Suspense Account Issue

Hi Guys,

So my accountant has embraced QuickFile and is now relatively comfortable with the functionality, however we do have a query that we would like some help with please.

We have just about completed our end of year for 17/18 however we are slightly confused about the suspense account (9998) on the P&L, allow me to explain…

When we run a trail balance report for 17/18, 9998 doesn’t appear! As an aside Jane, our accountant created a journal for all the opening balances that were not already inputted into QuickFile.

When we run a profit and loss report for the same accounting period (17/18) the opening balance that we manually inputted for the Directors Loan Account when we first setup QuickFile appears as the one and only entry in suspense account? £12,319.85

Please can you advise why this is happening.

Thank you very much in advance for your help and guidance.

Kind Regards

Andy

Hi @Andy_B

When you create an opening balance it created a matching entry, initially in the suspense account. This is actually done through a journal so you can just amend the journal entry.

The reason behind this is the system doesn’t know where that balance came from, so it’s sat “in suspense” until it’s allocated correctly.

I hope that makes sense?

The way to correct this, would be to find the journal (Reports >> Journals), amend it and change the nominal 9998 to a more suitable one, to show it’s origin.

Thanks I will put to Jane my accountant and if we have any further questions I’ll come back to you! Many thanks for the guidance, much appreciated.

1 Like

I have also just started using Quickfile and was wondering why the opening balances seemed to be reversed in 9998 Suspense.
You say to change the nominal code to “a more suitable one”. I’m not an accountant (unfortunately) and the only suitable code would seem to be the same as the opening balance entry. Is this likely to work ?

Hi @nthomas

When it comes to opening balances, ask yourself “where did the money come from?”

For a new business, this is often a loan or finance of some sort, so it should be dealt with in that sense. For example, if it’s loaned to the company by a director, then the opposite effect would be the Director’s Loan Account.

Are you starting QuickFile as a new business, or have you used other software prior to this?

Thanks.

I have inherited a large red ledger (!!) which I have transferred to a spreadsheet.
I would expect the bank balances to come from/add up to the Carried Forward funds from the balance sheet constructed from those accounts. Is there an appropriate nominal code range for Quickfile to recognise that ?

There is a nominal code 3101 Retained Profit & Undistributed Reserves, which may be suitable.

You may want to take a look at the Chart of Accounts (Reports >> Chart of Accounts) as this lists all the nominal codes available on your account.

Thanks.
I’ve now created some codes in the 3300 range for each bank account and that seems to make the P&L and Balance Sheet look more reasonable.
The next question is what happens at financial year end ? Will QF create the correct opening balances for next year or is this a manual process each year ?

Balance sheet accounts simply carry forward from one year to the next as they’re already balanced. The year end process zeroes out all the P&L codes and moves the balance to 3101 (by default, but you can edit the year end journal to change that if you need to).

Thanks for that, I think that clears up the issue.