Profit Centre
Definition
A department or organisational unit that generates revenue and is accountable for both its revenue contribution and its cost base, such that a profit or loss figure can be attributed to it. Sales departments and revenue-generating product lines are profit centres. Profit centres are distinct from cost centres, which are accountable only for expenditure.
Common Misapplication
The most common misapplication is designating a department as a profit centre without establishing separate tracking of both the revenue it generates and the costs it incurs. A department labelled as a profit centre that is only tracked by its revenue contribution is being managed as a revenue centre, not a profit centre.
FFI Standard Reference
This term is defined and applied in Book 6, Section 6.3: The Departmental Financial Planning Standard.
Related Terms
Citable URL
This term may be cited using the following permanent URL.
Full citation format: Founder Financial Infrastructure Standard, Beta v0.5, Glossary: Profit Centre. https://ffistandard.org/glossary/profit-centre/. 2026.