GlossaryAccounting & Bookkeeping
Suspense Account
Also called: suspense
What is Suspense Account?
A suspense account temporarily holds transactions that cannot yet be classified — an unidentified bank credit, a difference in the trial balance, a payment with no reference. It is meant to be emptied.
Why Suspense Account matters
Suspense is useful for a week and dangerous for a year. Balances left there hide misposted revenue, duplicate payments and genuine errors, and they always surface at the worst moment.
How Suspense Account works in practice
Review the account monthly and clear every item to where it belongs. A persistent balance means someone stopped asking what a transaction actually was.
Frequently asked questions
As a temporary working account, yes. Carrying a balance into the financial statements is a problem.