The Manager Account and Suspense Account are separate ledgers within the trust-account records. Their balances help explain how recorded amounts relate to the trust bank balance; neither should be changed just to make a month-end total appear to be zero.
A trust balance can include money still held for future bookings
Funds may remain in the trust account before a booking is ready for release or disbursement. Trace what the balance represents before deciding whether any transfer or correction is needed.
On this page: Manager Account · Suspense Account · Review a balance
Manager Account
The Manager Account is a ledger for money attributed to the manager but held within the trust-account bank balance. Its balance can include amounts retained for a business purpose, such as funds related to future bookings or other recorded manager transactions. It is part of the trust-account bank position, not a separate bank account.
Suspense Account
Suspense is a separate ledger with a different purpose from the Manager Account. Any balance there needs its own transaction-level explanation and support in the underlying records. One ledger should not be used to conceal an unexplained difference in the other.
Review a balance
- Open the relevant ledger and review the individual entries, dates and descriptions.
- Trace each amount to its source transaction, booking, bank activity or prior adjustment.
- Use the month-end Trial Balance and Three-Way Report to review the ledgers against the trust-account position for that period.
- Resolve a balance only through the transaction or disbursement process that matches its documented purpose. Do not delete a valid entry or post an unsupported adjustment to force a zero balance.
See Disbursing the Manager Account for the separate payout procedure, or Reversing Suspense Account Entries when a suspense transaction needs correction.