MegaBill
Overview
A key aspect of FinOps is cost management, which involves tracking, identifying, and optimizing cloud spend and usage. With Finout's centralized dashboard, known as MegaBill, you can easily visualize your entire cloud spend and usage data in one place, pinpointing areas for cost and usage reduction, and enabling informed decisions on budget allocation and future planning.
This approach aligns with the FinOps principle of financial governance, promoting collaboration between IT and finance teams to enhance visibility, accountability, and control of cloud costs. Furthermore, by gaining a clear understanding of your cloud usage and spending patterns over time, you can identify trends and continuously optimize your cloud usage, reducing costs and aligning with your business objectives. This reflects the principle of continuous optimization, an ongoing process of identifying, implementing, and measuring cost-saving opportunities and improvements.
Tracking Cost and Usage in Finout’s MegaBill
MegaBill includes the option to toggle between both cost monitoring and usage tracking data views. This dual tracking capability empowers you to not only manage expenses but also understand how resources are being utilized.
For example, consider tracking the running hours of an EC2 family. As part of a savings plan with your cloud provider for that specific EC2 family, you receive a discount, but your usage remains constant. The value of seeing usage data lies in your ability to track how resources are utilized. This helps you maximize the benefits of your savings plan while ensuring efficient resource management.
Cost data in MegaBill is available for all cloud providers and services supported by Finout. Usage data is available for AWS, GCP, and Azure. You can learn more about usage types in your data here.
Using MegaBill
By default, MegaBill will display a graph and table of cost data for the cloud services and providers integrated with Finout.
You can use MegaBill by selecting filters, saving a desired filter (Create a View), or selecting an already saved set of filters (Saved View).
To drill down into your MegaBill, you can use the following options:
Views
1.Apply a Saved View
If you have already saved a set of filters. (Creating a view and a detailed description of a MegaBill filters detailed below)
Navigate to MegaBill.
Once a view is created (see #2), click Select view in MegaBill.
Choose a previously created view or a Finout Pre-defined view. The view is added to MegaBill and the graph and table are filtered accordingly.
Note: You can select one or more filters to see a list of relevant views. For example, selecting AWS and GCP will show all saved views that include AWS and GCP resources or labels.
2.Create a New View
In Finout, navigate to MegaBill.
Select the desired filters to best fit the MegaBill view to your needs (filters are detailed below) and then click Save. The Save new view side-window appears.
Enter a View Name.
You can optionally enable ACL Permissions.
ACL permissions are disabled by default, meaning all users can view or edit based on their specific role or access. See Role-Based Access Control and ACL Permissions documentation for more information.
Optionally enable ACL permissions to define read and write and permissions on a financial plan for specific users and groups.
There are three modes with ACL permissions:
Public: Everyone in your organization has this permission to the object.
Private: Only admins have this permission to the object.
Shared: You must define users and/or groups.
Click Save. Your view is saved a appears under Select View.
Filters
3.Filters Filters can be used in two components: Basic and Advanced Filters also have two layer types: Dimension Sets and All Dimensions. See Dimension Sets for more information.
Basic Filters: Select the keys for a cost center or virtual tag to view their cost or usage trends over time. This fully customizable filter lets you combine keys in any way that fits your needs and also serves as the foundation for creating a saved view. For example: You what to see the cost over time for AWS services.
Navigate to MegaBill.
Click Filters.
Select the AWS tab, mark Services, and click Apply Filters.
Advanced Filters: You can optionally refine your view with more granular control using advanced operators—ideal for deeper analysis or complex filtering needs.
Navigate to MegaBill.
Select Filters.
Click Advanced Filters.
Select a Cost Center, a Key, an Operator, and a Value, and then click Apply Filters.
4.Time Aggregation
Daily, weekly, or monthly.
5.Report Period
6.Data Type
Select either cost or usage.
Cost:
Choose the cost type.
