What are the ways to collect rent?
There are three collection modes per lease. Tenant portal (the default): the tenant logs in and pays, or sets up auto-pay. Monthly payment link: the app emails your tenant a payment link at the start of each month, automatically, until you turn it off. Offline: you collect outside the app (cash, check, Zelle) and record it.
The monthly link mode is opt-in per lease in Manage Payments, and it needs your bank setup complete before anything can be sent.
Re-billing a cost you already paid (a water bill, a repair): when you send a payment request of type Utility, Repair Cost or Other, tick Record this as an expense I already paid. The expense goes into the property budget right away for the month you paid it, so net profit only moves by the difference once the tenant pays - and it stays even if you later cancel the request, because the bill was still paid. Your cost can differ from what you bill.
HOA in the rent: if an uploaded lease says the tenant pays a monthly HOA or association assessment, the upload review shows it as HOA (tenant-paid) and, on save, it becomes a recurring monthly charge labelled HOA on the lease - part of the Total Monthly Rent the tenant is billed. Your own HOA cost for the property stays a separate expense.
Base Rent and Pet Rent: in Manage Payments the rent is shown as its parts - Base Rent, Pet Rent and any recurring charges - with the total the tenant is billed underneath. Both rent fields stay editable until your tenant sets up payment; after that they are lease terms and change through a Lease Amendment, so base and pet rent always lock together.