The Suspense Account is a catch-all, dummy account. It is used as a place to temporarily account for funds that are in transit or in "suspense". Once the funds have completed their journey, the balance of a suspense account will be zero.

Such an account is created using the "Create" button on the Accounting>Accounts page. It can be called Suspense or it can be called something that will help you identify its purpose better. Common examples are "Advanced Payments", "Pending Withdrawals", or "Out of Pocket Expenses".

For example, a suspense account might be used to facilitate spreading advanced payments by members over a period of months. A member might deposit three times his/her regular contribution and wants this advanced payment credited each month on the day that the payments from the other members are deposited.

The transaction would be entered into bivio by making a transfer from Suspense to the Checking (or Brokerage) Account. This would put the checking account in balance, and would leave a negative balance in the Suspense Account. In accounting parlance, the Suspense account represents a club liability owed to the member at this point.

The payments for this member for the next three months would be recorded by selecting the Suspense Account on the Member Payment form. Over time, this would eliminate the negative balance in this account.

In another situation, the Suspense Account is often used in conjunction with cash payments for withdrawals. In this case, a check is given to the withdrawing member, reducing the balance in the account from which the check was written. It may be weeks or months before they cash it. In order to reflect an accurate balance in the cash account from which you wrote the check during the interim period, enter the withdrawal as having been paid from the Suspense account (Sometimes labeled the Pending Withdrawals account).

This leaves the checking account in balance, and shows a negative balance in the Suspense Account. In accounting parlance, the Suspense account represents a club liability owed to the member at this point.

When the check is cashed, enter a transfer from the account you paid the check from to the Suspense Account. This updates the cash balance in that account and zeroes out the suspense account.