Cost centers allow you to allocate spending to specific activities or purposes, answering the question: "For which purpose or function is this expense being made?" The Budgets feature relies on this concept. Admins and Account Owners can set up cost centers on Spendesk.
While it’s possible to create over 100 cost centers if needed, we recommend keeping the number manageable for smoother payment preparation processes.
Set up a cost center
To create your first cost center:
Go to Settings > Organisation > Cost Centers.
Choose a cost center name and assign a cost center owner. The owner is responsible for the cost center and its related budget. Note: The owner must always be included in the approval flow.
Example: The Head of Marketing is best suited to approve expenses related to a "Marketing" cost center.
Cost center owners # co-owners
Owners: Responsible for approvals and budgets.
Co-owners: Share the same rights as the owner but do not need to be included in the approval flow. They can view expenses related to the cost center in the Payments tab, even if they are not approvers.
Define the approval flow
After naming the cost center and assigning an owner:
Click Define the Approval Workflow.
Set different approval thresholds based on expense amounts, assigning approvers accordingly.
Example: Approver A is required for expenses below €1,000. For expenses above €1,000, Approver A and Approver B are both required.
Decide if each threshold requires approval from any approver or all listed approvers.
Note:
If multiple approval flows exist, such as one for €0–10,000 (Approver A) and another for €10,000–20,000 (Approver B), a request for €8,000 can be approved by Approver A or any approver above them.
For more details on role-based approval workflows and exception scenarios, refer to our detailed guide here.
Edit a cost center
You can update the owner and other cost center settings anytime by selecting the Edit tool next to the owner's name in the Cost Centers tab.
Change the cost center on a request / payable / payment
To modify the assigned cost center:
Navigate to the relevant tab (e.g., Requests, Payables, Payments).
Select the payment or payable and edit the Cost Center field.
Changes can only be made until the payment is prepared and exported.
Delete a cost center
When deleting a cost center, you must reassign its requests, payables, payments, subscriptions, and purchase orders to an existing cost center. This ensures:
All unapproved requests use the new cost center’s approval workflow.
Already exported payables/payments retain their original cost center value.
FAQs
Can I have more than 100 cost centers?
Yes, but we recommend keeping the number smaller to ensure a smooth payment preparation process.
What happens if I delete a cost center?
All associated requests, payments, and payables will be reassigned to the new selected cost center. Unapproved requests will follow the new cost center’s approval flow.
Can I edit a cost center after it’s been created?
Yes, you can update the cost center’s name, owner, and settings at any time.
Can co-owners approve expenses?
No, co-owners can view expenses but do not need to be included in the approval flow.