Smartest way to collect rent...

[Brittany Washington]

I'm currently "house hacking" and live in one portion of a duplex while renting my lower unit. I moved in a few months ago (Sept) and there was a long term tenant in place on a month to month lease. She's been paying her rent in cash by sliding it under my back door on time each month in a bank envelope. This most recent month she was late, her lease specifies that there is a $25 late fee for each day of late rent and essentially after the 3rd late day if everything is not paid there is indication of the landlord moving towards an eviction. My tenant paid her rent 4 days late this month, and didn't include the late fees. In effect, a partial payment. She said she'll pay the late fee next week. This is problematic for me obviously, and I don't want to be perceived as some sort of pushover. But I also don't want to try to evict the lady over a hundred bucks. Because it's a cash payment, there is little proof of anything since there is no transaction history. Moving forward, I want to use an online platform that won't accept partial payment and I'd have a record. I have 2 issues/questions. Question 1 - what if she refuses to use the platform and keeps trying to give me cash? I heard from another posting on this site from yrs ago stating you can't refuse cash legally. Question 2 - Any suggestions of a good (affordable/free) site that will allow me to set up a late fee each day? I tried signing up for Cozy, but I was only able to make 1 late fee and not a per day type deal per the lease I'm using.