How Does My Tenant Sign Up For ClearNow?

To enroll in ClearNow, your tenant needs to submit the Tenant Enrollment Agreement and his/her bank documentation to us. 

You can email the Agreement to your tenant from within your ClearNow account.  Your tenant will complete the form online, esign it, and then email bank documentation to us.  We will email you when your tenant’s enrollment materials are complete.  At that point, you will log into your ClearNow account, set the debit amount and lease end date, and click “Save”.  That’s it!  It is really that easy!

Why am I charged ClearNow’s service fee when the tenant fails the debit?

You are still charged ClearNow’s service fee because ClearNow is still charged a fee for attempting the debit even if it fails. If you or your tenant know beforehand that the debit will not be successful, we suggest that you do a one-time block. That way, ClearNow does not attempt the debit, and you are not charged our service fee. The tenant will need to make arrangements to pay you directly, and the autodebits will continue for the next payment period.

Can ClearNow Accept Partial Payments of Rent?

No, a tenant cannot make a “partial payment” of rent with ClearNow (www.ClearNow.com).  When ClearNow automatically debits a tenant’s bank account, either the entire amount of rent is successfully debited or nothing at all.

ClearNow’s prevention of “partial payments” is superior to other methods of payment that landlords employ.  For example, if a landlord provides deposit slips to their bank account to tenants or has tenants pay when they choose through bill payment, the tenant has the ability to make a partial payment of rent.

Can My Tenant Still Enroll If They Don’t Use a Computer?

Yes, your tenant may still enroll in ClearNow even if he/she doesn’t use a computer. The tenant enrollment agreement does ask for a tenant’s email address but it is not required for their enrollment. If your tenant does not have email, they will still receive correspondence on important information by mail. The tenant is required to provide a working telephone number in case we need to reach them by phone.

Can I record income and expenses that occur outside of ClearNow’s rent collection activity?

Yes. As a landlord, you are able to record income and expenses manually. Rent payments made through ClearNow and service fees paid are automatically recorded. You are also able to record various expenses such as repairs, advertising, insurance, and utilities. There are also reports you can generate using the data recorded, including “Profit and Loss” and a Schedule E Helper Report to assist you during tax time.

How Can My Property Management Company Collect Rent?

Similar to landlords, property managers can enroll in ClearNow to collect rent from their tenants.  The individual representing the property management company will need to complete and submit the Property Manager Enrollment Agreement along with bank documentation for the account they would like the funds deposited into. Once the property manager is enrolled in ClearNow, they can have their tenants enroll for auto-debits.  Additionally, the property manager can use ClearNow’s owner proceeds feature whereby the property owner enrolls in ClearNow and a portion of the rent collected from the tenant is directly deposited to the owner’s bank account while the property manager’s fee is directly deposited to the manager’s bank account.  Both deposits occur three banking days after the debit day.

How Can I See What Fees ClearNow Charged for the Past Year?

When you log into your ClearNow account, you will have the ability to view and print different reports regarding your ClearNow activity.  One of the reports is a summary of the rents collected and fees paid for a year.  Simply click on “Reports” from the menu on the left-hand side. The top drop-down box for the “Report Type” will automatically default to “Reports By Date”.  From there, you can select the year to view (e.g., 2015 summary).

Introducing RentalIncomeExpense.com – Free and Easy Rental Income & Expense Tracking

Throughout its history, ClearNow has been a leader in online services for landlords.  Sixteen years ago, ClearNow launched its core service of easy-to-use, inexpensive online rent collection.  Today, thousands of landlords and property managers use ClearNow’s core service to put rent collection on auto-pilot.   Over the years, ClearNow has continuously innovated.  Our “owner proceeds” capability for property managers continues to be unmatched as the simplest way for property managers to directly deposit collected rents between themselves and their property owners.  In 2012, ClearNow became the first service that allowed landlords and tenants to furnish rent payment data to a “Big 3” credit bureau – a milestone in allowing renters to benefit from making on-time rent payments.

Building on this legacy, ClearNow is now introducing RentalIncomeExpense.com – a free and easy rental income and expense tracking tool for landlords.

Expensive property management software (like QuickBooks) is overkill for the small landlord – costing more in time and money than it is worth. On the other hand, an Excel spreadsheet isn’t nearly powerful enough.  For example, it cannot easily generate the different reports that a landlord needs.

RentalIncomeExpense.com is the best of all worlds:

  • Simple to setup
  • FREE
  • Designed for landlords
  • Instant reports that matter (such as profit & loss and the 1040 Schedule E helper)
  • Accessible from your smartphone
  • Backed up by ClearNow’s proven online infrastructure (since 2000)
  • Access to ClearNow’s superior online and telephone-based customer support (Monday thru Friday 9am to 5pm ET)

Existing ClearNow customers have been using the income and expense tracking features in RentalIncomeExpense.com for the last few years.  For everyone else, there’s no better time than now to try it out today!