The Risks of Accepting Cash for Rent

By PropsManager Team | Dec 17, 2025

The Risks of Accepting Cash for Rent

"Cash is king," but in property management, cash is a liability.

1. No Paper Trail

If a tenant pays cash and you don't issue a receipt immediately, it's your word against theirs. If you try to evict for non-payment, a judge might side with the tenant if records are messy.

2. Theft and Safety

Carrying large amounts of cash makes you a target. Keeping cash in your office or home is risky.

3. Accounting Nightmares

It's easy to spend cash on personal items and forget to record it as rental income. This leads to tax issues and inaccurate bookkeeping.

4. Partial Payments

If you accept a partial cash payment, in some jurisdictions, you may reset the eviction clock. It's harder to refuse partial cash if it's handed to you.

Conclusion

Move to digital payments. Platforms like PropsManager allow tenants to pay via bank transfer or credit card, creating an automatic, unalterable digital paper trail.