SUSPENSE ACCOUNT English meaning

Otherwise, combining the payments with an existing fixed asset would distort the value of that asset. Once the final payment is made and the asset is received, you close the suspense account and open a separate account for the new fixed asset. Suspense Account is primarily prepared to rectify all the one-sided errors, which affect the trial balance. Those errors that do not affect the trial balance are not rectified by the suspense account.

If a business fails to keep accurate records of transactions, chaos is the likely result. You could be faced with angry customers whose payments haven’t been credited and vendors demanding payment for supplies you’ve bought. Suspense accounts and clearing accounts are accounting tools designed to prevent such problems. Open a suspense account by recording the full amount in question. To account for the payment, open a Suspense Account and credit the account with the full $500. When you find out which customer made the payment, debit the Suspense Account for $500 and credit your Account Receivable customers account for $500.

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A suspense account cannot have a debit balance, it always shows a credit balance. One important use of a suspense account is to bring the trial balance into agreement. Then, we close the account after making the necessary adjustments so that it’s no longer part of the trial balance. As the name suggests, all the transactions recorded in this account are “suspense” for the accountant. Hence, accountants need to gather more information about the nature of these transactions to move them into their correct accounts. All suspense account items should be eliminated by the end of the fiscal year.

Let’s suppose you have been alerted that a remittance someone sent you from abroad is ready for withdrawal. Until you actually make the withdrawal from the agent or financial institution, the remittance money may be stored in their suspense account. In short, a suspense account is the point of last resort when you need a short-term holding bay for financial items that will end up somewhere else once their final resting place is decided.

suspense account

A partial payment occurs when a customer does not pay the full amount owed for a transaction. Partial payments can come in many different forms, such as a deposit on a real estate transaction or an upfront payment for a service order. Once the accountant has enough information, they can reassign the transaction out of the suspense account and into the appropriate account within the general ledger. However, all transactions require complete and accurate information before they can be entered into the financial records.

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Multiple Suspense Records for a Policy

A suspense account is considered temporary, and all transactions should eventually be journaled into a different account. On your trial balance sheet, include the suspense account under “Other Assets.” After you’ve made the suspense account necessary changes, close the suspense account so it’s no longer a part of the trial. Accounting processes based on criteria indicators set on the Chart of Accounts and the optional ChartOfAccountsSpecifications rule.

• Energize your accounting team by creating capacity with automation.
• Until you actually make the withdrawal from the agent or financial institution, the remittance money may be stored in their suspense account.
• Guide your business with agility by standardizing processes, automating routine work, and increasing visibility.
• A suspense account could also be a liability if it holds accounts payables that you don’t know how to classify.