Cost centre maintenance overview

A service charge cost centre is a collection of properties for which a given list of services is available. Whilst a cost centre is not linked directly to an asset, each record is connected to a functional unit, which in turn relates to an asset hierarchy. This direct relationship between a cost centre and a functional unit determines the level at which costs are incurred. Costs that are assigned at a high level functional unit can then be cascaded down to those beneath. For instance, the cost for grounds maintenance may be linked to a functional unit representing an estate, which in turn is associated with sub-level functional units for each block on the estate. A portion of the total costs incurred on the estate for grounds maintenance can then be easily cascaded to each block and then down further to each dwelling. A cost centre can hold any number of cost elements, which provide the individual breakdown of fees that combine to give the overall service charge, and the same cost element can appear in multiple cost centres. In addition to cost centres having direct links to individual cost elements, a connection can also be forged via a parent cost centre - one that exists within the same hierarchical structure but at a higher functional unit level. Ultimately, a cost centre is the receptacle for all service charges relating to the corresponding functional unit, and can be analysed in terms of the dependent groups - those service charge subsets that include one or more cost centre elements - and also the child cost centre associations.

Whilst by no means exhaustive, the most common cost centre elements are:

• The costs of employing a caretaker
• Cleaning communal areas, including window cleaning services and rubbish removal
• Cutting communal grassed areas, tending planted areas and pruning trees
• Repairs to communal areas such as door entry systems, television aerials and lighting
• Lift maintenance contracts
• Fire fighting equipment, including the maintenance and testing of emergency lighting and smoke detectors.

For each element linked via a parent cost centre, an end user has complete flexibility over whether to apportion the cascaded charges by percentage, or simply assign a fixed fee. Similarly, one or more classification attributes can be assigned to all cost elements, irrespective of origin, to filter the type of charges that can be linked to them, such as repairs, sinking fund contributions, management fees, etc.

Separate help articles have been created for each key aspect of cost centre maintenance, including:

• To create a new cost centre
• To create a new cost centre element
• To define the elemental components of a cost centre
• To view the calculation history for a cost centre
• To view the group dependencies for a cost centre
• To view the hierarchical cost centre dependencies
• To view the service charge schedule for a cost centre