7.Choose a Display
Cost
Cost Delta By using the delta graph, you can track cost or usage changes over time directly within MegaBill. This visualization highlights differences between two points in time, helping to identify trends. How is it calculated? Each bar in the graph represents the change from the previous bar based on the selected interval. For example, if the costs are:
January: $20,000
February: $25,000
March: $35,000
The graph will display:
February delta: $25,000 - $20,000 = $5,000
March delta: $35,000 - $25,000 = $10,000 For each selected interval, the bars represent the difference in cost compared to the previous period—daily compares to the previous day, weekly to the previous week, and so on.
Trend Projection This layer enables users to generate future-oriented estimations based on past and current data trends. It utilizes selected time frames to provide projected trends, helping in strategic planning and decision-making.
How is it calculated? Trend projection uses a linear forecast based on cost and usage data from the lookback period. It calculates the difference between the total cost on the last day with available data and the cost on the first day, then divides this by the number of days in the period. This result is then either accumulated over the projected period or displayed as an incremental daily change.
Set Lookback period - Set the historical period for calculating projections.
Set Projection Period - Set the timeframe for displaying projections.
Set Trend Display Settings: Incremental or Cumulative Incremental - Represents the cost or usage for each individual period only (e.g., that day, week, or month), adding values from previous periods. Cumulative - Represents the total value accumulated up to that point.
The Trend Projection layer is set.
8.X-Axis value
Select the value to be presented on the X-Axis.
9.Cost Type
Select a cost type. See Cost and Usage Types for a detailed explanation.
10.Group By
Select the desired grouping option.
Event Annotation
11. Event Annotation:
Event Annotations let you mark important events directly on specific dates in MegaBill, with each annotation saved to the date it’s added. This helps teams stay aligned by explaining cost or usage changes, tracking activities over time, and linking financial data to real-world events. Annotations are saved to the date they’re added.
Important: By default, this feature is visible to basic and admins users n the account. Limiting visibility can only be managed through custom roles.
Note: Event annotation is enabled by default - 
. You can hide annotations by clicking it off - 
. This will prevent you from creating, editing, or deleting them.
Create an event annotation:
1. Hover over the date in the graph where you want to add an annotation and click 
.
The Add Event Annotation pop up appears.
2. Choose a date, add a title and description, and then click Save.
The event annotation is created.
View an event annotation:
1. Click 
over the column where you created the event annotation.
The Event annotation information appears.
Edit an event annotation:
1. Click over the date where you created the event annotation.
The Event annotation information appears.
2. Click 
.
The Add Event Annotation pop up appears.
3. Choose a date, add a title and description, and then click Save.
Delete an event annotation:
1. Click over the date where you created the event annotation.
The Event annotation information appears.
2. Click 
.
3. Click Delete.
The event annotation is deleted.
Analyzing MegaBill's Data
Once your MegaBill view has been created, you are presented with a graph and table view of your chosen data.
MegaBill Graph
The following costs/usage data appears above the graph:
Total cost or usage: The total cost or usage for the selected resources and period.
Share of the total cost or usage: The selected filtered costs/usage as a percentage of the total MegaBill cost/usage.
Average daily cost or usage: The average cost/usage per time interval (day/week/month) for the resources selected in the filters for the specified period.
MegaBill Table
The following costs/usage data appears in the table:
Total: The total cost/usage for all the selected resources and each resource for the current period (sorted from highest to lowest).
Previous period cost/usage: The costs for the previous period. Values that have decreased appear in green, and values that have increased appear in red. An indication of the percentage increase or decrease in costs/usage appears.
Percentage of cost/usage: The total cost/usage percentage.
EBS Status
When an EBS volume is attached to an AWS instance, its status is shown as “In use.” Upon termination of the instance, the associated EBS volume is automatically detached and its status changes to “Available,” indicating that it is no longer connected to any running instance. However, even while marked as “Available,” the volume continues to incur storage charges until it is either deleted or attached to another instance. Tracking EBS status in MegaBill allows you to monitor changes over time and distinguish between “In Use” and “Available” volumes for cost analysis. See AWS documentation for more information on EBS.
