Rental Payment Checklist

Pull the current month's rent roll from AppFolio, Buildium, or Yardi. Verify charges include base rent, pet rent, parking, utility reimbursements, and any active payment plans. Spot-check three units for accuracy before posting charges to ledgers.

Confirm prorations for any mid-month move-ins, concessions on new leases, and renewal rent bumps that take effect this cycle. Catching a missed renewal increase here is much cheaper than back-billing later.

Email and text the rent-due reminder with the exact amount due, due date, accepted payment methods per the lease, and the tenant portal link. Reminders measurably reduce late payments and serve as a paper trail if collections become contested.

Confirm the name on the check or ACH matches a tenant on the lease. Accepting payment from a non-leaseholder (boyfriend, parent, roommate not on the lease) can create an implied tenancy that complicates eviction later. If the payor is a third party, document the payment as on behalf of the named tenant.

Compare the payment to the open balance including base rent, late fees, and prior-period charges. Partial payments may waive eviction rights in some states (notably CA, NY, MA) — check your state rule before accepting anything less than full balance during a cure period.

Stamp 'For Deposit Only' with the operating account number before scanning into remote deposit. Photograph the front and back, attach to the tenant ledger entry, and store the physical check in the locked drawer until the 30-day clearing window passes.

Apply payment in the order specified by the lease — typically late fees first, then oldest balance, then current rent. Misapplying payment order can leave current rent unpaid on paper while late fees show satisfied, which complicates any subsequent pay-or-quit notice.

Some states (MD, NY, MA) require a written receipt for cash payments on request or by default. The portal-generated receipt satisfies most state requirements; for cash, hand-write a numbered receipt and retain the carbon.

Apply only after the lease grace period expires (typically 3-5 days). Several states cap late fees as a percentage of rent (CA: reasonable estimate of damages; TX: 12% multifamily / 10% small properties). Charging above the cap or before grace expires can void the fee and weaken later eviction filings.

Itemize past-due rent, late fees, and the cure deadline. Use your state's pay-or-quit form verbatim if you intend the notice to support eviction (TX 3-day, CA 3-day, FL 3-day, NY 14-day). Generic 'past due' language does not satisfy statutory notice requirements in most jurisdictions.

If a check or ACH bounces, reverse the ledger entry, post the NSF fee allowed by the lease and state cap, and switch the tenant to certified funds only for the next 6-12 months per firm policy. Document the bank notice in the tenant file.

Hand off to the property manager or eviction attorney with the tenant ledger, served notice with proof of service, lease, and prior payment history. Decision point on whether to negotiate a payment plan, pursue eviction, or accept cash-for-keys.

State trust-account rules (CA DRE, TX TREC, FL FREC) require segregation of tenant funds from operating funds and prompt deposit — typically within 3 business days of receipt. Late deposits are a common audit finding for licensed brokers managing third-party properties.

Required within 15 days for any cash transaction or related transactions exceeding $10,000 in a 12-month period. Skipping triggers per-violation penalties and can be treated as willful non-filing for repeat omissions.

Match every line on the bank statement to a posted ledger entry. Variances usually trace to ACH return timing, misapplied payments between similarly-named tenants, or a payment posted to the wrong unit. Resolve before the owner statements run.

Run owner statements after reconciliation balances, hold management fees and any vendor invoices, and ACH the net draw to each owner. Include a delinquency note for any unit that did not pay so the owner sees the gap before they ask.