Budgets#

Set spending envelopes on any Group node in your organisation hierarchy, with threshold-based alerts that fire when spend approaches or is forecast to exceed the budget.

Navigate: left navigation → FinOps → Allocate → select a Group node → “Add budget” in the right panel.

What a budget covers#

A budget evaluates all costs allocated to the selected Group node and all its children, across all connected providers and connections. One Group node can have one budget.

Creating a budget#

  1. Open FinOps → Allocate

  2. Select the Group node you want to budget

  3. In the right panel, click “Add budget”

  4. Set the Amount (in your tenant currency)

  5. Set the Reset period: Monthly (most common) or Quarterly

  6. Set the Start date — the first day of the first budget period

Note

The Start date cannot be changed after saving. Choose carefully.

  1. Click Save

Reading the budget overview#

After creating, the Group node right panel shows:

  • Current period spend (e.g. €569.01)

  • Budget utilisation percentage (e.g. 50% of budget)

  • Progress bar: green → amber → orange → red as utilisation increases

  • Thresholds list: each threshold shows its percentage value and status (Pending / Triggered)

Configuring alert thresholds#

Up to 3 thresholds per budget. For each threshold:

Setting

Description

Threshold value

Percentage of the budget amount (e.g. 75 = alert at 75% of spend)

Threshold type

Actual or Forecast (see below)

Recipients

Additional email addresses beyond the Group node owner

Escalate

When enabled, the parent Group node’s owner is also notified

Tip

Common threshold pattern: 50% Actual (early awareness) + 75% Actual (action needed) + 90% Forecast (predict overrun before it happens).

Forecast alerts (v0.9.0)#

The Forecast threshold type uses a linear regression model built from the Group node’s historical daily cost data within the current budget period. As each day passes and new cost data arrives, the model updates the predicted end-of-period spend. The alert fires when the model predicts the period will close above the configured threshold — before the budget is actually exceeded.

Note

Forecast alerts use a linear regression model over the current period’s daily cost data. The prediction does not use Azure OpenAI — it is a deterministic statistical model computed within Reply CMP.

Note

Forecast accuracy improves as the period progresses. Early in a period (first 1–5 days), the model has limited data and may generate false positives or not fire at all. The most reliable forecast alerts are mid-period.

Editing a budget#

Select the Group node → click the edit icon on the budget card. You can change: Amount, Reset period, threshold values, recipients, and escalation settings. The Start date cannot be changed.

Deleting a budget#

Select the Group node → click the delete icon → confirm. Historical utilisation data is retained for reporting. Active thresholds will no longer fire.