Prerequisites Your AWS accounts and sub-accounts must be connected to CostGuard in order to have EBS status data displayed.
How to view the EBS Status:
In MegaBill, click Filters.
Under AWS, choose Sub Service > EBS Storage and then click Apply Filters.
In Group by, choose AWS, choose EBS Status, and then click Apply Group By.
Result: The EBS status appears in MegaBill showing the following statuses:
- In Use
- Available
- Deleted
How to view only "Available" EBS status:
In MegaBill, click Filters.
Under AWS, choose EBS Status > Available and then click Apply Filters.
In Group by, choose relevant dimensions, such as account, tag teams, etc, and then click Apply Group By.
Result: The "Available" status appears in the MegaBill view for the chosen dimensions.
Managing MegaBill
Manage your MegaBill by editing, viewing, deleting, downloading, or cloning data to maintain control and optimize costs on specific dates.
Clear a View: Click the Clear View icon at the top of the MegaBill page. This will revert the MegaBill to the default setting.
Edit a View Name:
In MegaBill, select the views dropdown on the top left of the page.
Click the three dots and then choose Edit view. The setting side window appears.
Edit the View Name.
You can optionally enable ACL Permissions. See ACL Permission documentation or more information.
ACL permissions are disabled by default, meaning all users can view or edit based on their specific role or access. See Role-Based Access Control and ACL Permissions documentation for more information.
Optionally enable ACL permissions to define read and write and permissions for specific users and groups.
There are three modes with ACL permissions:
Public: Everyone in your organization has this permission to the object.
Private: Only admins have this permission to the object.
Shared: You must define users and/or groups.
Click Save. Your view is saved.
Clone View:
In MegaBill, select the views dropdown on the top left of the page.
Click the three dots and then click Clone View. The view is copied.
Edit the view as required.
Click Save.
Or alternatively...
Create a view based on an existing one:
In MegaBill, select the required view from the dropdown on the top left of the page.
Update the view filters as required.
Click Save.
If you are creating a new view, enter a view name.
Click Save View.
Copy the view ID:
In MegaBill, select the views dropdown on the top left of the page.
Click the three dots and then choose Copy view ID.
Delete a View:
In MegaBill, select the views dropdown on the top left of the page.
Click the three dots and then choose Delete view.
Remove Recent View:
In MegaBill, select the views dropdown on the top left of the page.
Click the three dots and then choose Remove Recent view.
Use a View as a Dashboard Widget: Add a view to a dashboard by selecting Add to Dashboard, providing a widget name, and choosing an existing dashboard or creating a new one.
Download MegaBill Data: Download data from the graph or table in CSV format. To download a CSV of the MegaBill graph:
Navigate to MegaBill.
Click
. A CSV of the MegaBill graph is downloaded.
Three Dots
Remove Costs by Date: In the table view, click the three dots and turn toggle the dates off.
Transpose Data: Toggle data transposition in the table view by clicking the three dots and turning Transpose on or off.
FAQs
Question: When there are too many data points on a stacked bar chart, how does FinOut handle them?
Answer: FinOut automatically groups the top values of the various views and the less significant values into the "Others" category.
In the graph view: The top 30 cost values per day are presented, all other values are grouped as “others.”
In the table view: The top 50 cost values per day are presented, all other values are grouped as “others.”
Downloaded Data: The 1000 top cost values are presented, all other values are grouped as “others.”
Question: How does the "Others" category logic work?
Answer: The "Others" category is used when there are too many data points to display individually on the chart. The logic prioritizes displaying the most significant values separately by cost, while less significant values are grouped under "Others."
Question: Can I ungroup the "Others" category when exporting to CSV?
Answer: Yes, when exporting to CSV, you can ungroup the "Others" category so that data points are listed individually rather than being summarized under a single "Others" row. A downloaded CSV will have up to 10,000 values.
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