and added to the total before finalising the transaction.

5. Innago

Innago is a user-friendly property management platform designed to simplify the rental process for landlords. It offers tools for online rent collection and payment tracking without any monthly subscription fees, making it a great choice for those looking for an affordable solution.

While Innago may not be suitable for larger property management firms with more complex needs, its free pricing model is perfect for landlords with smaller portfolios and limited budgets.

Features:

• Landlords can set up automated rent payments and late fee enforcement to ensure timely collections.

• Tenants receive automatic e-mail reminders and notifications when rent is due. A "Pay Now" button in the reminder email makes it easy for tenants to make payments with just a click.

• Landlords can customise billing frequencies to charge tenants monthly, weekly, or at any other interval they choose.

• Payments are typically available within one business day.

• Innago provides clear and straightforward reports that help landlords gain insights into their financials.

• Currently, Innago does not provide an option for tenants to report or confirm their rent payments.

Pricing for Landlords: Innago is free for property managers and landlords. However, landlords must pay for certain tenant verification processes, and tenants are responsible for processing fees on payments.

6. TheHouseMonk

TheHouseMonk is a property management platform designed specifically for large-scale residential properties, co-living communities, and student housing projects. It provides a centralised solution for managing all aspects of property operations, including work order management, tenant communication, and lease management. It was started in 2018.

Features:

• TheHouseMonk allows you to automate bulk invoicing, ensuring timely rent collection from all tenants.

• It offers integration with Razorpay, which provides a variety of payment options such as credit and debit cards, net banking, EMIs, digital wallets, and UPI.

• Landlords can conveniently monitor and reconcile rent payments with the platform’s advanced accounting features.

• The platform includes a landlord dashboard that helps manage payment disbursements and maintain transparency between multiple landlords.

Pricing for Landlords: TheHouseMonk provides four pricing plans: Core, Ops, Circles, and Grow. The Core plan begins at ₹8,200 per month, with costs that adjust based on your specific business requirements.

While the apps mentioned above come with a variety of property management features, here are two that focus exclusively on payment collection.

7. RedGiraffe

RedGiraffe is a popular rent payment app in the real estate and rental market. It was one of the first platforms to offer this service in India.

Features:

• The app automatically generates rent receipts for each transaction.

• Payments typically take 2-3 days to reflect in the property owner’s account.

• RedGiraffe offers a user-friendly dashboard so that you can keep track of your transactions and manage your finances easily.

• The app connects with various banks, providing flexibility in how you manage payments.

• When tenants use their debit cards for rent payments, they earn 3.5% of their total monthly amount as RedGiraffe CASH Points, with a maximum value of ₹3,000 per month. If they use a credit card, they earn 5% of their total monthly amount instead.

• RedGiraffe charges a minimal fee of 0.39% on credit card transactions.

Pricing: Tenants are required to pay a transaction charge of 0.39% for each transaction, along with applicable GST.

8. ePayRent 

Launched in 2020, ePayRent is a convenient online payment platform designed to simplify rent payments for tenants and landlords alike. With its user-friendly interface, ePayRent allows tenants to pay their rent securely and on time, offering various payment options to suit their needs. They can also clear other payments like utility bills, maintenance fees, and deposits.

• ePayRent easily adapts to different property types, providing tailored solutions for all landlords.

• For every successful payment,ePayRent automatically generates a rent receipt, helping landlords track payments and maintain accurate records. 

• Landlords can send payment requests and reminders to tenants, ensuring they stay on top of their payments and avoid late fees.

• Landlords can create and send personalised invoices easily to maintain organisation.

• For credit card payments, there is a transaction fee of 1.99%.

• The platform automatically generates reports and monthly or yearly statements so landlords can track their finances and assess the performance of their rental properties.

ePayRent is exclusively a payment platform focused on offering assistance to property managers, landlords, and individuals nationwide.

Pricing: Users are charged a fee based on each transaction, which is clearly stated on the payment page and included in the total amount when making a payment.

There you have it - our carefully selected list of the top rental payment apps to make your life easier. We've laid out the best options; now it's your turn to pick the one that fits your style.

With these options in mind, let's discuss the reasons why you should opt for online rent collection solutions.

Why Should You Use an Online Rent Collection App?

Here are a few benefits of using online rent collection apps:

• Simplifies the payment process, making it easy for tenants to pay rent online and reducing the hassle of cash or checks.

• Helps you maintain a healthy cash flow with features like automated rent reminders.

• Promotes transparency by providing both landlords and tenants with access to payment histories and records.

• Offers secure transactions to protect sensitive financial information.

• Saves time and reduces errors by automating repetitive tasks.

• Makes tax season easier by keeping all your rental income records in one organised place. 

What Features Should You Look for in Top Rent Collection Apps?

When you are choosing a rent collection app, it's essential to consider features that make the process easier for both landlords and tenants. Here are some key features to look for:

1. Automated Recurring Payments

Look for an app that allows automated recurring payments. This feature ensures that rent is collected on time each month without the need for manual intervention, making the payment process convenient for both landlords and tenants.

2. Multiple Payment Methods

Choose an app that supports various payment methods, such as debit cards, credit cards, and bank transfers. This flexibility allows tenants to pay in the way that suits them best, increasing the likelihood of on-time payments.

3. Rent Payment History Tracking

An effective app should provide a way to track rent payment history. This feature allows landlords to monitor payments easily and helps tenants keep records for their financial planning. It also promotes transparency, as both landlords and tenants can easily access the data in case of any disputes.

4. Mobile Payments

In today's world, people prefer the convenience of smartphones, which allow them to manage transactions from anywhere at any time. Your rent collection app should offer mobile payment options so that tenants can pay their rent directly from their devices. 

Ideally, it should also come with a dedicated mobile app. This will offer your tenants a more complete and professional experience.

5. Integration with Accounting Tools

Look for a rent collection app that integrates smoothly with your favourite accounting tools. This integration offers several advantages. First, it will eliminate the need for tedious manual data entry by automatically syncing your payment and expense information. 

Second, having everything in one place simplifies report generation and helps you organise your finances. Finally, it reduces the risk of errors that often come from manual entries, giving you greater confidence in your financial records.

6. Control Over Partial Payments

It’s important to have the ability to block partial payments if you prefer full rent payments. This feature ensures that landlords receive the total amount due without any confusion.

7. Security

Above all, security should be a top concern when selecting a rent collection app. A reliable platform must have strong measures in place to protect sensitive financial information and prevent unauthorised access. 

Look for features like encryption and secure payment gateways to ensure that your data remains safe. Prioritising security not only safeguards your information but also builds trust with your tenants, giving them peace of mind when making payments. 

8. Automated Late Fees and Payment Reminders

Look for an app that automates late fees and sends reminders for upcoming rent due dates. This helps landlords encourage timely payments while reducing the need for manual follow-ups.

Effortless Rent Collection Starts with Crib

Collecting rent should be simple, and with Crib, it is! The platform has taken all the time-consuming parts out of the process and left you with a user-friendly platform that keeps everything organised and efficient. 

Quick transfers, instant receipts, and zero confusion - that's what Crib is all about.

Book a demo today to experience what hassle-free payments look like!