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What is a trial balance? What is the purpose of a trial balance? Which balances go on the debit side and which on the credit side of the trial balance? If a trial balance balances, does it mean the accounts are correct? When is a trial balance prepared? What is a balance brought down and carried down? How do you balance a ledger account? Where do drawings appear in the trial balance and financial statements? What is the total of the trial balance meant to demonstrate? What comes after the trial balance in the accounting cycle?
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Bookkeeping › Trial Balance

What is a suspense account and when is it opened?

Beginner

Answer

A suspense account is a temporary account opened to make the trial balance balance when the debits and credits disagree and the difference can't immediately be located. The difference is posted to the suspense account until the errors are found and corrected via journal entries, at which point the suspense account is cleared to zero.
TB debits exceed credits by 90:
  open Suspense with a 90 credit to balance,
  clear it as errors are found.
Real-world example A 90 difference is parked in a suspense account until the bookkeeper traces and fixes the underlying errors.

Common follow-ups: What clears the suspense account? | Why is it only temporary?

Correcting Errors Control Accounts Trial Balance
All 25 Trial Balance questions