Landlord Onboarding: Account, Branding, Units | RentMouse

Complete landlord onboarding in four guided screens: create your RentMouse account, apply your brand, register the first property and unit, then choose the billing plan that unlocks payments and tenant tools. Finish the launch checklist to connect payouts, invite tenants, and send your first invoice without leaving the wizard.

At a Glance#

Who it’s for: Landlords and portfolio managers launching a new RentMouse organization in the US or Canada.
Time to complete: 12–18 minutes if you have branding assets and rent amounts ready.
Prerequisites: Business email you can verify, legal organization name, property address, rent figures, subscription payment method, and optional tenant details for invitations.

What You Can Do#

Create a secure landlord owner account with enforced password and MFA policies.
Publish organization branding that cascades to every tenant-facing surface and automated email.
Register the first property, define billing defaults, and seed the first unit with rent and deposit data.
Invite an initial tenant or skip for later while keeping the onboarding checklist accurate.
Select a RentMouse subscription tier, confirm billing cadence, and activate plan-controlled workflows.

Before You Begin#

Permissions: Only the person who completes onboarding receives owner rights; invite additional teammates later from Settings ▸ Team.
Plan access: The Free tier is limited to 4 active units and omits online payments. Starter and above unlock Stripe, Plaid, and branded tenant portals.
Regional notes: US organizations default to USD payouts. Canadian organizations can enable CAD and provincial tax templates. Quebec landlords should confirm lease clauses before enabling the AI lease generator.
Security checklist: Prepare a 12+ character password with mixed character types, and a secondary device for the email verification link within 15 minutes.

Step-by-Step#

Breadcrumb: Start

Start — Create your landlord account
Navigate to rentmouse.com/signup, enter your business email, create a compliant password (12+ characters, uppercase, lowercase, digit, and symbol), select your region, check the Terms acknowledgement, and click Create landlord account. Confirm the verification email within your inbox before proceeding.

Breadcrumb: Organization ▸ Branding

Organization ▸ Branding — Personalize your organization profile
On the branding screen, upload a square logo (PNG or SVG, ≤5 MB, 512 × 512 px recommended), choose your accent color, provide customer-facing phone/email details, and press Save & continue to lock styling. RentMouse stores the asset in encrypted storage tied to your org ID.

Breadcrumb: Properties ▸ Add Property

Properties ▸ Add Property — Register your first property
Select Add property, search for the street address via the Google Places lookup, confirm the legal name, set the local timezone, rent due day, and late grace period, then click Save property so billing defaults attach to future invoices.

Breadcrumb: Units ▸ Add Unit

Units ▸ Add Unit — Configure your first unit and invitations
Choose Add unit, define the unit number, monthly rent, security deposit, late fee rules, and auto-pay eligibility. If you have the resident’s information, toggle Invite tenant now, enter their name and email, personalize the welcome message, and select Create unit & continue.

Breadcrumb: Plans

Plans — Choose your billing plan and confirm subscription
Review plan tiers, switch between Monthly and Annual billing, enter card or ACH details, accept subscription terms, and click Activate subscription. Once active, the checklist unlocks links to connect payouts and create invoices.

Connect payouts immediately: Launch /help/finance-connect to authenticate with Stripe and Plaid so rent deposits flow to your organization account without delay.
Invite renters to the tenant portal: Follow /help/share-tenant-portal-links to send branded links once the first unit is ready.
Create your first invoice: Use /help/manage-rent-invoices to generate the initial rent schedule, then direct residents to /help/tenant-autopay for recurring payments.
Complete compliance tasks: In regions that require disclosure, export and review the default lease notice before inviting additional tenants.

