Cost Management
Required Permissions: Admin access (ADMIN or SUPERUSER role) Security Level: Medium Estimated Time: 12 minutes
Overview
Cost Management gives you full visibility into how your tenant uses platform resources and what those resources cost. You can track real-time usage across every subscription, monitor quota consumption, review and download invoices, respond to budget alerts, and configure spending limits — all from a single page.
The page is scoped per subscription: you select the subscription you want to inspect, and every card, chart, and table updates to reflect that subscription's data.
Prerequisites
- Admin or SuperUser role on the tenant
- At least one active subscription — without a subscription the page shows a prompt to subscribe first
Navigating to Cost Management
- Open the Admin Portal from the header menu
- Click Cost Management in the navigation sidebar
- Select an active subscription from the Active Subscription dropdown at the top of the page
The dropdown shows each subscription's product name, plan, billing interval, and status. After you select a subscription, the current billing period is displayed below the dropdown.
Dashboard Overview Cards
Four summary cards appear at the top of the page:
| Card | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Current Period | Total usage cost for the selected billing period, with chips for included usage and any overage cost. A trend indicator compares this period to the previous one. |
| Unbilled Overage | The amount of overage charges that have not yet been invoiced. Also shows the count of pending invoices. |
| Budget | A progress bar showing how much of your period budget you have consumed. If no budget limit is set, the card prompts you to configure one in Budget Settings. |
| Quotas | Counts of active quotas, exceeded quotas, and recent alerts. |
Important: If any quota is exceeded or your budget usage is above 90 %, an alert banner appears above the cards.
Usage Analytics Tab
The Usage Analytics tab provides interactive charts and projections for your subscription's resource consumption.
Filtering and Dimensions
Use the controls at the top of the tab to customise the view:
- Analyze By — break down usage by Metric, User, Organization, or Product
- Period — choose Last 7 Days, Last 30 Days, or Last 90 Days
- Toggle Metrics chips — when analyzing by metric, click a chip to show or hide that metric in the charts
Charts
| Chart | Description |
|---|---|
| Cost Breakdown (pie chart) | Visualises overage costs by the selected dimension. When all usage falls within quotas, a thumbs-up indicator confirms there are no overage charges. |
| Usage Breakdown (bar chart) | Shows total quantity consumed per metric on a logarithmic scale. Hover over a bar to see current usage, quota limit, remaining allowance, and usage percentage. |
Cost Projections
Below the charts, a Cost Projections (Next 30 Days) card summarises:
- Daily Average — the average daily cost over the analysis period
- Projected Cost (30 d) — the estimated cost for the next 30 days based on recent trends
- Historical (30 d) — actual spend over the most recent 30 days
- Confidence — how reliable the projection is, given data volume
Refreshing Data
Click Refresh to reload analytics data on demand. The dashboard also auto-refreshes every 30 seconds.
Quotas Tab
The Quotas tab shows a card for every usage quota attached to the selected subscription.
Reading a Quota Card
Each card displays:
- Metric name and code — the resource being tracked (for example, Vector Ingestion (MB) or File Upload)
- Progress bar — colour-coded: green (< 75 %), amber (75 – 89 %), red (≥ 90 % or exceeded)
- Remaining allowance — units left before the quota is reached
- Overage flag — "Overage allowed" chip if the metric permits usage beyond the quota (billed at per-unit rates)
- Overage charges — when overage has occurred, a highlighted section shows the overage quantity and cost
- Billing period — the start and end dates of the current quota period
Summary Stats
At the bottom of the tab, a summary card shows total quotas, how many are within limits, how many are at warning level (≥ 75 %), and how many are exceeded.
Tip: When a quota is exceeded and overage is not allowed, further usage of that metric may be blocked. Toggle overage on or off per metric in the Budget Settings tab.
Invoices Tab
The Invoices tab lists every usage-based invoice for the selected subscription.
