Hey folks! I'm grappling with a cost reporting issue in our AWS organization and could really use your insights. We tag all our AWS resources with the `AppID` tag. Now, my goal is to generate a report showing the net costs associated with each App ID. For example, when I view costs in Cost Explorer using the `Tag: AppID`, I see that App ID 123 is listed at around $20k. However, when I switch to an account view, the account where this app is hosted shows a significantly lower cost due to credits, Reserved Instances, and savings plans. I'm having trouble figuring out how to accurately determine the net cost for App ID 123. I've also tried looking at the "Net unblended" and "Net amortized" views, but it hasn't really helped. Any tips or tricks you could share to get to the bottom of this? Thanks! 😊
3 Answers
For anyone who comes across this in the future, here's what worked for me:
1. Set up Cost Categories in AWS according to the `AppID` tag. This gives a clearer overview of gross costs versus discounts per account.
2. Mapped `AppID`s to their respective AWS accounts.
3. Created a custom script to calculate the net amortized cost by taking the applicable discounts into account.
This approach gave me numbers that make more sense regarding each account's expenses.
You might want to explore how costing is distributed in Cost Explorer. Check out this [cheat sheet](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws-cloud-financial-management/understanding-your-aws-cost-datasets-a-cheat-sheet/) — using Amortized costs could help you see a clearer picture for your net costs.
Just a heads up, not everything can be tagged for cost allocation, which can be tricky. I recommend looking into [cost categories](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/manage-cost-categories.html#cost-categories-dimensions). Depending on your organization setup, that might help you better summarize costs.
I tried cost categories, but I got this error:
```
We can't display your cost allocation percentage and split charge because you have negative costs, such as a refund or credit.
```
I tried that route, but it still doesn't align with the real monthly costs from the app's account.