At a glance
By creating cost centers, companies can flexibly map part of their financial structure in Circula.
Cost centers can be added and edited by admins.
Cost centers can be assigned to user groups.
Cost centers allow companies to flexibly map their financial structure in Circula. Cost centers can be created, edited and deactivated in the settings.
How to add a new cost center
In the web app, click on the "Settings" menu item and then on the "Cost centers" tab.
Cost centers in the web app
Click on the yellow plus to add a new cost center.
Adding a new cost center
Enter the name of the cost center and the cost center number and click on "Create".
Adding a new cost center
The new cost center is added to the "Cost centers" tab.
Newly added cost center
How to edit a cost center
In the web app, click on the "Settings" menu item and then on the "Cost centers" tab.
Cost centers in the web app
Click on the line of the cost center you want to edit.
Choosing the cost center to edit
After you have edited the name or number of the cost center, click on "Save".
Editing a cost center
How to deactivate a cost center
Note
Cost centers cannot be deleted, only deactivated.
In the web app, click on the "Settings" menu item and then on the "Cost centers" tab.
Cost centers in the web app
Click on the three dots in the line of the cost center you want to deactivate.
Click on "Deactivate".
Deactivating a cost center
The deactivated cost centers can be found under the "Inactive" tab.
Deactivated cost centers
Tip
Deactivated cost centers can be reactivated at any time by clicking on the three dots in the respective line of the deactivated cost center and then on "Activate".
Use of cost centers
Expenses are automatically submitted with the cost centers that correspond to the group of submitting users. To assign a cost center to a group, simply select the corresponding cost center in the group details:
Go to User Management to assign a cost center to a group
Example: An employee in the Tech department submits a lunch receipt. The expense is automatically assigned the cost center stored for the tech group.
For accountants:
If at least one cost center is active, an additional drop-down element appears in the expense details visible to accountants. Accountants are therefore able to adjust the cost centers for the individual expenses.
Example: The lunch receipt submitted by the employee from the Tech department corresponds to a cross-departmental event involving several department leads. The cost center is therefore not “Tech”, but “General”. The accountant can now make changes that will reflect the situation when controlling the expense in the web app.
Cost centers on user level
Admins can assign a specific cost center to an individual user's profile. This approach offers greater flexibility and transparency in your Circula setup.
This setting overrides the default cost center assigned to the user's expense group.
How to assign a user-level cost center
Navigate to the "User Management" tab.
Click on the name of the user you want to manage to open their detailed profile view.
Locate the field labeled "Employee Cost Center".
If a specific cost center is already assigned to this user, it will be visible in this field.
If the field is empty, no user-level cost center has been assigned.
Assign or change the cost center and click on "Save".
Employee Cost Center in the web app
Understanding the Approval Priority
When an expense is submitted, the system checks for a cost center in the following order:
User-Level Cost Center: The system first checks the user's "Employee Cost Center" field. If a cost center is assigned here, it will be used. This assignment takes priority over all others.
Expense Group Cost Center (Fallback): If the "Employee Cost Center" field on the user's profile is empty, the system will automatically fall back and use the cost center that is assigned to the user's expense group.
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