Filtering Invoices
Use the Status Filter dropdown to narrow the list:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Accumulating | Charges are still being recorded for this billing period |
| Ready for Billing | The invoice is finalised and waiting for payment processing |
| Processing | Payment is currently being processed via Stripe |
| Paid | Payment has been collected successfully |
| Failed | Payment attempt was unsuccessful |
Invoice Table Columns
- Invoice # — unique identifier
- Status — colour-coded badge
- Period — the billing period covered
- Amount — total amount in the subscription's currency
- Trigger — what caused the invoice to be generated (e.g., period end, threshold reached)
- Created — creation date, with the payment date shown when paid
Viewing Invoice Details
Click the eye icon on any row to open a detail dialog. The dialog shows:
- Header — tenant name, billing period, trigger, and creation date
- Line Items — each metered metric with quantity, unit price, and total. Subtotal and tax are itemised.
- Payment History — Stripe charge IDs, amounts, statuses, and processing timestamps
Downloading Invoices
Click the download icon to export the invoice as a CSV file.
Alerts Tab
The Alerts tab tracks all budget and quota alerts that the platform has generated.
Alert Types
| Type | Severity | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Budget Threshold | Warning | Usage cost has crossed a budget notification threshold |
| Quota Warning | Warning | A metric is approaching its quota limit |
| Quota Exceeded | Error | A metric has gone beyond its quota |
| Hard Limit | Error | A hard budget limit has been reached |
Managing Alerts
- Switch between Active and Resolved views using the toggle buttons at the top
- Each alert card shows the alert type, the affected metric (if applicable), a progress bar with current vs. limit values, and timestamps for creation, notification, and resolution
- Click Resolve on an active alert to acknowledge it and move it to the resolved list
- Click the Refresh icon to reload alerts
Budget Settings Tab
The Budget Settings tab lets you create or update the budget policy for the selected subscription.
Current Settings Summary
If a budget policy already exists, a summary card shows:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Period Budget | The maximum spend allowed per billing period, or "No Limit" |
| Auto-Bill At | The unbilled-usage threshold that triggers automatic invoice generation |
| Enforcement | The enforcement mode — Notification Only, Soft Limit, or Hard Limit |
| Grace Amount | Extra spending allowed when the enforcement mode is Soft Limit |
Configuring the Policy
- Enable Period Budget Limit — toggle on, then enter the maximum amount per billing period
- Auto-Bill Threshold — set the unbilled-overage amount that triggers automatic billing
- Enforcement Mode — choose how strictly the budget is enforced:
- Notification Only — track usage and send alerts, but never block operations
- Soft Limit (with grace) — allow a configurable grace amount beyond the limit before blocking
- Hard Limit (strict) — block usage immediately when the budget limit is reached
- Grace Amount — visible only when enforcement is Soft Limit; defines how much extra spend is permitted before a hard block
Click Save Changes to apply. A success banner confirms the save, and the overview cards update automatically.
Per-Metric Overage Billing
Below the budget form, a list of per-metric overage toggles appears:
- Overage ON — usage continues beyond the included quota and is billed at the per-unit overage rate
- Hard cap — usage is blocked once the included quota is consumed
Toggle each metric independently to match your cost-control strategy.
Best Practices
- Set a period budget limit to prevent unexpected spending — even Notification Only mode gives you early visibility
- Review the Quotas tab regularly — catching a metric at 75 % usage gives you time to adjust before overage kicks in
- Resolve alerts promptly — unresolved alerts can mask new, more critical notifications
- Download invoices for your financial records before the retention window closes
- Use projections to compare estimated future spend with your budget limit and adjust if needed
Troubleshooting
No Data in Usage Analytics
Cause: The subscription has not yet recorded any metered usage in the selected period. Solution: Choose a longer period (e.g., Last 90 Days) or verify that the subscription is actively being used.
Budget Changes Not Reflected
Cause: The overview cards cache data and refresh every 30 seconds. Solution: Wait for the next auto-refresh or click Refresh in the Usage Analytics tab to trigger an immediate update.
Invoice Status Stuck on "Processing"
Cause: The Stripe payment intent may be pending or awaiting card confirmation. Solution: Open the Stripe billing portal from the Subscription Management page to verify the payment method. If the card was declined, add a new payment method and the invoice will be retried.
Related Admin Tasks
- Subscription Management — manage plans, payment methods, and seat allocation
Related Topics
⏱️ Read time: 12 minutes | 📊 Difficulty: intermediate