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Cost centers

Cost centers

Overview

The Cost centers screen is where you define and maintain your organization's hierarchical cost center structure. Every fixed asset can be tied to a cost center, which makes cost allocation, reporting by area and tracking spend per business unit straightforward. The screen is mainly used by the asset administrator or the Accounting team to set up the cost structure before Assets are registered.

How to get there

Master > Cost Centers

Direct URL: /master/cost-centers

Key concepts

Term Definition
Cost center An organizational unit (department, project, area) that fixed asset costs are charged to.
Code The cost center's unique alphanumeric identifier within the active company. Once created, the code cannot be changed.
Parent The cost center one level up that this record belongs to, allowing a multi-level hierarchy. A cost center with no parent is top-level.
Hierarchy The tree of cost centers formed by the parent-child relationship. There is no fixed limit on the number of levels.
Active (status) Whether the cost center can be assigned to new Assets. Inactive centers stay visible in the list but no longer appear as options on other forms.

How to use it

Create a cost center

  1. In the top bar, click New.
  2. In the New Cost Center dialog, fill in the required fields:
    • Code: enter a unique code (for example, ADM-001). This value cannot be changed after saving.
    • Name: enter the cost center's descriptive name.
  3. To place it inside a hierarchy, choose a Parent from the drop-down. You can type to filter by code or name. If the center is a root level, leave the field at None (top-level).
  4. Optionally, enter a Description.
  5. The Active field is ticked by default; untick it to create the cost center inactive.
  6. Click Save. The button reads Saving... while it processes. When it completes, a confirmation notification appears and the table refreshes.

Edit a cost center

  1. In the table, click the Code (a blue link) of the record you want to change. You can also right-click the row and choose Edit from the context menu.
  2. The Edit Cost Center dialog opens. The Code field is disabled and cannot be edited.
  3. Change the fields you need (Name, Parent, Description, Active).
  4. Click Save.

Delete a cost center

Delete one record:

  1. Right-click the row in the table and choose Delete from the context menu.
  2. Confirm the operation in the confirmation dialog.
  3. When it completes, a notification appears and the table refreshes.

Delete several records at once:

  1. Tick the selection checkboxes of the records you want to delete.
  2. The top bar shows the Delete (N) button with the number of selected records.
  3. Click Delete (N) and confirm the operation.
  4. To cancel the selection without deleting, click Clear selection in the header bar.

Search and filter

  • Use the search bar to search by Code, Name or Description.
  • Click any column's filter icon to apply extra filters. When filters are active, the header shows the number of filtered records and a link to clear the filters.

Refresh the table

Click Refresh (the reload icon) to reload the list with the latest data from the server.

Fields

Field Type Required Description Validation
Code Text Yes The cost center's unique identifier. Entered only at creation; not editable afterwards. Cannot be empty. The Save button stays disabled while the field is blank.
Name Text Yes The cost center's descriptive name. Cannot be empty. The Save button stays disabled while the field is blank.
Parent Drop-down No The cost center one level up. It only lists active cost centers. Leave blank for a root-level center. The drop-down filters as you type a code or name. None (optional field).
Description Text No Free text describing the cost center's purpose or scope. It is truncated with an ellipsis in the table; hover to see the full text. None.
Active Checkbox No Whether the cost center is enabled. Ticked by default at creation. Inactive centers do not appear as selection options on other forms. None.

Table columns

Column Description
Code The cost center's code. Click it to open the edit dialog. The first three columns (Code, Name, Parent) stay frozen when you scroll horizontally.
Name Descriptive name.
Parent The parent cost center's code. Hovering over this field shows the parent's name.
Active A visual indicator (ticked/unticked checkbox) of the record's status.
Description A shortened description; long text is truncated with an ellipsis and shown in full on hover.

Permissions

Available to users with access to the module, as configured by your administrator.

Notes

  • Switching the active company: if your account has access to several Companies, changing the active company from the company selector reloads the table with only the selected company's cost centers. The Parent option list is updated as well.
  • Immutable code: a cost center's code cannot be changed once saved. If you need to correct a code, delete the record and recreate it with the right code.
  • Deleting with dependencies: if the cost center is tied to Assets or other records, the system may refuse the deletion with an error message. Reassign or unlink the dependent records before trying again.
  • Hierarchy: there is no limit on the number of levels. That said, keeping structures simple (3-4 levels at most) makes reporting and asset assignment easier.

Troubleshooting

Symptom Likely cause Resolution
The Save button stays disabled. Code or Name is empty. Fill in both fields before trying to save.
The Code field is not editable in the dialog. You are in edit mode; the code is immutable once created. If you need to change the code, delete the record and create it again.
No options appear in the Parent drop-down. No active cost centers exist yet, or there are none active in the selected company. Create at least one active top-level cost center before trying to assign a parent.
The cost center does not appear in another form's Parent drop-down. The cost center is marked inactive. Edit the record and tick the Active checkbox.
A cost center cannot be deleted. The record has Assets or other dependent records attached. Reassign or delete the dependent records first, then try again.
The table does not show the cost centers you expect. Filters are active, or you are looking at a different company. Click Clear filters in the header and check the active company in the selector.

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