5 Ways Virtual Mailboxes Make Property Management Easier

1. Automatically deposit rent checks you get in the mail

Most renters—especially long-term renters of residential property—still use personal checks to pay their rent. The labor-intensive process of tracking rent payments, security deposits, and monitoring tenants mailing in checks can get simpler when you set up a virtual mailbox for your property management.

With the automatic check deposit feature on a virtual mailbox, you won't have to make trips to deposit checks at the bank or individually use the mobile check deposit on your phone for every rent payment. Instead, a virtual mailbox service can detect checks you receive in the mail, electronically endorse them, and deposit them into your checking account.

The added benefit comes when you're traveling or away from your mailbox. You can manage your check payments from any device, anywhere in the world, which minimizes the risk of late or missed payments.

2. Keep electronic records of renters' payments

Hopefully, you haven't had the unfortunate experience of a renter who pays inconsistently or late. However, if that happens, your virtual mailbox provides an easy way to track all the records, so you don't have to sort through your bank statements or own records to track them down.

That's because virtual mailboxes digitize all your mail, including checks, into text-searchable PDFs that are stored in the cloud. You can use keyword searches to find all past mail from one address or person. The records of the checks can also sync with accounting software, such as QuickBooks.

3. Keep your personal mailing address private

Using a virtual address keeps you from disclosing your personal mailing address to people renting your property. This keeps your relationship strictly business, gives your property management business a physical address, and keeps the checks coming into your account without having to deposit them yourself. 

4. Use a virtual address to register your property management company

The virtual business address can also serve as an address to register a property management firm, should you prefer to organize your rental property income as an independent business to lessen your liability.

5. Protect rent payments from mail theft

A virtual mailbox helps remove the risk of mail theft and the possibility of losing your paper checks. Compare that to the security you can expect from a traditional mailbox—in 2025, the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service claimed that check fraud reports have nearly doubled from 2021 to 2023, with checks left in residential mailboxes being one of the top contributors. 

How does automatic check deposit work?

Here’s how to sign up for a service that offers check deposits, such as LegalZoom’s Virtual Mailbox. 

Step 1: Pick a virtual address

To modernize those rent checks you receive in the mail, you'll need to first select a virtual mailbox provider. Then, you select from available mailing addresses.

For reference, LegalZoom has over 50 virtual addresses across the United States, all of which offer automatic check deposits.

Step 2: Set up your account

Once you sign up for a virtual mailbox and verify your account, you need to activate the check deposit feature within your account settings. Provide the routing number for your bank, the account holder's name, and your account number to ensure your payments make it into your bank.

Step 3: Receive checks in the mail

When you receive a check in the mail, your virtual mailbox staff will scan and upload the check to your account. You can access your mail on a web platform or mobile app, as well as review your scanned checks and choose what account you want them deposited in.