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> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.monite.com/v-2024-05-25/expense-management/cost-centers/llms.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.monite.com/_mcp/server.

# Cost centers

## Overview

Cost centers allow you to categorize expenses and receipts for better tracking and reporting.

## Create a cost center

To manually create a new cost center, call `POST /cost_centers`:

```sh
curl -X POST 'https://api.sandbox.monite.com/v1/cost_centers' \
  -H 'accept: application/json' \
  -H 'X-Monite-Version: 2024-05-25' \
  -H 'X-Monite-Entity-Id: ENTITY_ID' \
  -d '{
        "name": "IT Department",
        "description": "Expenses for software, hardware, and infrastructure"
    }'
```

The successful `201` response contains the information of the created cost center:

```json
{
  "id": "5c7f8b12-4d6e-4f2a-9d8a-3f7a6a1c9e42",
  "created_at": "2025-09-10T14:25:36Z",
  "updated_at": "2025-09-10T14:25:36Z",
  "name": "IT Department",
  "description": "Expenses for software, hardware, and infrastructure",
  "is_external": false
}
```

The field `is_external = false` indicates that the cost center was manually created in Monite and can be updated or deleted.

## List all cost centers

To get information about all cost centers associated with an entity, call `GET /cost_centers`:

```sh
curl -X GET 'https://api.sandbox.monite.com/v1/cost_centers' \
  -H 'accept: application/json' \
  -H 'X-Monite-Version: 2024-05-25' \
  -H 'X-Monite-Entity-Id: ENTITY_ID' 
```

```json
{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "9f6e9c20-8a5f-4b5d-9e11-3d42b9a14f3c",
      "created_at": "2025-09-10T12:34:56Z",
      "updated_at": "2025-09-10T12:34:56Z",
      "name": "Marketing",
      "description": "Expenses related to marketing campaigns",
      "is_external": false
    },
    {
      "id": "2e1a4b50-91d6-4a3d-bc3c-91e1b2c3a5d7",
      "created_at": "2025-08-01T09:15:00Z",
      "updated_at": "2025-08-15T10:00:00Z",
      "name": "R&D",
      "description": "Research and development costs",
      "is_external": true
    }
  ],
  "next_pagination_token": null,
  "prev_pagination_token": null
}
```

## Retrieve a cost center

To get information about a specific cost center, call `GET /cost_centers/{cost_center_id}`.

## Edit a cost center

To edit an existing cost center, call `PATCH /cost_centers/{cost_center_id}`:

```sh
curl -X PATCH 'https://api.sandbox.monite.com/v1/cost_centers' \
  -H 'accept: application/json' \
  -H 'X-Monite-Version: 2024-05-25' \
  -H 'X-Monite-Entity-Id: ENTITY_ID' \
  -d '{
    "description": "Updated description: operational costs for the sales team"
    }'
```

## Delete a cost center

To delete a specific cost center, call `DELETE /cost_centers/{cost_center_id}`.

> Organize receipts and expenses by cost center for better financial visibility.