Understanding Autopay in Propra
Autopay is a feature in Propra that allows you to collect rent and other charges from tenants, as well as pay bills electronically. Propra uses the payment processor VoPay to process all Autopay transactions.
Because VoPay follows Canadian FINTRAC regulations, only Canadian bank accounts can be used with Autopay. When users sign up for Autopay, the application and verification process is completed through VoPay.
Autopay Fees
All Autopay transactions are $1.00 per transaction
The 1st of the month rent collection is included with the Professional Plan
NSF (Non-Sufficient Funds) charges are $15.00 per NSF transaction for withdrawals and $35 for NSF payments
How 1st of the Month Collections Work
For Autopay collections to work correctly, several settings and timelines must be understood.
Property Autopay Settings
Each property must be turned ON in the Autopay Properties page.
If the property is toggled OFF:
Autopay will not create a rent roll on the last business day of the month
You will need to create a manual rent roll instead
Autopay will not collect rent for that property
To turn a property on or off go to Autopay > Properties
Tenant and Owner Autopay Settings
If an owner or tenant is toggled OFF for Autopay:
Funds will not be collected from their bank account
They will not be able to use Autopay through their portal
To turn the collection on or off for a tenant or owner go to Autopay > Payees
Rent Roll Posting Timeline
Autopay posts the rent roll:
On the last business day of the month
At 8:00 AM Mountain Time / 10:00 AM EST
This timing allows your staff to review invoices and make adjustments during business hours before transactions are finalized. The invoices will be posted to your Receivables page for review.
Important Cut-Off Time
The cutoff for any changes is:
5:00 PM Mountain Time / 7:00 PM EST on the last day of the month
After 5:00 PM MT / 7:00 PM EST:
Propra sends the collection information to VoPay
Transactions can no longer be changed or cancelled
Example
If an invoice is toggled OFF at 6:00 PM MT or 8:00 PM EST , the payment will still be collected because the information was already sent to VoPay.
The same applies if:
A tenant suspends their Autopay after the cutoff
An owner disables Autopay after the cutoff
Those changes will not affect the upcoming collection.
Bank Account Updates
Any banking changes must be entered into Propra before the last day of the month to ensure the updated information is sent to VoPay in time for processing.
When Funds Are Withdrawn
Funds are pulled from tenant bank accounts:
On the 1st of the month
Or the next business day if the 1st falls on a weekend or holiday
Once pulled:
The payment is moved into the Undeposited Funds account
This account is used until the payment clears
The Undeposited Funds account is used exclusively for Autopay transactions
Invoice Statuses with Autopay
When an invoice is successfully included in Autopay:
The invoice is automatically marked as Paid in the Receivables page
If a payment returns NSF:
The invoice status changes back to Outstanding
An NSF fee invoice can automatically be created if this setting is enabled in Autopay Settings
If a resident goes NSF Autopay will not collect that invoice again automatically
The invoice's Collect with Autopay toggle will automatically be turned off and will need to be manually turned on again in order for Autopay to collect a second time
Understanding the “Collect With Autopay” Toggle
Invoices are only collected if the Collect With Autopay toggle is enabled.
Credit Invoice Example
Example 1 – Credit Included
Kelly has:
A rent invoice for $1,000 with Collect With Autopay ON
A credit invoice for -$500 with Collect With Autopay ON
Autopay will collect:
$500
Example 2 – Credit Excluded
If the credit invoice has Collect With Autopay OFF:
Autopay will collect:
$1,000
This is because the credit invoice is excluded from the calculation.
Reviewing the Rent Roll Is Critical
It is extremely important to review your rent roll after it has been posted.
Before the 5:00 PM MT / 7:00 PM EST cutoff, you should:
Review all invoices
Toggle OFF any invoices you do not want collected
Confirm tenant and property Autopay settings
When in invoice is turned on for collection there will be two icons:
A card and a bank. The card icon indicates the invoices is set to be collected. The bank icon shows that the payee is active with Autopay
When an invoice is turned off there will be only a bank icon:
Once the data is sent to VoPay:
Transactions cannot be cancelled
Changes will not stop collections
Ways to Stop a Collection
You can prevent Autopay collection in several ways:
From the Invoice
Toggle OFF:
Collect With Autopay - to do this go to the receivables page and click on the invoice
From the Tenant Financial Page
Toggle OFF:
Tenant Autopay Collections
Autopay emails for Autopay withdrawals
From the Property
Toggle OFF:
Property Autopay settings
Lease Requirements for Rent Posting
For rent to post automatically:
The lease must be Active
It is important to regularly review:
Lease expiries
Vacancies
Renewal dates
This ensures rent is posted correctly. Check out our End of the Month Dashboard Review article
What Happens If a Lease Renewal Was Missed?
If a lease renewal was missed but rent still needs to be posted:
Go to the Accounting Tasks
Run the Rent Roll Task
However, before doing this:
You must first toggle the property OFF in Autopay
This restriction exists to prevent duplicate invoices from being created.
After Running the Manual Rent Roll
Be sure to:
Turn the property back ON in Autopay
If you forget to turn it back on:
Autopay will not collect funds for that property
Settlement Timeline
Autopay funds take:
5 business days to settle
Keep weekends and holidays in mind when estimating deposit timelines. The timeline also depends on your bank as some banks are slower at receiving and distributing funds.
Outstanding Invoice Collections
During the 1st of the month collection, Autopay collects:
All outstanding invoices currently due
Autopay will NOT collect:
Invoices with future due dates
Example
Tom has a utility bill due on April 17th.
On May 1st:
That invoice will be collected automatically
Unless the invoice’s Collect With Autopay toggle is turned OFF
Future-dated invoices are excluded until they become due.
Connecting directly to the payees bank account allows for:
Built-in Pre-authorized debit agreement: No need to collect forms and banking information.
Verified information: Institution, transit and account information are provided directly by the financial institution, reducing the risk of fraud or human error in setting up pre-authorized debits.
Control of information: Users can add, change, or remove banking information at anytime through the Resident Portal, making it convenient to keep financial information up to date.
Fraud prevention check: The bank has confirmed that the user is who they say they are and are able to authorize withdrawals from the specified account.
Enhanced security: Bank account information is securely stored, not sent though email and never written down on paper or displayed. User login details and passwords used for during the activation process with their banking institutions are never recorded or stored.