cost center
Non-revenue division
A cost center is a department or unit within an organization that incurs expenses but doesn't directly generate revenue: HR and IT are cost centers, not profit centers.
The term appears in accounting and management contexts, sometimes with dismissive connotations—being labeled a cost center can imply the department is a drain rather than an asset.
Distinct unit within organization
- divisionSplitting into parts
- unitIndividual part or measure
- functionPurpose or duty
- human resourcesEmployee administration department
IT · information technology · marketing · administration · legal · finance · facilities · customer service
Plan for spending
- allocationDistribution of shares
- forecastingEstimating future conditions
- expense trackingRecording what you spend
- fiscal yearAccounting calendar period
variance · targets · projection · financial planning · resource allocation · operating budget · annual budget
Master accounting record
- allocationDistribution of shares
- financial reportingDocumenting business performance formally
Supervision or inadvertent omission
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
- performance evaluationAssessment of job effectiveness
- efficiencyProductive without waste
- managerOne who directs others
reporting structure · KPIs · benchmarking · headcount · productivity · operational efficiency · waste reduction · process improvement
department
Distinct unit within organization
human resources · IT · information technology · marketing · administration · legal · finance · facilities · customer service · operations
budget
Plan for spending
- allocationDistribution of shares
- forecastingEstimating future conditions
- expense trackingRecording what you spend
fiscal year · variance · targets · projection · financial planning · resource allocation · operating budget · annual budget
general ledger
Master accounting record
- allocationDistribution of shares
- financial reportingDocumenting business performance formally
oversight
Supervision or inadvertent omission
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
- performance evaluationAssessment of job effectiveness
- efficiencyProductive without waste
manager · reporting structure · KPIs · benchmarking · headcount · productivity · operational efficiency · waste reduction · process improvement · metrics
- cost accountingoverhead, direct labor, break-even point, contribution margin, budget variance
- budgetsbudget, budgets, annual budget, capital budget, cash budget
- organizational unitsdepartment, division, branch, unit, section
- accountingbookkeeping, ledger, balance sheet, general ledger, accounts payable
- financial controlsinternal controls, auditing, internal audit, financial oversight, checks and balances
- financial codesticker, ticker symbol, stock symbol, stock ticker, SWIFT
cost centercompetitive advantage
Factor enabling market outperformance
cash cow · money maker · rainmaker · revenue stream · crown jewel
cost, center, costs, costing, costly, costless, costliness, centers, centered