Dimension Sets

Overview

Finout’s Dimension Sets enable Finops teams to define and manage customized sets of dimensions, each designed for a specific team or function. Instead of exposing all users to 50+ dimensions most of which aren’t relevant, Dimension Sets remove noise, reduce errors, and ensure every stakeholder sees exactly what they need to make informed decisions.

Key Terms

A Dimension is any MegaBill key retrieved from a native cost integration or created manually as a Virtual Tag. A Dimension Set is a group of dimensions that share a common business context. It can be created by Finout by default or customized manually by the platform admin, who selects which dimensions to enable and defines their order.

The Custom Dimensions set is fully customizable and can be created and managed by a platform administrator or by any user with the required permissions. Each set defines which dimensions appear by default in Finout's Filters and Group-By components, and can be reordered, edited, duplicated, or deleted to ensure users see only the relevant dimensions they need. It is designed to support users who aren’t FinOps experts and need a simplified, business-focused way to analyze data. By highlighting only the most relevant dimensions, it helps teams focus on what matters most without being overwhelmed by unnecessary options.

The All Dimensions set includes the full list of available dimensions, providing users with complete visibility and access to every data point in MegaBill. It serves as the default set when no Custom Dimension set is configured and when no other set is configured. This is a default set defined by Finout and cannot be edited or deleted.

What Issues Do Dimension Sets Solve?

Issue: FinOps teams spend significant time supporting users who can’t navigate dozens of dimensions to find what’s relevant to them.

• Solution: Dimension Sets allow FinOps to define and manage tailored views for each team. This reduces time spent on support and enables teams to use only the dimensions relevant to them.

Issue: Inconsistent tagging usage undermines trust in reports and data accuracy.

• Solution: Reinforces tagging standards through curated default dimension views that promote consistent usage.

Issue: Frequent errors that FinOps needs to fix, creating rework cycles.

• Solution: Simplifies filter complexity across the platform by showing only relevant dimensions, preventing common mistakes.

Issue: Adoption barriers that limit FinOps visibility and organizational impact.

• Solution: Accelerates user onboarding and dashboard adoption with context-specific filtering that works seamlessly across all core views, Filters, Group-By, MegaBill, and Dashboards, providing the only FinOps-native solution with native support for multiple dimension sets.

Use Case

A Platform Admin is tasked with making cost data more accessible and actionable across the organization. Different teams , such as Finance, FinOps, Application Engineering, and Data Engineering, all need cost visibility, but each views cost through a different lens.

To reduce confusion and increase adoption, the admin sets up a separate Dimension Set for each team, with just one highly relevant dimension. This removes unnecessary noise and aligns each team's view with their specific responsibilities.

• Finance → Cost Center Understand spend by business unit or department for budgeting and forecasting.

• FinOps → Team Track ownership, enforce tagging standards, and analyze spend by responsible group.

• Application Engineering → Service Name Attribute infrastructure costs to services and monitor cost impact of deployments.

• Data Engineering → Pipeline Name Measure the cost of data workflows and optimize processing across ETL or ML pipelines.

By Using Dimension sets, each team gets a focused, role-relevant view of costs—minimizing friction, improving accuracy, and increasing adoption of cost visibility tools.

Dimension Sets Configuration

Dimension Sets Configuration enables platform administrators to define and manage how MegaBill dimensions are organized and displayed across Finout. Once configured, it becomes the default filter and group-by controls for users throughout Finout.

Create a Custom Dimension Set:

1. In Finout, navigate to Settings.

   
2. Click Dimension Sets.

   
3. Click Add Dimension.

   Note: Multiple custom dimensions is currently in Beta. For now you can create one custom dimension set in addition to the default All dimension set. Once fully release, platform administrators can create up to four Custom Dimension Sets in addition to the All Dimensions set.

   
4. Enter a name for the Dimension and disable the virtual tags or cost centers that you don't want to appear in the set.

   
5. Additionally, disable specific dimensions within the virtual tag or cost center that you kept enabled. You can also click Expand All to view all sub-dimensions.

6. Drag and drop cost centers and their dimensions to arrange them in the order you want them to appear.

   
7. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save.

   Result: The Custom Dimension that was created will be appear when using Filters and Group By throughout Finout.

   Note: Dimensions sets are applied to both Basic and Advanced filtering. You must save the changes in order to apply them to the Group By and filter components.

How To Use Dimension Sets

You can use the Dimension Set functionality in all places that there is Dimension Filter or Group By in Finout, such as in Dashboards or Megabill.

When a Custom Dimension Set is configured, it displays the specific dimensions and order you’ve defined.

If you want to use a dimension that isn’t included in the Custom Set, you can enable All to view all available dimensions.

Managing Dimension Sets

Manage Dimension Sets by deleting, duplicating, or previewing them as needed.

Duplicate

1. In Dimension Sets, Click .

2. Click Duplicate dimension set.

3. Click Save.

   Note: Changes will not be implemented unless you click Save.

   The Dimension set in duplicated.

Delete

1. In Dimension Sets, Click .

2. Click Duplicate dimension set.

3. Click Save.

   Note: Changes will not be implemented unless you click Save.

   The Dimension set in deleted.

Preview

1. In Dimension Sets, click Preview Dimension Sets.

   
2. Review the preview and click Close.

FAQs

Can I filter or group by a dimension that isn’t part of the customized sets?

Users can easily switch to view all available dimensions at any time by clicking All . This allows users to filter or group by any dimension in the account, even if it’s not included in the Custom Dimension Set.

What happens to widgets, views, or anomalies that use dimensions not included in the customized sets? All application objects remain unchanged and, when opened, will automatically switch to the 'All' view to display their complete properties and ensure all dimensions are visible. Who can configure and manage Dimension Sets?

To configure and manage Dimension Sets, users need the following permissions: View Dimension Sets, Edit Dimension Sets, and Create Dimension Sets. These permissions are automatically granted to admin users. Non-admin users can also be granted access by assigning them a custom role that includes these permissions.