Set Up Rent Payments Online | RentMouse

Enable secure online rent payments in five steps: connect Stripe, complete know-your-business checks, link Plaid for tenant verification, configure payment rails, and run a live transaction test before inviting residents. Finish with a launch checklist that keeps payouts compliant and invoices up to date.

At a Glance#

Who it’s for: Portfolio owners and finance admins enabling RentMouse Payments in the US or Canada.
Time to complete: 25–35 minutes, including identity verification and bank micro-deposits where required.
Prerequisites: Owner-level access, EIN or BN, business address, government-issued ID, bank account routing and account numbers, and at least one active property with invoicing enabled.

What You Can Do#

Create a Stripe Connect account tailored to landlord payouts with automated compliance updates.
Link Plaid tenant verification to reduce payment failures and ACH disputes.
Configure ACH, debit, credit card, and autopay defaults for each unit.
Map payout schedules, deposit accounts, and notification rules across organizations.
Validate the checkout flow end-to-end before inviting tenants to pay online.

Before You Begin#

Permissions: Only owners and users with the finance.admin role can connect payouts. Stripe requires the account opener to provide identity verification.
Plan requirements: Starter tier or higher is required for ACH and card processing. Free tier must upgrade before enabling online payments.
Regional nuances: US payouts default to USD with next-business-day deposits; CA payouts settle in CAD with 2–3 day clearing. Canadian landlords must supply CRA business numbers.
Compliance checklist: Have digital copies of incorporation documents and photo ID ready in case Stripe requests manual review. Verify that your RentMouse organization address matches tax records to prevent delays.

Step-by-Step#

Breadcrumb: Dashboard ▸ Financial Setup ▸ Payments

Initiate payments onboarding
Sign in as an owner, open Dashboard ▸ Financial Setup ▸ Payments, and click Get started. Review the processing fee summary, agree to the RentMouse Payments Terms, and press Continue to launch the guided wizard.

Breadcrumb: Payments ▸ Stripe Connect

Create or link your Stripe Connect account
Choose Create new account unless you already manage RentMouse payouts. Provide legal business name, EIN/BN, industry code, and business address. Upload verification documents if prompted, then submit. Stripe confirms instantly or flags documents for manual review (most take under 10 minutes).

Breadcrumb: Payments ▸ Bank Accounts

Add payout bank account
Select Add bank, choose instant Plaid verification where available, or enter routing and account numbers manually. If manual, expect two micro-deposits in 1–2 business days; log back in to confirm amounts under Payments ▸ Bank Accounts.

Breadcrumb: Payments ▸ Payment Methods

Configure accepted payment methods
Toggle ACH, debit, and credit card acceptance. Set default auto-pay status (recommended: enabled for ACH) and choose whether to pass card convenience fees to tenants. Save the configuration to apply across all units.

Breadcrumb: Payments ▸ Checkout Test

Run the tenant checkout test
Click Launch test checkout, select a sample unit, generate a $5 test invoice, and complete payment using Stripe test credentials. Confirm the receipt email, verify the transaction appears under Payments ▸ Activity, and mark the test as completed.

Breadcrumb: Payments ▸ Launch Checklist

Finalize launch checklist
Complete the final checklist: connect Plaid tenant verification, enable invoice reminders, update terms in tenant communications, and click Mark as live. RentMouse now surfaces tenant payment buttons and autopay prompts.

Understanding Fees & Pricing#

Before going live, review RentMouse's transparent fee structure:

Current Phase: We're in acquisition mode with 0% platform fees — you only pay processing fees at cost.
Founding Members: Sign up before January 1, 2026 to lock in 0.25% platform fee forever.
Fee Calculator: Navigate to Payments ▸ Fee Calculator to see exact costs for any rent amount.
Transparent Receipts: All payments show complete fee breakdowns to tenants before checkout.

Processing Fees (at cost, no markup):

ACH/Bank Transfer: 0.8% capped at $5 per transaction
Credit/Debit Cards: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction

💡 Tip: Encourage tenants to use ACH payments to minimize fees.

Learn More: See Understanding Fees & Pricing and Fee Calculator Guide

Launch Checklist#

Review fee structure: Use the fee calculator at Payments ▸ Fee Calculator to understand costs.
Check founding status: Verify your founding member eligibility before January 1, 2026.
Connect tenant verification: Follow /help/finance-connect to enable Plaid identity checks so ACH accounts are tokenized securely.
Sync invoice templates: Use /help/manage-rent-invoices to ensure recurring invoices are active and mapped to the correct unit ledger.
Publish tenant guidance: Share /help/pay-rent-online and /help/tenant-autopay to walk residents through the new experience.
Update portal links: Revisit /help/share-tenant-portal-links so residents land on your branded payment page.
Monitor deposit schedule: Set weekly alerts in Stripe to confirm payouts and reconcile with /help/track-rental-reporting.

