What is a suspense account?

These accounts are used to resolve issues and improve accuracy for accounting purposes. For example, a dispute between departments about who should be charged for a bill may be placed into the suspense account until it is figured out. The money from investors is deposited into this account when making decisions about their investments. The suspense account is used when a client does not know what to do with the deposit or funds.

• To mitigate financial statement risk and increase operational effectiveness, consumer goods organizations are turning to modern accounting and leading best practices.
• Most of the time, the transactions under suspense accounts are investigated and its source documents reviewed before they can be properly classified.
• While there is no definitive timetable for conducting a clearing-out process, many businesses try to regularly accomplish this on a monthly or quarterly basis.
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• Use a suspense account when you’re not sure where to record general ledger entries.
• For example, payments may be received with invalid or unclear account information.

Eventually, you allocate entries in the suspense account to a permanent account. There is no standard amount of time for clearing out a suspense account. Most businesses suspense account clear out their suspense accounts monthly or quarterly. When a transaction with no valid document is recorded, it causes a mismatch in the account balances.

Account Type of a Suspense Account

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A suspense account is an account where you record unclassified transactions. The account temporarily holds entries while you https://www.bookstime.com/articles/royalties-accounting decide how you will classify them. A suspense account can also hold information about discrepancies as you gather more data.

• Suspense accounts may also be implemented in brokerage firms when the client is making a decision about an investment and with mortgage lenders when a partial payment is received.
• A suspense account may be added to the trial balance when there are understated or overstated balances that cannot be corrected before the end of the reporting period.
• However, all transactions require complete and accurate information before they can be entered into the financial records.
• We’re dedicated to delivering the most value in the shortest amount of time, equipping you to not only control close chaos, but also foster F&A excellence.