Playbook: Resolving Ledger Suspense Items

After the legacy reconciliation (or during normal operations), some bank transactions may end up in reconciliation suspense. These are real transactions that the system couldn't automatically match to a known payment or classify by type. Each one needs a human to investigate and resolve.

Each SPV has its own reconciliation suspense account (code 9900.SPV-{id}). The Suspense Queue in the admin panel aggregates items across all SPVs into a single view.

How to Find Suspense Items

1. Go to the Ledger section in the admin panel
2. Click Suspense Queue in the sidebar
3. The summary panel at the top shows the total unresolved count and dollar amount across all SPVs
4. Use the search bar at the top of the page to quickly find specific accounts, journal entries, or SPVs

You can also check an individual SPV's reconciliation suspense account (code 9900.SPV-{id}) directly. Any non-zero balance means that SPV has items to review.

Each suspense entry includes metadata about the original bank transaction: the amount, date, and bank transaction ID.

Resolving a Suspense Item

For each unresolved item in the queue, click the Resolve button to open the resolution dialog. The dialog shows you the journal entry details (ID, date, amount, description) and asks you to:

1. Choose a resolution type — Classify, Write Off, or Link
2. Select a target account (if classifying) — pick the correct ledger account to move the amount into
3. Enter resolution notes — explain why you're resolving it this way (required for the audit trail)
4. Type "resolve" to confirm

Classify

Use this when you've identified what the transaction represents and want to move it to the correct account. For example, reclassifying a bank fee from suspense to the Wire Fee Losses expense account.

Write Off

Use this when the amount is immaterial or represents an expected loss (bank fees, rounding differences). The amount is moved to an expense account.

Link

Use this when the suspense item corresponds to an existing record that was simply unmatched. Marking it as "linked" acknowledges the transaction and clears it from the queue.

Common Scenarios

Wire Payment with No Matching Investment

An investor sent a wire, but it couldn't be matched to any payment order. This usually means the investor used the wrong reference or the payment order wasn't created before the wire arrived.

1. Find the bank transaction using the ID from the suspense entry
2. Check the payer name and amount against recent investments
3. If you identify the correct investment, use Classify to move the amount to the correct accounts

Bank Fee or Interest

The SPV's bank account was charged a fee or received a small interest payment.

1. Confirm the amount is consistent with known bank fees (typically $10-50) or interest (often under $5)
2. Use Classify and select the appropriate account:
   • For bank fees: Wire Fee Losses expense account
   • For interest: Interest Income revenue account

Distribution or Return of Capital

Money was sent out of the SPV that predates the current payment system.

1. Check the transaction description and amount against historical records
2. Identify the purpose (distribution, company investment, refund)
3. Use Classify to move the amount to the correct account

Duplicate or Erroneous Transaction

A transaction appears that shouldn't exist — a bank error, an unmatched reversal, or a test transaction.

1. Verify with the bank or payment provider that the transaction is genuine
2. If it's a bank error, use Write Off and note the bank reference
3. If it's a genuine duplicate, use Link and reference the original transaction

Tips

• Resolve suspense items regularly. Small backlogs are easy to clear; large ones become archaeological digs.
• When in doubt about a transaction, check with the investor or the bank before resolving.
• Every resolution is logged in the audit trail. Include enough detail in the notes that a future reviewer can understand the decision without additional context.
• If a pattern emerges (e.g. the same bank fee every month), consider adding it to the heuristic classification rules so future occurrences are handled automatically.
• Use the search bar on any ledger page to quickly jump to accounts, journal entries, or SPVs by name, code, or ID.