---
title: "Cost Centers"
slug: "cost-centers"
updated: 2026-06-03T22:15:57Z
published: 2026-06-03T22:15:57Z
canonical: "help.dialpad.com/cost-centers"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.dialpad.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Cost Centers

Cost centers let you tag and organize your subscription at the office, user, or license level without changing your invoices or billing entities.

You can create a cost center directory, apply percentage-based tags across offices, users, or licenses, and export CSV reports for internal attribution and reconciliation.

> [!NOTE]
> Who can use this
> 
> Admins and Billing Managers on all Dialpad products and license tiers can manage cost centers.

## What are cost centers?

Cost centers are metadata tags used for reporting. They do not change billing, invoice totals, taxes, or billing entities.

You can apply cost center allocations at three levels:

- Office
- User
- License

Each allocation must total exactly 100%, and each office, user, or license can include up to 10 cost centers.

If more than one allocation exists, Dialpad uses this precedence order: user, then license, then office. If no allocation exists at any level, the item appears as Unassigned in reports.

## Before you begin

Cost centers appear under Billing in your Dialpad **Admin Settings** when it’s enabled for your company.

Each cost center includes these fields:

- Code
- Name
- External reference (optional)
- Status

> [!NOTE]
> Note
> 
> Cost center codes support:
> 
> - Alphanumeric characters
> - Hyphens
> - Underscores
> 
> You can use a maximum of 20 characters, and they are automatically converted to uppercase.

## Create a cost center

To create a cost center, go to your Dialpad **Admin Settings**.

1. Select **My Company**
2. Select **Billing** > **Cost Centers**
3. In the Cost allocations, select **Directory**
4. Select **Add cost centers**

![Window to add details for creating new cost centers.](https://cdn.us.document360.io/0f28ad44-2863-4372-a27e-c6728808d742/Images/Documentation/Screenshot 2026-05-28 at 4.18.00 PM.png)
5. Enter the cost center code and display name
6. (Optional) Enter an external reference to map the cost center to your ERP or general ledger system
7. Select **Save**

## Edit or archive a cost center

To edit or archive a cost center, go to your Dialpad **Admin Settings**.

1. Select **My Company**
2. Select **Billing** > **Cost Centers**
3. In the Cost allocations, select **Directory**
4. In the Cost Center Directory, find the cost center you want to update
5. Select **Edit** to modify the cost center details, or select **Archive** to archive the cost center

![View of the cost center directory with options to edit or archive each cost center.](https://cdn.us.document360.io/0f28ad44-2863-4372-a27e-c6728808d742/Images/Documentation/Screenshot 2026-05-28 at 7.02.38 PM.png)

> [!NOTE]
> Note
> 
> If you select **Archive**, select **Archive** in the confirmation window.
6. Select **Save**

> [!NOTE]
> Note
> 
> Archived cost centers remain visible in reports for historical accuracy, but you can’t use them for new allocations until you reactivate them.

To reactivate a cost center, select **Reactivate** from the **Cost centers directory**.

![View of a list of cost centers, with the option to reactivate an archived cost center.](https://cdn.us.document360.io/0f28ad44-2863-4372-a27e-c6728808d742/Images/Documentation/Screenshot 2026-05-28 at 7.04.20 PM.png)

## Set office, user, or license allocations

You can manage cost center allocations for these groups:

- All Offices
- All Licenses
- All Users

To manage cost center allocations, go to your Dialpad **Admin Settings**.

1. Select **My Company**
2. Select **Billing** > **Cost Centers**
3. Select one of these tabs:
  - **All Offices**
  - **All Users**
  - **All Licenses**
4. Search for the office, user, or license you want to update
5. Select **Manage**
6. Enter the percentage for each row

![View of the allocation panel to allocate a percentage of an office to different cost centers.](https://cdn.us.document360.io/0f28ad44-2863-4372-a27e-c6728808d742/Images/Documentation/Screenshot 2026-05-28 at 7.19.17 PM(1).png)

> [!NOTE]
> Note
> 
> Make sure the total equals 100% before you save.
7. Select **Save allocation**

****Example****

An office can be assigned 60% to Engineering and 40% to Sales.

If a user in that office has their own 100% allocation, the user allocation overrides the office allocation for reporting.

If a license has its own allocation and the user does not, the license allocation overrides the office allocation.

## Export cost center reports

There are three types of CSV exports for cost centers:

| **Office Allocation Summary** | A high-level view of how many licenses and users are attributed to each cost center within each office. |
| --- | --- |
| **License Allocation Detail** | A detailed reconciliation report showing every license, including unassigned licenses, and how its list price is split across cost centers. |
| **User Allocation Detail** | A detailed report focused on assigned users only. |

To export a report, go to your Dialpad **Admin Settings**.

1. Select **My Company**
2. Go to **Billing** > **Cost Centers**
3. Select **Export (.csv)**
4. Choose the report type you want

![The export allocation report window, showing different report options.](https://cdn.us.document360.io/0f28ad44-2863-4372-a27e-c6728808d742/Images/Documentation/Screenshot 2026-05-28 at 6.51.29 PM.png)
5. Select **Send report**
6. Select **Done**

> [!NOTE]
> Note
> 
> Reports are delivered by email to the requesting user.

> [!WARNING]
> Important reporting behavior
> 
> Cost centers reports use your company’s pricing table and calculate attributed amounts from list price and allocation percentage. Because of this, exported values may not always match the exact amounts on your invoice.
> 
> 
> 
> Cost centers are designed for internal attribution and reporting only.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does cost centers change my invoice?

No. Cost centers does not change invoice totals, billing entities, taxes, or billing workflows.

### What happens if I don’t set an allocation?

If no allocation exists at the user, license, or office level, the item appears as Unassigned at 100% in reports.

### Can I split one item across multiple cost centers?

Yes. You can split an office, user, or license allocation across multiple cost centers as long as the total equals 100%.

### What happens when I archive a cost center?

Archived cost centers stay visible in historical reports, but you can’t use them in new allocations until they are reactivated.

### How are reports delivered?

Reports are sent by email to the person who requested them.

### Can I bulk-assign allocations?

Yes. You can assign the same allocation to up to 100 users at once from the **Users** tab, and you can also manage license allocations in bulk by license type.