Zelle can work too since it's fast and free, but you'll need to police the late fees yourself if you go the Zelle/ACH/checks route.For tenant credit checks, there are a ton of options with very similar offerings at similar price points: MyRental, Zillow, SmartMove, and the aforementioned rent collection platforms, to name just a few.For automated bookkeeping and accounting, we have a solid platform at Stessa, and then there's also Quickbooks for more complicated entity accounting and Google Sheets if you don't mind the manual work required to keep it updated.Either way, there's no better way to learn the business than to self-manage, at least for a while in the beginning. 

What about the head ache part? 

I do use an online service (Rentec Direct) for record keeping and accepting ACH payments, and that has helped a lot. 

Of course there's the risk that not fixing the foundation right away will just cause me a bigger head  ache in a few years.Thanks @Rick Pozos and @Ryan Hawkins.

A scheduled once monthly ACH for net proceeds after reserves to the owner. 

RenTec Direct is $15/mo but when adding in SMS messaging and ACH payments it comes to about the same.

I do encourage ACH.   

Looking to connect with investors and other wholesalers that do business in Florence, Muscle Shoals, Tuscumbia, Sheffield, and Athens AL!

I email the Rent Invoice and have a Quickbooks Payments account that allows the tenant to pay online via ACH bank transfer.  

I would strongly encourage you to collect the rent through a 3rd party online platform or via ACH direct deposit on a go forward basis.