Screenshots & Media#

rm-onboarding-start-step1-v1.png — Alt: “RentMouse landlord signup Start screen with create account form”; Title: “Start screen — Create landlord account”; Description: Showcase email/password fields, password strength meter, and region selector using demo data; Caption: “The Start screen verifies a strong password and region before account creation.”
rm-onboarding-verification-step1b-v1.png — Alt: “Email verification message with Confirm your landlord account button”; Title: “Verify landlord email”; Description: Example transactional email with partial blur of inbox metadata; Caption: “Confirm the verification email within 15 minutes to keep the wizard unlocked.”
rm-onboarding-branding-step2-v1.png — Alt: “Organization branding screen with logo uploader and accent color picker”; Title: “Organization branding settings”; Description: Include logo upload, color swatches, and contact info fields using sample landlord data; Caption: “Upload a 512 × 512 px logo and pick an accent color that syncs with tenant portals.”
rm-onboarding-property-step3-v1.png — Alt: “Add property modal showing address search and billing defaults”; Title: “Add property details”; Description: Demonstrate Google Places suggestion, timezone selector, and rent due day dropdown; Caption: “Set address-level defaults so invoices inherit accurate rent cycles.”
rm-onboarding-unit-step4-v1.png — Alt: “Create unit form with rent, deposit, and invite tenant toggle”; Title: “Configure first unit”; Description: Present rent and deposit fields, auto-pay toggle, and tenant invite section with demo contact; Caption: “Define unit economics and optionally invite the resident immediately.”
rm-onboarding-plan-step5-v1.png — Alt: “Plan selection cards comparing Free, Starter, Growth tiers”; Title: “Choose subscription tier”; Description: Highlight plan cards, billing cadence toggle, and Activate subscription call-to-action; Caption: “Pick the plan that matches your portfolio and confirm billing.”
rm-onboarding-checklist-complete-v1.png — Alt: “Completion checklist with links to connect payouts, invite tenants, create invoice”; Title: “Onboarding completion checklist”; Description: Show the post-onboarding panel and quick action buttons; Caption: “Use the launch checklist to finish payouts, tenant invites, and invoicing.”

Troubleshooting#

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
Verification email missing	Spam filter caught transactional message or email typo	Reopen the wizard, click Resend verification, confirm spelling, and whitelist `no-reply@rentmouse.com`; corporate domains may require IT allowlisting.
“Organization slug already in use” when branding	Another organization registered the same vanity slug	Append a location qualifier (e.g., `-nyc`) or open a support ticket with proof of business ownership to reassign the slug.
Logo upload fails with dimension error	Image exceeds 5 MB or is not square	Resize to 512 × 512 px, compress below 5 MB, ensure sRGB color profile, and retry.
Plan activation stuck on pending	Payment method declined or address mismatch	Select Update payment method, re-enter card/ACH with matching billing address, then retry; contact your bank if the hold persists.
Tenant invite shows expired link	Invite sent before email verification or unused for 48 hours	Reinvite from `Tenants ▸ Invites` after verifying the landlord email; remind tenants to accept before the token expires.

FAQ#

Can I pause onboarding and resume later?
Yes. Each screen auto-saves after Save & continue. When you log back in, the wizard resumes at the next incomplete step as long as the email is verified.

How do I handle portfolios spanning multiple regions?
Create separate organizations per legal entity or tax region. You can switch between them later via Settings ▸ Organizations without rerunning the wizard for each.

Do I have to choose a plan before inviting teammates?
Yes. Plan activation unlocks billing controls, payments, and the team invitation module. Once the subscription is live, invite admins and accountants from Settings ▸ Team.

What if I need to edit the property after finishing onboarding?
Go to Properties ▸ [Property name] ▸ Settings, make adjustments, and click Save changes. Updates affect future invoices but retain historical records for compliance.

Can I skip tenant invitations entirely?
Yes. Leave the invitation fields blank. The checklist will remind you later, and you can send invites through the Tenants module when ready.

Does onboarding support multi-factor authentication?
Yes. After verification, visit Settings ▸ Security to enable authenticator app MFA. Owners are prompted to configure MFA on the first login after onboarding.

Security & Privacy Notes#

Passwords are hashed with bcrypt and must meet minimum complexity before account creation proceeds.
Email verification tokens expire after 60 minutes to prevent unauthorized access; invitation tokens expire after 48 hours.
Logo assets and onboarding data are stored in organization-scoped Firebase Storage buckets with role-based access controls.
The wizard operates under the landlord_onboarding_v2 feature flag. Audit logs capture each step completion with timestamp and user ID.
Any tenant data collected during onboarding is encrypted at rest and subject to SOC 2-aligned retention policies.

Version & Region#

Feature flag: landlord_onboarding_v2
Last verified build: RentMouse web 2025.10.28
Last verified date: 2025-11-01
Supported regions: United States, Canada (en-CA variant ships with localized currency labels)

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