Managing Cost Centers

⚡ What are Cost Centers?

Cost Centers are a way to organize and track payroll costs so you can clearly understand where money is being spent.

Instead of reviewing payroll as a single total, Cost Centers group earnings, deductions, and other pay types into meaningful categories. This helps make payroll data easier to review and interpret, especially when working with reports or journal entries.

Cost Centers are a foundational part of payroll setup and are used behind the scenes to consistently categorize payroll data without manual adjustments.

💡 | Tip: To keep information consistent across the platform, we recommend aligning Cost Center names with your Departments. This makes it easier to compare the same groupings across different reports.

🔎 Why Use Cost Centers?

Here are some common reasons teams set up Cost Centers:

• Better filtering across the platform: Use Departments to filter and group information across key areas of the platform—from scheduling and labour planning to reviewing employee clock activity—so data is easier to understand at a glance.

• Clearer reporting and comparisons: Group and filter reports by team instead of individual Positions to make labour, cost, and performance data easier to interpret.

• Scales as your team grows: New Positions can be added to existing Departments without increasing complexity in schedules or reports.

• Less manual filtering: Review schedules and reports with fewer clicks by selecting a Department instead of multiple individual roles.

🔐 Access required

Cost Centers are available on all subscription plans with the Payroll add-on.

Who can manage Cost Center Details?

• Super Administrators: Full access to create, edit, delete, and assign Cost Centers to employees and Positions.
• Team Administrators: Do not have access to set up Cost Centers. However, they can assign Cost Centers to Positions if the Set Up Company Positions permission is enabled. And can manage Cost Centers within employee profiles if the Employee Cost Center permission under Employee Setup is enabled, along with permission to the relevant Employee Groups under: Update Employee Information, View Employee Information, and View Employee List.

📋 Topics covered in this article:

• Creating a Cost Center

• Assigning Cost Centers (Position-based and Employee-based)

• Managing Cost Centers

• Frequently Asked Questions about Cost Centers

📚 Related articles:

• Managing Departments
• Managing Employee Groups
• Managing Employee Positions

Creating a Cost Center

Creating Cost Centers is one of the first recommended setup steps in a new account because it defines how your payroll costs will be grouped and reported over time.

Before creating Cost Centers, it’s helpful to think about how you want to review payroll data. Some teams prefer a simple structure, such as grouping costs by pay type (for example, Hourly and Salaried). while others choose a more detailed approach that mirrors how their teams are organized, like by Department.

💡 | Tip: Not sure how to structure your Cost Centers yet? There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Check out the FAQ section below for examples of common setup strategies and considerations.

Once Cost Centers are created, they can be assigned to Positions and employee profiles to ensure payroll-related costs are categorized correctly.

1. Click the Employees tab.
2. In the left-hand navigation, select Cost Centers.
3. The Cost Centers page will load.
   1. If Cost Centers already exist, they’ll be listed here.
   2. If none have been created yet, the page will appear empty.
4. To add a new Cost Center, click Add a New Cost Center.
5. Under Cost Center Name, enter a clear, descriptive name.
   💡 | Tip: If your account includes multiple locations, include the location name in the Cost Center title (for example, Location A – HR). This helps clearly identify which Cost Center belongs to which location when reviewing reports.
6. (Optional) Under Notes, enter any additional details that may help your team understand how this Cost Center is used.
7. (Optional) Under Code, enter an internal reference or accounting code.

8. Under Location, click the drop-down menu and assign the relevant location, if available.
   📌 | Note: If your account includes multiple locations within a single account, assigning the correct location ensures payroll costs are accurately grouped and reported by location.

9. Click Add Cost Center, and the page will refresh and list the new Cost Center!

    

Assigning Cost Centers

Creating Cost Centers is the first step, but they must be assigned to Positions and/or employee profiles to be reflected across the platform. Once Cost Centers are assigned, the platform will automatically group payroll costs during the next payroll run. This helps ensure payroll reports reflect the structure you’ve set up without requiring manual sorting.

