Overview

For larger forwarding businesses, it’s common to have multiple sub-business units operating under the same legal entity. Examples include:

• Freight forwarding as the main business.

• Non-freight businesses such as property rental, warehousing, or logistics services.

To track these separately while still maintaining consolidated financials, Fr8Labs provides a Cost Center feature.

Why Use Cost Centers?

• Segment transactions by business unit (freight vs. rental vs. warehousing).

• Produce Profit & Loss reports by unit, subgroup, or consolidated level.

• Allocate sales, costs, OPEX, and journal entries correctly without needing to create new entities.

Setting Up Cost Centers

Define Cost Center Structure

• Go to Accounting → Cost Centers.

• Create a hierarchical structure reflecting your business.

  • Example:

    • Freight (parent group)

    • Rental (parent group)

      • Property #1

      • Property #2

      • Property #3

      • Property #4

Cost Center Tree Setup

Tag Transactions to Cost Centers

• When recording a transaction (invoice, expense, journal entry, payment), open the Accounting Dimensions tab.

• Select the correct Cost Center for each line item.

• This ensures revenues and expenses are properly allocated to the right business unit.

Accounting Dimension Tab with Cost Center Field

Reporting by Cost Center

• Run the Profit & Loss Report or other financial statements.

• Use the Cost Center filter to view:

  • Consolidated results (entire company).

  • Business unit breakdown (Freight vs. Rental).

  • Sub-business unit results (e.g., individual properties).

P&L Report with Cost Center Filter

Other Notes

• Multi-Entity Setup: If you want separate books at the legal entity level (e.g., multiple companies), create new companies under Company List instead of cost centers.

  • Remember: Each new company requires its own master data (chart of accounts, taxes, partners, etc.).

• Freight Module Integration: If you need a new business entity linked back to the Freight Core Module, contact the Fr8Labs Customer Success team for setup support.

Documentation owner: Fr8Labs Customer Success. Formatting reviewed: 21 September 2026; product behaviour not reverified in this formatting pass.