Do you still need to record VAT payments if you mark them as an expense and VAT suspense in books. Does it affect final figures if not.

I'll share some information about the VAT accounts, info1329.

The VAT Suspense is a liability account and is used to temporarily track your tax liability before a VAT payment or refund from HMRC. You will be prompted to record a VAT payment in the Taxes section after you have filed your VAT return. 

After recording the VAT payment, the figures will be moved from the suspense account to the bank account. You can check this article for more information: Record a VAT payment or refund.

If you've created an expense for the VAT payment made outside of QuickBooks Online, the transaction will be allocated to the expense account used in the category section.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions or other concerns with QuickBooks Online. Just click the Reply button and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.