Cost Center

A program, project, or organizational unit for which budgetary funding is used to sustain operations. Cost centers do not substantially contribute to revenue generation, but they are essential to operations, such as building maintenance.  A department, function, section, or individual whose cost, overall or in part, is an accepted overhead of a business in return for services provided to other parts of the organization. A cost center is usually an indirect cost of an organization’s products or services.