Cost Centres

Cost Centres are used to allocate and track costs across different parts of the organisation. They provide structure for financial reporting, cost analysis, and budget control.

Cost Centres help answer the question: Where did this cost occur or where should it be allocated?

What Cost Centres are

A Cost Centre represents an organisational unit such as a department, site, project, operational area or function, or even asset.

Cost Centres are used to classify costs for:

  • Parts
  • Labour
  • Services

How Cost Centres work

Cost Centres are applied at the line item level, not just at the Work Order level.

This means:

  • Each Part, Labour, or Service line can have its own Cost Centre
  • A single Work Order can contain multiple Cost Centres
  • Costs are allocated accurately even for complex jobs

Cost Centres follow an inheritance hierarchy, which reduces manual data entry while allowing overrides when required.

Cost Centre inheritance hierarchy

To reduce manual entry and ensure consistent cost allocation, Samurai CMMS applies Cost Centres using a defined inheritance hierarchy. This hierarchy determines which Cost Centre is applied to each line item when costs are recorded.

The hierarchy is applied in the following order, from highest to lowest priority:

Priority Source Description
1 Manual Override Cost Centre manually selected on the individual Part, Labour, or Service line item. This always takes precedence.
2 Expense Code Cost Centre mapped to the selected Expense Code. Overrides inherited values for that line item only.
3 Task Cost Centre inherited from the Task when the Work Order is generated.
4 Asset Cost Centre inherited from the Asset record if no Task Cost Centre exists.
5 System Default Default Cost Centre set in application settings.
6 Fallback System fallback Cost Centre used if no other source is available.

This hierarchy means:

  • Each cost line always has a Cost Centre
  • Defaults reduce data entry effort
  • Overrides are possible where required
  • Different line items on the same Work Order can use different Cost Centres

The source of the Cost Centre is stored with each line item to support transparency, auditing, and accurate reporting.

Best practice for inheritance

  • Set Cost Centres at the Task or Asset level wherever possible
  • Use Expense Codes to drive consistent Cost Centre allocation
  • Use manual overrides only when genuinely required
  • Avoid changing Cost Centres after Work Orders are completed

This inheritance model ensures cost data remains accurate, consistent, and auditable across all maintenance activity.

Common uses for Cost Centres

Cost Centres are commonly used to:

  • Track maintenance spend by department or site
  • Allocate costs for budgeting and reporting
  • Analyse maintenance cost trends
  • Support financial reconciliation
  • Report costs by Asset, Class, or Category

Cost Centre fields

The following fields are used when creating or editing Cost Centres.

Field name Required Description
Code Yes Unique identifier for the Cost Centre, often aligned with finance systems.
Name Yes Clear, descriptive name of the Cost Centre.
Active Yes Controls whether the Cost Centre can be selected. New Cost Centres are active by default.

Creating and editing Cost Centres

To create or edit a Cost Centre:

  1. Navigate to Reference Tables → Financial Tables → Cost Centre.
  2. Select + Add Cost Centre or edit an existing one.
  3. Enter the Cost Centre Code and Description.
  4. The Active toggle will be set to Yes by default. Toggle this to No if you don't want this Cost Centre to be selectable yet.
  5. Click Save

Where Cost Centres apply

Cost Centres can be applied in the following areas:

  • Part line items on Work Orders
  • Labour line items on Work Orders
  • Service line items on Work Orders
  • Assets and Tasks, where they may be inherited

Cost Centres do not apply to Resources.

Adding Cost Centres to Work Orders

Cost Centres are usually applied automatically but can be changed manually.

When adding Parts, Labour, or Services:

  • A default Cost Centre may be inherited from the Task
  • If not present, the Asset Cost Centre is used
  • If neither is present, a system default is applied
  • Selecting an Expense Code may override the inherited Cost Centre
  • Users can manually override the Cost Centre at the line level

This ensures consistent allocation while allowing flexibility.

To add a Cost Centre to a Work Order:

  1. Go to a Work Management → Work Orders
  2. Click + Add Work Order or edit an existing one.
  3. Go to either the Parts, Labour, or Services tab.
  4. Add a new line item or edit an existing one
  5. Select an Cost Centre from the dropdown.
  6. Save the Work Order.

Pre-requisites

Before using Cost Centres:

  • Cost Centres must be configured in Reference Tables
  • Expense Codes should be mapped to Cost Centres if required
  • Users must have permission to edit cost fields
  • Default Cost Centre settings should be reviewed

Example of Cost Centres in use

A Work Order includes:

  • Labour charged to Workshop Maintenance
  • Parts charged to Site Operations

Each line item uses a different Cost Centre, allowing accurate reporting even though the work occurred under one Work Order.

Important considerations and best practices

  • Apply Cost Centres at the line item level wherever possible
  • Use consistent naming and coding aligned with finance systems
  • Avoid excessive manual overrides
  • Review Expense Code mappings regularly
  • Deactivating a Cost Centre prevents future use but does not affect historical data
  • Cost Centres do not impact scheduling, permissions, or workflow

Cost Centres provide clear financial visibility and support accurate maintenance cost reporting across the organisation.