Screenshots & Media#

rm-payments-overview-step1-v1.png — Alt: “RentMouse Payments overview with Get started button”; Title: “Launch payments onboarding”; Description: Capture the Payments overview card and fee summary using demo data; Caption: “Start the wizard from the Financial Setup dashboard to activate payments.”
rm-payments-stripe-form-step2-v1.png — Alt: “Stripe Connect business details form showing legal name, EIN fields”; Title: “Stripe Connect onboarding form”; Description: Show the embedded Stripe KYC form with sample landlord LLC data; Caption: “Submit legal business details to pass automated KYC.”
rm-payments-bank-link-step3-v1.png — Alt: “Add bank account dialog with Plaid instant verification option”; Title: “Add payout bank”; Description: Highlight Plaid instant verification alongside manual entry fields; Caption: “Link your payout account via Plaid or manual routing entry.”
rm-payments-methods-step4-v1.png — Alt: “Payment methods screen with ACH, debit, credit toggles”; Title: “Configure payment rails”; Description: Display toggles for ACH, debit, credit, and autopay defaults; Caption: “Choose which payment methods tenants can use and auto-pay defaults.”
rm-payments-test-checkout-step5-v1.png — Alt: “Test checkout modal showing $5 invoice and Stripe card fields”; Title: “Test tenant checkout”; Description: Use Stripe test card to demonstrate the confirmation flow; Caption: “Complete a $5 test payment to verify checkout end-to-end.”
rm-payments-activity-step5b-v1.png — Alt: “Payments activity list showing successful test transaction”; Title: “Review payment activity”; Description: Show the processed test payment with status Success; Caption: “Verify the payment posts to activity before going live.”
rm-payments-launch-checklist-step6-v1.png — Alt: “Launch checklist with connect Plaid, enable reminders, mark live actions”; Title: “Finalize launch checklist”; Description: Capture the checklist modal with completed tasks; Caption: “Mark each task complete to expose payment buttons to tenants.”

Troubleshooting#

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
Stripe verification pending for >24h	Additional document review required	Upload clearer documentation under `Payments ▸ Stripe account`, or contact Stripe support using the case ID shown in the wizard.
ACH toggle disabled	Bank account not verified or plan below Starter	Confirm micro-deposit amounts if manual entry, ensure plan is Starter+, then refresh the wizard.
Tenants see “Payments offline” banner	Launch checklist incomplete or autopay disabled globally	Finish the checklist and mark Go live; verify autopay defaults under payment methods.
Credit card fees not applied	Pass-through fee option disabled	Reopen payment methods, enable Pass fees to tenants, and save; reminder that Canadian provinces may restrict surcharge percentages.
Test payment fails with `card_declined`	Using live card in test environment	Use Stripe test credentials (`4242 4242 4242 4242`) and ensure the environment toggle is set to Test.

FAQ#

Can multiple organizations share one Stripe account?
Each RentMouse organization receives a dedicated Stripe Connect account. If you manage multiple portfolios, complete onboarding for each to keep payouts segmented.

Do tenants need Plaid to pay rent?
No. Plaid is optional but recommended for ACH. Tenants can still add bank details manually or pay with cards when enabled.

How quickly are payouts deposited?
ACH payouts usually reach your bank in 1–2 business days after Stripe processes payments. Card payouts settle in 2 business days. Holidays may extend timelines.

Can I charge convenience fees for cards?
Yes, toggle Pass fees to tenants. Verify state or provincial surcharge rules—some regions cap percentages or require disclosure in the lease.

What if my business operates under an LLC with a DBA?
Enter the legal LLC name during onboarding. Add the DBA in the public business name field so tenants see the familiar label on receipts.

How do I reconcile payouts with my ledger?
Export payout summaries from Stripe weekly and map them to RentMouse ledger reports using /help/track-rental-reporting. Ensure invoices have unique IDs for clean matching.

Security & Privacy Notes#

Stripe handles all sensitive card and bank data; RentMouse stores only tokenized identifiers.
All ACH and card transactions comply with NACHA and PCI-DSS requirements. RentMouse never stores raw account numbers.
Plaid tokens are scoped to tenants and cannot be reused across organizations.
Audit logs capture changes to payment methods, fee pass-through settings, and payout bank accounts.
The payments_platform_v3 feature flag must remain enabled to access the new launch checklist and Stripe Connect integration.

Version & Region#

Feature flag: payments_platform_v3
Last verified build: RentMouse web 2025.10.28
Last verified date: 2025-11-01
Supported regions: United States (USD), Canada (CAD)

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