Getting paid — the recurring rent charge

What you're doing and why

The close (module 6) got the business to sign and save a card. This is the part where that turns into money in your account, every month, automatically — with zero admin from you. The moment a renter is fully activated, the system starts a monthly charge on the card they saved. You don't send invoices, you don't chase payments, you don't do anything. The rent just shows up.

The exact steps (what happens automatically)

1. A renter completes the close: signs the agreement and adds a card. The site flips to rented.
2. At that instant, the system creates a subscription on their card — $500/mo (whatever you priced the site at), billed monthly.
3. The first charge happens immediately — they're live, so they start paying now.
4. Every month after, the card is charged automatically. If a payment fails, the system retries and flags it for you; the renter can update their card themselves through their billing portal.

That's it. Your job after the close is nothing — the money is on autopilot.

Why it's built the way it is

• A real subscription, not a manual invoice. The charge, the monthly retries, the failed-card dunning, the receipts — all handled by the payment processor. Fewer moving parts, fewer ways to miss a payment.
• It charges the card they already saved. The card captured during the close is the card the subscription bills — no re-asking, no second step.
• It can only ever start once per renter. The charge is tied to the activation, and activation happens exactly once — so a renter can never be double-subscribed or double-charged.
• If the charge can't start, you hear about it loudly. On the rare occasion a card is declined at activation, you get an alert immediately (the renter is still set up — you just follow up on the card).

Gotchas

• The first charge is immediate. A renter pays the moment they finish signup — that's the deal (they're live, they pay). If you ever want a free first month or a delay, that's a setting to change.
• Currency. Rent is charged in USD (that's what a US business expects to see for "$500/mo"). If your payout account is in another currency, the processor converts it on the way to your bank.
• Before your first real renter: the recurring charge is fully wired and the amount/shape is verified, but a real card completing a real charge hasn't been run yet. Watch your first renter's first charge land (or run one yourself with your own card) so you've seen the whole loop once.
• Renters manage their own card. Failed or expiring cards → the renter updates it in their billing portal; you don't handle card details yourself, ever.