## TL;DR

The expense policy requires a cost center on every line, and at least one line has the field empty. Open each expense line, pick the cost center from the dropdown, and resubmit. If the right cost center is not listed, it may be deactivated or outside your department's access, which needs a finance admin to fix.

## Error

```text
Float: cost center is required before submission
```

## Steps

1. Open the report in Float and look for the highlighted line missing a cost center. Expected: the empty cost-center field is visibly flagged on one or more lines.
2. Click the field and select the correct cost center from the dropdown. Expected: the field fills and the validation error on that line clears.
3. Repeat for every flagged line in the report. Expected: no lines show the cost-center validation error.
4. Submit the report. Expected: Float accepts the submission and routes it for approval.
5. If the correct cost center is missing from the dropdown, ask a finance admin to verify it is active and assigned to your department. Expected: the admin confirms or adds access, and the value appears on retry.

## When to use

- Float blocks submission with "cost center is required".
- Expense lines copied from a template lost their cost-center values.
- A new employee's reports fail because no default cost center is set.

## When not to use

- The cost center is set but the report fails because the cost center was deactivated.
- The error appears during ERP export as a mapping failure.
- The field is filled but approval routing fails for other reasons.

## Tool compatibility

Float Expense (current 2026 releases). Applies to web report submission and the mobile app.

### Variant phrasings

### float "select a cost center" validation error

Same requirement in inline form validation. Every line needs a selection before the submit button enables.

### cost center required after policy change in float

A policy update added the requirement to previously optional fields. Old draft reports must be updated line by line.

### new hire reports failing cost center check in float

No default cost center is assigned to the new profile. Set one on the profile or fill it per report.

## Why it happens

Cost centers are how finance books spend to budgets, and the policy makes the field mandatory so nothing lands in an unallocated bucket. The field is easy to leave blank when expenses are created from card feeds, email forwarding, or copied templates that predate the policy. Float validates at submission time rather than at line creation, so the error only surfaces when you try to submit.

## Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_HxuIjcV8HltKfmaYu56ukQ