How to collect rent by UPI

Tenants can pay from their phone at any hour, and the money goes straight into your bank account. There is no cash to count and no cheque to deposit.

UPI also leaves a record on both sides. Every payment has a reference number that you and your tenant can both find later, which settles most questions about who paid what, and when.

Your UPI ID is on the profile page of your UPI app. It looks like name@bank. Send it to your tenant once, or give them a QR code to scan.

• A QR code with no amount works for every month, for water and electricity, and for anything else. Print it once and keep it by the door or the shop counter.
• A QR code with an amount fills it in for the tenant, which avoids typing mistakes. It suits a single payment, such as a deposit.
• A short note, such as the flat number, makes payments easy to tell apart in your bank app.

The free UPI QR code generator makes a printable card with your QR code, your name and your UPI ID. It runs in your browser, and the money goes straight to your account.

After paying, the tenant's UPI app shows a UPI reference number for the payment. Ask your tenant to send it, or a screenshot of the payment screen, along with the month the rent is for.

The reference is the quickest way to find a payment later, and it is what you note down when you record the rent.

A screenshot is not proof that money arrived. Open your bank or UPI app and find a payment with the same amount and reference number before you mark the rent as paid.

If it has not arrived, ask the tenant to check its status in their app before they pay again, so the rent is not paid twice.

Many tenants want a receipt for their own records, and some employers ask for rent receipts. Put the UPI reference number on it, so the receipt points to the exact payment.

The free rent receipt generator makes one for any month, with UPI as the payment mode and a field for the reference. What a rent receipt should include lists the details.

Whatever you use, write each payment down on the day it arrives: the date, the amount, the month it is for, and the UPI reference.

In SetURent, open Payments and choose Record Payment. Pick Online, enter the UPI reference, and save. The bill updates, a receipt prints from your own template, and Rent Dues shows only what is still unpaid.

• You never need to enter your UPI PIN to receive money. The PIN is only for paying.
• Turn down any payment request that says it will send you money. Approving a request takes money out of your account.
• Never share your UPI PIN or a one-time password with anyone, including someone who says they are from your bank.