Suspending an Account in the Chart of Accounts and Reactivating It

Suspending an account stops using an account in the Chart of Accounts in any new transaction, while keeping all its entries and balances and its appearance in reports. Use it for accounts you no longer use but that have previous transactions, such as a closed bank account or a discontinued expense account. This guide explains how to suspend an account and reactivate it, what changes after suspension, the accounts that can’t be suspended, and the error messages and their solutions.

The Difference Between Suspending, Hiding, and Deleting an Account

	Suspending	Hiding	Deleting
When to Use	An account with transactions that is no longer used.	An account without transactions that you don’t want to appear in the chart.	An account without transactions that is no longer needed.
An account with transactions	Available.	Not available, and a message appears suggesting suspension.	Not available.
Appearance in the chart	It appears with the label Suspended.	It disappears unless you enable Show Hidden Accounts.	It is deleted permanently.
Appearance in reports	It appears with its balances and transactions.	—	—
Selection in new transactions	Not possible.	It doesn’t appear in search.	—
Undoing	Reactivate.	Show.	Not possible.

Suspending an Account

1. Open Chart of Accounts and go to the required account.
2. From the actions menu next to the account name (or next to the account in the sub-accounts list), choose Suspend.
3. In the window Deactivate Account the message appears Are you sure you want to suspend the account (account name #code)?, click Suspend.
4. The message appears The account was suspended successfully, and the label appears next to the account Suspended.

Suspending a Main Account

You can suspend a main account you added with the same steps, provided that all the sub-accounts under it are suspended first. If there are active accounts under it, the message appears This account has (number) active sub-accounts. Suspend them first or move them to another main account.

1. Suspend the active sub-accounts under the main account, or move them to another main account from Edit Account.
2. Then suspend the main account.

The basic main accounts in the chart can’t be suspended: Assets andLiabilities andOwner’s Equity andRevenue andExpenses.

Reactivating a Suspended Account

1. Open the suspended account in Chart of Accounts.
2. From the actions menu choose Reactivate.
3. The message appears The account was reactivated successfully, and the account becomes available again in all transactions.

When you reactivate an account under a suspended main account, the main account (and the suspended accounts above it) is reactivated automatically, so no active account remains under a suspended account.

What Happens After Suspending the Account?

Place	Effect
Previous entries and transactions	They stay as they are, and the balance doesn’t change.
Reports	The account appears with its transactions and balances, such as in the trial balance and the ledger.
Chart of Accounts	It appears with the label Suspended.
Selecting the account in new transactions	It doesn’t appear in the account selection lists when adding or editing journal entries invoices, purchase invoices, expenses, incomes, requisitions, and assets, or in account routing.
An old document that uses the account	It can be edited and saved with the same account. But if you choose the suspended account in a line or document that wasn’t using it, saving is prevented and the message appears (account name) #(code) is suspended; please choose a different account.
Report filters	The suspended account can be selected in them to view its transactions.
Activity log	Suspension and reactivation are recorded with the user name and time.

Accounts That Can’t Be Suspended

Account	Cause	Solution
The basic main accounts (Assets, Liabilities, Owner’s Equity, Revenue, Expenses)	The basis of the chart.	They can’t be suspended.
Accounts the system creates automatically, such as the accounts of clients, suppliers, treasuries, warehouses, sales, and taxes	Linked to an automatic accounting route and used in automatic entries.	Deactivate the record itself from its screen if you want to stop it, such as the treasury or the supplier.
An account set in account routing	Chosen manually in account routing or in the account routing of Requisitions.	Choose another account in the routing from the link shown in the message, then suspend the account.
The default inventory account	Set as a default account in Inventory & Products Settings.	Change the default account first.
A main account with active accounts under it	An active account under a suspended account isn’t allowed.	Suspend the sub-accounts or move them first.
The main clients account	Set as the main clients account in the sales account routing.	Change the main clients account first.

Error Messages and Their Solutions

Message Shown	Cause	Solution
This account has transactions and can’t be hidden! Instead, you can suspend the account.	Trying to hide an account with transactions.	Suspend the account instead of hiding it.
This account has (number) active sub-accounts. Suspend them first or move them to another main account.	Suspending a main account with active accounts under it.	Suspend or move the sub-accounts.
This account is set in the account routes; to suspend the account, you must remove it from the account routes first.	The account is chosen in account routing.	Open the link in the message and choose another account.
This account is linked to an automatic accounting route and can’t be suspended	An account created automatically by the system.	It can’t be suspended; stop the linked record from its screen.
An account assigned as a default account can’t be suspended.	The default inventory account.	Change it from Inventory & Products Settings.
This account can’t be suspended	A basic main account.	It can’t be suspended.
(account name) #(code) is suspended; please choose a different account.	Choosing a suspended account in an entry or document.	Choose another account, or reactivate the account.
The account couldn’t be suspended / The account couldn’t be reactivated	An error while saving.	Try again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the account balance deleted when it is suspended?

No, all entries and balances remain, and the account appears in reports.

Why doesn’t the account appear when adding an entry?

Because it is suspended. Reactivate it from Chart of Accounts if you want to use it.

Can an old entry that uses a suspended account be edited?

Yes, it can be saved with the same account, but the suspended account can’t be added to a new line.

Why doesn’t the suspend option appear for a client or treasury account?

Because they are accounts the system creates automatically and they can’t be suspended; you can deactivate the client or the treasury itself from its screen.

What is the difference between suspending and hiding?

Hiding is for accounts without transactions and hides them from the chart, while suspending is for accounts with transactions and prevents their use while they remain in reports.

I reactivated a sub-account, so why did the main account become active?

Because the system automatically reactivates the suspended main accounts above it, so that no active account is under a suspended account.