Setting up ACH for rent is four practical steps and one obligation that runs through all of them. The steps are choosing where the money lands, getting each tenant's authorisation in a form you can produce later, setting the schedule so funds arrive when you need them, and deciding in advance what happens when a debit is returned. The obligation is that a recurring debit from a consumer account is governed by federal rules, and the authorisation is what those rules turn on.
Step one: decide where the money lands
Straight into your own account, or into a provider's account and out to you on a cycle. Direct is simpler and leaves you reconciling. Via a provider means somebody else holds your rent for a few days, and if you manage for other owners, holding client money brings its own rules. Neither is wrong. Decide deliberately, because it determines your reconciliation and your exposure if the provider fails.
Step two: capture the authorisation properly
The tenant authorises a recurring debit of a stated amount on a stated schedule, in a form they can keep, with a way to revoke it. Capture it electronically with the date, the exact text agreed and a copy sent to the tenant. Then make sure you can retrieve it by tenant and date. If the amount or the date changes, the tenant is owed notice, and a materially different amount generally needs a fresh authorisation.
Step three: set the timing backwards from when you need it
ACH settles in days rather than instantly, so a debit initiated on the due date arrives after it. Initiate far enough ahead that funds land when rent is due, and tell tenants the date the money will leave rather than the date it arrives. Most disputes about timing are really about the tenant not knowing which date to have funds available.
Step four: decide the returned-debit routine before it happens
A return is routine and usually means insufficient funds. Decide who is told and when, whether you retry and after how long, and who bears the fee, and put it in the lease. The bad pattern is a silent automatic retry that fails again and produces two fees for a tenant who was already short, and a conversation that starts badly.
Questions people ask about how to set up ach payments for rent
Do I need a special account to accept ACH?
A business account and either a provider or your bank's origination service. What you must have either way is the authorisation record.
Can I change the amount taken?
With notice to the tenant, and a materially different amount generally needs a fresh authorisation. Do not vary a standing debit silently.
How long can a debit be returned?
Consumer returns can come well after settlement, so do not treat settled funds as final for a short period after they arrive.