expense report failed: cost center deactivated

TL;DR

The cost center on the report was deactivated in the chart of accounts, so validation rejects the report. Replace it with the current active code on every affected line (ask finance for the successor code), then resubmit.

Error

expense report failed: cost center deactivated

Steps

1. Open the failed report and note which cost center is flagged. Expected: the deactivated code is named.
2. Ask finance for the successor code that replaced it. Expected: you get the active code to use instead.
3. Update every line on the report (and any saved defaults on your profile) to the new code. Expected: no line references the old code.
4. Resubmit the report. Expected: validation passes and the report routes for approval.
5. If you have recurring expenses or templates using the old code, update those too. Expected: future reports do not hit the same failure.

When to use

• A report fails validation naming a deactivated or inactive cost center.
• A reorganization renamed departments or cost centers.

When not to use

• The cost-center field is empty (fill it; different error).
• The code is active but the report still fails (check other validation errors).

Tool compatibility

• Expensify, Concur, Float, NetSuite-integrated tools; cost centers managed by finance.

Variant phrasings

Inactive cost center on expense report

Same failure, alternate wording.

Cost center no longer valid

The validation-message form of the same problem.

Why it happens

Reorgs and chart-of-accounts cleanups deactivate old codes, but saved reports, templates, and profile defaults keep referencing them until someone updates each one.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_u5K6BErfpWJ1IW1dGPPzXQ