Cost Centers can be assigned in two places within your account: at the Position level and at the employee profile level. We recommend assigning both to ensure all payroll-related costs are segmented correctly.

⚠️ | Warning: If Cost Centers are not assigned, payroll reports may display values under 'Unknown Cost Center', making data harder to interpret. In addition, certain payroll reports, such as Journal Entry reports used for exporting data into accounting software like Xero or QuickBooks, may not export correctly without Cost Centers assigned.

This section will guide you through the following sections:

• Assigning Position-Based Cost Centers
• Assigning Employee-Based Cost Centers

Assigning Position-Based Cost Centers

Position-based Cost Centers are assigned directly to a Position (role) in your account. When payroll is processed, the platform uses the Cost Center assigned to the Position to allocate earnings and payroll-related costs associated with the work performed in that role.

💡 | Tip: To keep payroll data organized and accurately categorized, we recommend assigning Cost Centers at both the Position and employee profile levels. Since only one Cost Center can be assigned to each employee, Position-based Cost Centers ensure earnings are correctly segmented when employees work multiple roles.

1. Click the Employees tab.
2. Select Employee Positions from the left-hand navigation.
3. Click the pencil icon next to the Position you want to edit.
   1. If the Position you need doesn’t exist yet, click Add a New Position instead. You can review our Creating Employee Positions guide for step-by-step instructions.
4. Under Cost Center, select the appropriate option from the drop-down menu.
5. Once done, click Update Position.

Assigning Employee-Based Cost Centers

Employee-based Cost Centers are a single Cost Center assigned directly within an employee’s profile.

Employee-based Cost Centers are used when payroll costs can’t be tied to a specific Position. When this happens, instead of appearing as an Unknown Cost Center, the platform will automatically use the Cost Center assigned in the employee profile. This helps ensure payroll costs remain grouped and reported accurately.

💡 | Tip: To keep payroll data organized and accurately categorized, we recommend assigning Cost Centers at both the Position and employee profile levels. Since only one Cost Center can be assigned to each employee, Position-based Cost Centers ensure earnings are correctly segmented when employees work multiple roles.

1. Navigate to the Employees tab.
2. On the left-hand navigation bar, select the appropriate Employee List: Active, Pending, On Leave, or Inactive.
   1. If the Employee does not exist yet, click Add a New Employee instead. You can review our How To Add A New Employee guide for step-by-step instructions.
3. Under Search, input the employee’s name.
4. Under Edit, click the pencil icon to open the profile.
5. Scroll down to the Cost Center section.
6. Under Cost Center, select the appropriate option from the drop-down menu.
7. Once done, click Update Employee to save.

Managing Cost Centers

Once Cost Centers are created and assigned, you may need to review, rename, or remove them over time as your business evolves. While Cost Centers don’t require frequent maintenance, this section outlines the available management options and when they’re typically used.

This section will guide you through the following sections:

• Adjusting Cost Center Details
• Deleting a Cost Center

Editing a Cost Center

Editing a Cost Center is helpful when the name or details no longer reflect how payroll costs should be grouped; for example, if a team name changes or your internal structure is updated.

1. Click the Employees tab.
2. In the left-hand navigation, select Cost Centers to load the main Cost Center page.
3. Locate the Cost Center you want to update, and under Edit, click the Pencil icon.
4. The page will load to the Cost Center Details. 
5. Under Cost Center Name, adjust the name if applicable.  
   💡 | Tip: If your account includes multiple locations, include the location name in the Cost Center title (for example, Location A – HR). This helps clearly identify which Cost Center belongs to which location when reviewing reports.
6. (Optional) Under Notes, adjust any additional details that may help your team understand how this Cost Center is used, if applicable.
7. (Optional) Under Code, adjust an internal reference or accounting code if applicable.

8. Under Location, click the drop-down menu and adjust the assigned location, if available.
   📌 | Note: If your account includes multiple locations within a single account, assigning the correct location ensures payroll costs are accurately grouped and reported by location.

