allocate

allocate definition - business

allocate

  1. To spread systematically a single monetary amount over a number of time periods, usually years. For example, depreciation allocates the cost of a capital asset over its useful life.
  2. To distribute cost or revenue throughout a number of operations or products. For example, a business must decide how to allocate the costs of running its headquarters over all its operations to determine the profitability of each of those operations.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Business Terms Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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