Ask the contractor about their preferred method of doing the work.

You mention smaller cities, maybe you are thinking about Kannapolis, Concord, Gastonia, or Harrisburg, something like that.There are methods where you can essentially "subject-to", do a "wrap around", "assume" a mortgage, "lease purchase", "option" or in essence somehow double rent a property.

Repairs and Maintenance- First there needs to be a method for the customer to contact you or someone if there is a problem with a machine that needs to be fixed right away (water leak, door jam, washer didn't spin out) and a method to provide refunds.

There are other ways that wouldn't require you to be a broker like sandwich lease-options, flipping lease options, sub3 (method by a cool guy named David Alexander), etc.

I used this method on a bathroom floor a while back and it is SOLID.

As for lead generation I think all the methods( there's a word I like better, method) for getting leads are great: bandit signs, a sign on your car, a sign at your work, business cards, direct mail, conversations with people who seen your sign, flyers, t-shirts with your logo, a handshake. 

Are there any good/useful methods for having a tenant direct deposit it into a account at a bank (They show up to bank, have them deposit it in the rental account via a slip/deposit ticket set up specifically for them)?

This is a function of the class of property, not the method of acquisition.

"Wholesaling" as you probably know it, is a product of gurus, it's a product they sell with sizzle, fluff, puffing and deception, it's a method but to be good at it, ethical and lawful, you need to understand real estate first.  

I've looked into online payment methods but for one rental it didn't make sense with all the fees.