9. Once done, click Save, and the page will refresh and list the new Cost Center details!

Deleting a Cost Center

Deleting a Cost Center may be appropriate if it’s no longer relevant or was created in error. Because this action impacts how payroll data is grouped, we recommend reviewing with your team before proceeding.

1. Click the Employees tab.
2. In the left-hand navigation, select Cost Centers to load the main Cost Center page.
3. Locate the Cost Center you want to remove, and under Edit, click the Trash Can icon.
4. A confirmation pop-up titled Are You Sure You Want to Delete This Cost Center? will appear. Click Cancel to back out or Ok to proceed.

5. Once done, the page will refresh and remove the Cost Center!
   💡 | Tip:  Deleting a Cost Center permanently removes it from your account and it cannot be recovered. After deletion, the Cost Center will no longer be available and payroll costs may be unassigned. To keep payroll data accurate, navigate back to Employee Positions and employee profiles to reassign any affected roles or employees to an existing Cost Center.

    

Frequently Asked Questions About Cost Centers

Have questions about setting up or managing Cost Centers? This section covers common scenarios to help you organize payroll data with confidence.

💡 | Tip: Need help or clarification? Contact our Support Team at support@pushoperations.com or use our AI bot, Astra, for quick assistance.

Q: How should I structure my Cost Centers?
A: There’s no single right way to structure Cost Centers. The best approach depends on how you review payroll data today and what level of detail your team needs. Below are common setup approaches, along with when each may be a good fit.

Q: What happens if a Cost Center isn’t assigned?
A: While assigning Cost Centers isn’t mandatory, it’s strongly recommended. If Cost Centers aren’t assigned to Positions or employee profiles, payroll costs won’t be grouped in a meaningful way. Instead, reports will show totals under Unknown Cost Center, which makes it harder to understand where payroll money is being spent.

Assigning Cost Centers allows you to break payroll costs into clear groupings and compare them against other data, such as scheduled labour, so reports are more insightful and easier to interpret as your business grows.

Q: What’s the difference between Position-based and Employee-based Cost Centers?
A: Position-based Cost Centers track earnings based on the role worked and are recommended for accuracy, especially when employees hold multiple Positions. Employee-based Cost Centers act as a fallback for earnings not tied to a Position.

Q: Can I update Cost Centers after payroll has already been run?
A: YYes. You can update Cost Center names or assignments at any time. In most cases, reports will reflect the updated Cost Center information once the assignment is corrected.

For Journal Entry reports specifically, you’ll have the option to re-run payroll distributions to refresh the details and apply the updated Cost Center information.

Q: Can an employee or a Position have more than one Cost Center?
A: No. Each Position and each employee profile can have only one Cost Center assigned. Position-based Cost Centers are used first when payroll costs are tied to a role, which is why they’re recommended, especially for employees who work multiple Positions.

Q: Do Cost Centers affect scheduling?
A: No. Cost Centers are used for payroll and reporting purposes, while scheduling relies on Departments and Positions.

Q: Why do I see “Unknown Cost Center” in reports?
This usually means a Cost Center hasn’t been assigned to the Position or employee associated with those payroll costs. Once you update the assignment, payroll reports will automatically reflect the Cost Center moving forward.

For Journal Entry reports specifically, you’ll also have the option to re-run payroll distributions to refresh the details and apply the updated Cost Center information.

Q: How do Cost Centers work if I have multiple locations in one account?
A: If your account includes multiple locations under a single account, Cost Centers should be created and assigned per location. This helps ensure payroll costs are grouped and reported accurately for each location.

For clarity, many teams include the location name in the Cost Center title (for example, Location A – Admin). This makes it easier to identify which Cost Center belongs to which location when reviewing payroll reports.

Additional Information

Need further help? Contact our Support Team at support@pushoperations.com or utilize our AI bot, Astra, for quick assistance.