As a landlord, rent collection is one of the most challenging tasks. From tracking monthly payments to chasing down overdue rent, it’s no wonder many landlords are opting to ditch cash and checks and collect rent online. But not all rent payment collection tools are created equal. In this article, we’ll compare collecting rent through Cash App vs. Baselane.
1. Baselane vs. Cash App: Overview
Both Cash App and Baselane offer online rent collection for landlords, making it easier for tenants to pay on time with multiple payment options. Before we dive deeper into each service, the comparison chart below gives you a snapshot of Baselane vs. Cash App.
| Feature | Baselane | Cash App |
|---|---|---|
| Payment Options | Debit, Credit, Bank Transfer | Debit, Credit, Bank Transfer |
| Deposit Speed | 2-3 business days | 1-3 business days |
| Fees | Payments via bank transfer (ACH) are 100% free. Payments via credit or debit card are free for landlords; tenants pay a small processing fee (2.99%) | 2.75% transaction fee for landlords; 1.5% for instant withdrawals |
| Auto-pay | Yes | Yes |
| Transfer Limits | No | Yes |
| Payment Tracking | Yes | No |
| Notifications | Yes (Rent specific) | Yes (For deposit) |
| Secure Payments | 256-bit bank-level SSL encryption | PCI-DSS Level 1 certification encryption |
2. Cash App Overview
Cash App is a popular peer-to-peer payment service used to transfer cash instantly. This digital wallet owned by Square, Inc works similarly to collecting rent with PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle. But as a landlord, this may not be your safest option for accepting online rent payments, as there is no protection against sending funds to the wrong person. A tenant may be sending rent to someone else, and you may not realize until it’s too late.
How it works: Rent payment sent through Cash App gets deposited within 1-3 business days. Landlords must pay a fee of 1.5% to have funds deposited instantly into their bank account. Tenants can link their bank account, debit card, or credit card, and there is an option for automatic payments.
Payment Methods: Tenants can link most bank institutions to their Cash App account, but the limit on rent payments could impact your cash flow. Tenants can only send up to $250 in a seven-day period and $1,000 in a thirty-day period. There is an option to increase send limits to $7,500 a week with identity verification.
Tracking: Cash App sends notifications when money is received. There is no option to track or set up fees for late rent payments, and funds can accidentally end up in the wrong hands with typos and instant transfers with no buyer protection.
3. Baselane Overview
Baselane is built for landlords. Both landlords and Real Estate investors can use Baselane to simplify rent collection, bookkeeping, banking, and rental property performance analytics.
How it works: In addition to rent payments, you’ll also be able to collect security deposits and fees. Tenants can set up auto-payments using debit cards, credit cards, and bank transfers. Funds take 2-3 business days to process.
Payment Methods: Tenants can link their payment method from any banking institution. There are no transfer limits for rent payments sent through Baselane. Unlike Cash App, Baselane is connected to a bank account to eliminate the chance of sending money to the wrong person.
Tracking: Both tenants and landlords can view payment history and records with Baselane. Options for automatic late payment reminders will save time and energy while keeping tenants on track.
4. Cash App vs. Baselane: Features
Before you decide if tenants should start paying their rent with Cash App vs. Baselane, let’s compare the features of each payment option.
Cash App: Rent Collection Features
- Easy to pay for a wide range of services
- Mobile app is compatible with business payments
- Send money using an email address, phone number, or $Cashtag
Baselane: Rent Collection Features
- Quick and easy sign-up process, plus it’s free!
- Payments for rent, security deposits, and fees are deposited directly into a landlord’s bank account within two business days
- Tenants have the option of making one-time payments or setting up auto-pay for recurring payments debited from their bank account
- Tenants can pay rent their way using their debit card, credit card, or direct from their bank account
- Tenants can manage and pay rent from any device, desktop, mobile, or tablet
- Automated reminders and payment confirmations are sent to tenants
- Landlords can easily track payment history and any overdue rent payments
- Landlords can receive real-time notifications
- Payments are secure with 256-bit SSL bank-level encryption
Unlike Cash App, Baselane is a robust financial platform designed for landlords and real estate investors. Rent collection and expense management are all in one place, simplifying rental finances.
5. Cash App vs. Baselane: Collecting Rent
Baselane and Cash App make it easy to collect rent online. To determine which platform is better for your rent collection needs, consider some notable differences:
Collecting Rent with Cash App
- Both tenant and landlord must install the app
- Tenant enters landlord’s email, phone number, or $Cashtag
- Enter the reason for payment
- Accept amount
Collecting Rent with Baselane
- Sign up
- Connect a receiving bank account
- Add rent collection details and invite tenants
- Collect rent
- Track and manage payments
Keep in mind that landlords don’t have the option to block partial rent payments with the Cash App. Collecting partial payments can create issues with the eviction process. For some instances, some states like Texas will make you restart the eviction proceedings if you accept a partial payment after filing at court. You should check with the eviction laws in your own state for regulations on accepting late rent payments.
When you process rent payment collection through a platform designed for landlords like Baselane, you can manage, track and stop partial or late payments.
We asked a multi-unit real estate investor in Florida to compare online rent payments with rent checks. After making the switch, the investor reported that “Baselane has transformed how I manage my properties because everything is automated in one place.”
Key Takeaways: Cash App vs. Baselane
Based on our comparison of Cash App vs. Baselane, here are some considerations to keep in mind for collecting rent payments:
- Baselane and Cash App have an auto-pay feature for setting up monthly recurring payments
- Baselane can automatically notify tenants about when their rent is about to be due, or it’s overdue. Cash App can’t send these notifications
- Baselane can notify landlords of how many days rent is overdue or whether it’s been paid through a color-coded alert system. Cash App can’t send these alerts
- Baselane can automatically charge late fees when rent is past due. In Cash App, late fees have to be added manually through a separate transaction
- Baselane offers secure payments. Cash App offers some security but no protection against fraud and accidental transfers to the wrong person
- Adding contacts and signing up for an account with Cash App is easier than Baselane.
- Baselane allows landlords the option to block partial payments, an essential feature that Cash App does not have
- Baselane allows you to process security deposits and other fees securely. Cash App will only allow you to collect rent payments
- Baselane has the option to charge late fees automatically. Cash App has no feature to charge late fees
- Baselane gives the tenant user-friendly payment methods, complete transparency with payment history and reporting
FAQs
Not only do tenants prefer to make their payments online, but also rent collection software offers flexibility, instant invoices, and payment reminders. Property management software consolidates your banking and bookkeeping, leaving you with rent paid on time and happy tenants.
As a landlord, you want to choose payment options that are easy to document and quickly process. Collecting checks from your tenants might seem like a good idea until it comes time to deposit. Your tenant may not have funds in their account, or the check could get lost in the mail. Accepting rent payments online makes it easy to track the rent, set automatic reminders, and enable recurring payments.
Create a free Baselane account in minutes:
- Sign up using an email, full name, and password
- Follow the instructions in the confirmation email
- Start exploring Baselane
