Frequently Asked Questions

RentRate is rent collection software built for property managers with 200–1,000 units. You sign up, add your properties and units, import tenants via CSV, and start collecting rent online. Tenants get a portal where they can pay rent with a credit card or bank transfer via Stripe. You get a dashboard showing who paid, who's late, and how much you've collected — across all properties in one view. Learn more about automated rent collection →

RentRate uses per-unit pricing starting at $1/unit/month. No setup fees, no annual contracts. A 500-unit portfolio costs approximately $750/mo — compared to $1,400+/mo on AppFolio or $460+/mo on Buildium. See full pricing details →

Setup takes under 10 minutes. Create an account, add your properties and units, then import your tenant list via CSV (supports up to 5,000 tenants per file). Tenants receive an invite link to set up their payment portal. No implementation team, no onboarding calls — just sign up and go.

RentRate is purpose-built for 200–1,000 unit property managers. Whether you manage a handful of multifamily buildings or a portfolio of single-family rentals, the platform scales with per-unit pricing. Smaller landlords (under 50 units) may find the per-unit model less cost-effective than flat-fee alternatives.

Yes — 3-day free trial, no credit card required. Sign up, import your tenants, and test everything before you pay. If RentRate isn't right for your portfolio, you can cancel without being charged. Start your free trial →

Tenants receive an invite link to create their portal account. From there, they can pay rent online via credit card or bank transfer (ACH), powered by Stripe. Payments are processed securely and recorded automatically in your dashboard. No checks to deposit, no cash to track. Read our guide to online rent collection →

Your dashboard shows real-time payment status for every unit: paid, upcoming, due today, or overdue. Overdue tenants are flagged automatically so you can follow up. RentRate tracks which tenants have paid each month and highlights the ones who haven't — no manual spreadsheet reconciliation needed.

Automated late fee assessment is on the roadmap for Q3 2026. Currently, you can track overdue payments in the dashboard and manually record late fee charges. The system clearly flags overdue tenants so nothing falls through the cracks.

RentRate supports credit cards, debit cards, and ACH bank transfers through our native Stripe integration. All major card networks (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover) are accepted. Stripe handles PCI compliance and security, so your tenants' payment data is always protected.

Payments are processed through Stripe with automatic daily payouts to your bank account. Standard Stripe payout timing applies — typically 2 business days for card payments and 3–5 business days for ACH. You'll see payment confirmations in your dashboard immediately.

Yes — unlimited properties under one account. Your dashboard shows a portfolio overview with per-property breakdowns: total units, occupancy rate, expected rent, collected rent, and payment status for every tenant. You can drill into any property to see unit-level details. See how RentRate compares to other PM software →

Maintenance request tracking is coming in Q3 2026. Our current focus is on what 200–1,000 unit managers tell us costs them the most: late rent payments and manual collection processes. Most of our customers use a separate maintenance tool (like Maintenance Care or Property Meld) alongside RentRate for now.

RentRate provides payment tracking and a rent ledger that exports cleanly. Full accounting integrations (QuickBooks, Xero) are on the roadmap. Currently, most customers use RentRate for rent collection and their existing accounting software for bookkeeping — the payment records export makes reconciliation straightforward.

Yes — CSV bulk import supports up to 5,000 tenants per file. Export your tenant list from your current system (name, email, phone, unit, rent amount), upload it to RentRate, and tenants are matched to properties and units automatically. The import tool validates data and reports any issues row by row.

AppFolio is an enterprise platform that costs $280–$1,400+/mo for 200–500 units and requires annual contracts. RentRate focuses specifically on rent collection at $400–$750/mo for the same portfolio size, with no contracts and 10-minute setup. AppFolio has broader features (full accounting, maintenance); RentRate wins on price and simplicity for rent collection. See the full RentRate vs AppFolio comparison →

Buildium's Growth plan scales to $460+/mo for 500 units and includes accounting and owner portals that RentRate doesn't have yet. RentRate is better for property managers whose primary pain is rent collection costs and efficiency — per-unit pricing, native Stripe payments, and instant setup. See the full RentRate vs Buildium comparison →

Rentec Direct has a low base price but adds per-transaction ACH and card fees that compound at scale. For 200+ units, the real monthly cost often reaches $290–$400/mo. RentRate's per-unit pricing includes payment processing — one predictable number, no surprise fees. See the full RentRate vs Rentec Direct comparison →

Yes. Export a CSV from your current software (AppFolio, Buildium, Rentec Direct, Yardi, or any other tool) with tenant names, emails, unit numbers, and rent amounts. Upload it to RentRate's bulk import tool and tenants are matched to your properties automatically. Most migrations take under 30 minutes.

Three reasons most 200–1,000 unit managers switch: 1) Cost savings — RentRate's per-unit pricing can save $3,600–$7,800/year vs AppFolio. 2) Simplicity — no annual contracts, no implementation team, no training. 3) Focus — RentRate does rent collection exceptionally well instead of doing 20 things adequately. Read how to reduce late rent payments →