Center hierarchy
Centers are organized as a tree: a center can have sub-centers.- Only leaf centers (without active sub-centers) that are active can be assigned to documents and journal entries. The cost center selector only offers those.
- Parent centers are used to group in reports: filtering by “01 Comercial” includes its two sub-centers.
Create and maintain centers
1
Go to Accounting → Settings → Cost Centers tab
2
Click New Cost Center
Enter code, name, description and, if it is a sub-center, the Parent Cost Center.
3
Save
A center that already has movements cannot be deleted; deactivate it so it is not used in new documents. What is already recorded is preserved in reports.
Policy per account
Not every account needs a cost center. Each account in the Chart of Accounts has a policy:
Income, cost and expense accounts start as Optional and the rest as None. To change it:
1
Go to Accounting → Chart of accounts
2
Edit the account
3
In the Cost center field, choose None, Optional or Required
Check Also apply to its sub-accounts to change a whole branch at once (for example, all selling expenses).
4
Save
How it is assigned on each document
On all documents the center is optional. When a document has lines, you can set one center on the document (default value) and a different one on some lines: a line’s center is its own or, if it has none, the document’s.
On journal entries, sales, purchases and payrolls you can also choose a distribution instead of a center.
How it reaches the journal entry
Document journal entries are generated when you process documents. At that moment FileXpress copies each document line’s center only to the journal entry lines whose account accepts a center (Optional or Required policy):
Examples:
- A purchase with the Administración center and a line with the Ventas center generates two expense lines: one for each center.
- In a sale with products from different centers, the income is split among the centers in proportion to the amount of each product.
- In the day’s consolidated sales, one income line is generated for each distinct center.
- With no center on the documents, the journal entries are exactly the same as before.
Changing the center of a document that has already been posted does not modify its journal entry. In that case, fix the entry with reassignment.
Reassign cost centers in a journal entry
It lets you correct the cost center of the lines of a Draft or Processed journal entry, without touching amounts or accounts.1
Go to Accounting → Journal entries and open the entry
2
Click Reassign cost centers
3
Choose the center for each line
Lines with accounts of None policy show “Not applicable”. Those with a Required policy cannot be left empty.
4
Save
- You can only reassign if the entry’s accounting period is open. In a closed or locked period, reopen it first in Periods.
- Deleted entries cannot be reassigned.
- The change is recorded with the user who made it.
Distributions
A distribution splits a single amount among several cost centers by percentage. It is useful for shared expenses (rent, electricity, salaries of support areas) without splitting the document by hand.Create a distribution
1
Go to Accounting → Settings, Distributions tab
2
Click new distribution and enter Code and Name
The code is unique within the company.
3
Add the centers with Add center
Each line has a Cost center (leaf) and its Percentage.
4
Check that the percentages add up to exactly 100% and save
- At least two centers, with none repeated.
- Only leaf and active centers of the company.
- Percentages greater than 0 (up to 4 decimals) that add up to exactly 100%.
A deactivated distribution (Active turned off) no longer appears in new documents. When you delete a distribution that has already been used in documents or journal entries, it is not erased: it is deactivated to preserve the history.
Use a distribution
In all cost center selectors for manual entries, sales, purchases and payrolls, the Distributions group appears below the centers. At each level (document or line) you choose one center or one distribution, not both.
Collections, supplier payments and inventory transfers do not accept distributions: their lines belong to balance sheet accounts.
How it is split in the journal entry
- When the journal entry of a sale, purchase or payroll is generated, each line of an account that accepts a center is split into one line per center of the distribution, according to its percentage.
- In a manual journal entry, the line is saved with the distribution while it is in Draft (it can be edited) and it is split when you process it.
- Rounding is adjusted on the center with the highest percentage so that the entry balances. Example: a purchase of 100.01 with the 60/40 distribution generates 60.01 for the first center and 40.00 for the second.
- On accounts with a None policy the distribution does not apply: a single line without a center is used.
- Split lines keep the reference to the originating distribution.
- Changing a distribution’s percentages does not modify journal entries that were already generated; it only affects new ones.
- If, when splitting, one of the centers is no longer valid (for example, it was deactivated), that part is left without a center and, if the account requires one, with a missing-center warning.
Reports by cost center
In Accounting → Reports:- Cost center filter in General Journal, General Ledger, Ledger Subsidiary, Trial Balance and Income Statement. You can choose a parent center and check Include child centers. The Balance Sheet does not have this filter (balance sheet accounts do not carry a center).
- Income statement by cost center: one column per center, plus No center, Other centers (if applicable) and Total. The total matches the regular Income Statement.
- Movements without a cost center: lines on Optional or Required accounts that have no center, so you can fix them before closing.
- Budget vs actual: compares what was executed by center and account with the budget.
Closing best practices
1
Define the account policy before you start
Mark as Required only the expenses that must always be attributed to an area. Leave None on all balance sheet accounts.
2
Assign the center on the document, not afterwards
It is easier to specify the center on the sale, purchase or payroll than to fix the journal entry. Use the document’s center and reserve line-level centers for exceptions.
3
Before closing the month, review Movements without a cost center
Generate the report with Draft and processed for the period and fix each line with reassignment.
4
Process the drafts with a missing-center warning
5
Compare the Income statement by center with the Income Statement
The columns must add up to the total. If No center has significant amounts, review which documents did not have one.
6
Close the period
After closing, centers can no longer be reassigned in that period.