Suspense Account - Opening Balances

Hi
I have 3 items in the suspense account which are all opening balances from the start of the financial year.
One is the business current account and the other two are the company credit card accounts.
I am unsure of how to move them to the relevant nominal account or do I just leave iit in the suspense account?

Hi @datadave

You would need to journal them from the suspense account to show where they came from.

What’s your starting point in QuickFile - e.g. did you come from another accounting platform, or did you start fresh from day 1 of the business?

Hi
I was using Quickfile before but did a fresh start on the 6th April as I had only been using it for invoicing before and it was a mess!!
So basically they are just opening balances

You just need to show where the money comes from, so if you have an opening balance of say £1,000 sat in your suspense account from an investment, you would need to journal it to show it.

Do you have an accountant or do you do your accounts yourself?

Hi
I just do the accounts myself but they will be more complex this year as I opened a shop
So basically it’s ok to keep in Suspense account. I have made notes in the journal stating where they came from

If you take a look at your suspense account under your Chart of Accounts, it’ll show you the details. If you click on the opening balance link, like this one:

It will bring up the journal. The only reason the system puts it into the suspense account is because it doesn’t know where the money came from. Ideally, you should have a zero balance on your suspense account so that everything is accounted for. So, instead of the suspense account line here:

You should show where this money came from, like here:

I’ve just shown it as capital introduced for a sole trader, but you can split this line up into multiple lines if needed (using the + icon). As long as both sides balance, it’s fine :slightly_smiling:

Your suspense account would then be at zero, and would sit where it actually came from:

But where you put the money would depend on your individual circumstances.

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Hi
Thanks for the explanation
I understand it now :slight_smile:

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No problem! If you need any further help, please don’t hesitate to ask :slight_smile:

Hi
Just one more query
Ive adjusted the bank account to show it as capital introduced but what do I do with the credit card accounts. Are they just using the same 3300 code but with a negative balance?

If the credit cards were used for capital to be introduced, then yes 3300 can be used. Or if you bought furniture or equipment for example, you could use the relevant nominals. For example:

CR 1250 5000.00 (Credit Card)
DR 0030 5000.00 (Equipment)

If it is for purchases, just remember to have all the relevant invoices etc for these. The above journal would also be a bit more complex if you paid VAT and are VAT registered yourself.

Many thanks again :slightly_smiling:

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In fact if you’re VAT registered it might make more sense to represent this sort of thing as a proper purchase invoice rather than an opening balance journal.

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Hi

I have the same problem with my opening balance for the current account it is being held in the suspense account. I went to change the ode to 330 as shown, but there is no code 3300 any more? Is there a different code I should be using? fundamentally this is the money that was in the current account when we started with Quickfile (was spreadsheets/paper before…).

many thanks, Karen

Hi @Karen_Scott

Depending on how old your account is, you may have 3300 already defined. If it’s not there, try going to More Options >> Add/Remove Popular Nominal Codes, on the chart of accounts report.

If it’s from before QuickFile, and not necessarily capital from a sole trader, do you have a copy of a balance sheet you could use as guidance? This would help separate the amounts into the correct categories, in a similar way a trial balance could be used.

Hi

Thank you. I have done this and it has worked. The accounts are for our local Village Hall and there is no breakdown of how the money got there - will be mostly through lettings. My problem was that the opening balance was appearing the the P&L and now it’s not, so hurrah! I’m happy with this fix but if I should use a different classification just let me know.
thanks, Karen

Glad you found the code :slight_smile:

The best thing to do is just raise it with your accountant at year end, just to be sure your balance sheet is accurate. They’re likely to be in a far better position than me to advise you on the correct codes to allocate this to.