Benefits of rent in advance

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I’ve read differing opinions on collecting rent in advance. I understand the liability that comes with accepting money that’s not yet yours. And the signals implied about the tenants. From what I’ve read here, there are more negatives than positives even though some landlords choose to accept rent in advance.

For this discussion, let’s assume:

• It’s legal in your state to collect 1 year rent in advance
  
• The tenants is an existing tenant and has never caused any problems
• The tenant has excellent credit and has paid in advance last year with no issues
  

For those who accept rent upfront, I’d like to understand why do you choose to do so? What are the benefits to you as a landlord to accept rent in advance such that it outweighs all the negatives cited? In particular, what do you do with the rent collected in advance?