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:Export FOCUS 1.0 with Alibaba Cloud columns (Preview) data

Last Updated:Jun 10, 2025

Alibaba Cloud supports exporting cost and usage billing data according to the international standard FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification (FOCUS™). This standardized format for cloud billing data helps enterprises conduct cost analysis and resource optimization in an efficient manner.

Note
  • This feature is currently in invitational preview. If you can see the Bills > Bill Subscription menu in the Expenses and Costs console, you are included in the preview. If you are not included in the preview, submit a ticket to contact us.

  • The exported billing data files are for analytical purposes only and can not be used as a basis for reconciliation. For final reconciliation, settlement, and payment with Alibaba Cloud, use the bill overview or bill details officially provided by Alibaba Cloud.

  • This feature is free of charge. However, exporting billing data files require subscribing to Object Storage Service (OSS). Therefore, you are charged based on the file type, size, and duration of the billing data that is stored in OSS. For more information, see Storage fees.

Introduction to FOCUS

FOCUS™ is a technical specification aimed at standardizing cost and usage billing data across cloud providers. It establishes clear requirements for billing data generation systems in the cloud computing industry to ensure consistent cost and usage datasets. You can visit the official website of FOCUS for detailed information.

Export FOCUS 1.0 with Alibaba Cloud columns (Preview) data

The final billing data file for the current month is exported after 12:00 on the 4th day of the following month.

  1. In the Expenses and Costs console, select Bills > Bill Subscription and click Create Bill Subscription.

  2. If you use OSS subscription for the first time, you need to complete the authorization. Click Authorize.

    image

    On the Cloud Resource Access Authorization page, click Confirm Authorization Policy.

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    Note
    • If you have completed the authorization, this prompt does not appear.

    • If the authorization is canceled, the system no longer pushes files, and you need to complete the authorization again.

  3. On the OSS Subscription tab, select FOCUS Billing Data to export billing data files.

  4. Specify Start Billing Month. You can select the current month or a previous month. The earliest billing data file that can be exported is one issued after the gray release period of the upgraded version.

  5. Configure the subscription directory. Set OSS Bucket to the name of the bucket to which you want to save billing data files. If you want to store files in a specific directory within the bucket, specify OSS Directory. Then, click Create.

  6. After the configurations are complete, view the subscribed billing data.

    • Return to the Expenses and Costs console, and go to Bills>Bill Subscription page to view the subscribed billing data.

    • Click View to access the directory of the pushed billing data file.

      image

    Description of the file push directory: Subscribed billing data files are pushed to a file directory. The name of a file that is pushed to the file directory is in the following format: specified OSS directory/the year and month when the file is pushed/the year, month, and time point when the file is pushed/.

    For example, in the userbill directory, a file is pushed at 14:04 on December 25, 2024 is named userbill/202412/202412251404/.image

FOCUS 1.0 column descriptions

Note

FOCUS 1.0 with Alibaba Cloud columns (Preview) is an invitational Preview version with continuous iterations. Some provided columns may exhibit potential inconsistencies with the requirements of FOCUS 1.0. For more information about the detailed differences, see FOCUS 1.0 with Alibaba Cloud columns (Preview) conformance gaps.

If you have strong demands for the missing columns, submit a ticket. Feedback with higher priority will be accelerated for inclusion in the development roadmap.

Column

Description

Data type

Nullable

AvailabilityZone

A provider-assigned identifier for a physically separated and isolated area within a Region that provides high availability and fault tolerance.

String

Yes

BilledCost

A charge serving as the basis for invoicing, inclusive of all reduced rates and discounts while excluding the amortization of upfront charges (one-time or recurring).

Decimal

No

BillingAccountId

The identifier assigned to a billing account by the provider.

String

No

BillingAccountName

The display name assigned to a billing account.

String

Yes

BillingCurrency

Represents the currency that a charge was billed in.

String

No

BillingPeriodEnd

The exclusive end date and time of a billing period.

Date/Time

No

BillingPeriodStart

The inclusive start date and time of a billing period.

Date/Time

No

ChargeCategory

The highest level classification based on the billing nature of the cost.

String

No

ChargeClass

Indicates whether the row represents a correction to a previously invoiced billing period.

String

Yes

ChargeDescription

Self-contained summary of the charge's purpose and price.

String

Yes

ChargeFrequency

Indicates how often a charge will occur.

String

No

ChargePeriodEnd

The exclusive end date and time of a charge period.

Date/Time

No

ChargePeriodStart

The inclusive start date and time within a charge period.

Date/Time

No

CommitmentDiscountCategory

Indicates whether the commitment discount identified in the CommitmentDiscountId column is based on usage quantity or cost (aka "spend").

String

Yes

CommitmentDiscountId

The identifier assigned to a commitment discount by the provider.

String

Yes

CommitmentDiscountName

The display name assigned to a commitment discount.

String

Yes

CommitmentDiscountStatus

Indicates whether the charge corresponds with the consumption of a commitment discount or the unused portion of the committed amount.

String

Yes

CommitmentDiscountType

A provider-assigned identifier for the type of commitment discount applied to the row.

String

Yes

ConsumedQuantity

The volume of a metered SKU associated with a resource or service used, based on the Consumed Unit.

Decimal

Yes

ConsumedUnit

Provider-specified measurement unit indicating how a provider measures usage of a metered SKU associated with a resource or service.

String

Yes

ContractedCost

Cost calculated by multiplying contracted unit price and the corresponding Pricing Quantity.

Decimal

No

ContractedUnitPrice

The agreed-upon unit price for a single Pricing Unit of the associated SKU, inclusive of negotiated discounts, if present, while excluding negotiated commitment discounts or any other discounts.

Decimal

Yes

EffectiveCost

The amortized cost of the charge after applying all reduced rates, discounts, and the applicable portion of relevant, prepaid purchases (one-time or recurring) that covered this charge.

Decimal

No

InvoiceIssuerName

The name of the entity responsible for invoicing for the resources or services consumed.

String

No

ListCost

Cost calculated by multiplying List Unit Price and the corresponding Pricing Quantity.

Decimal

No

ListUnitPrice

The suggested provider-published unit price for a single Pricing Unit of the associated SKU, exclusive of any discounts.

Decimal

Yes

PricingCategory

Describes the pricing model used for a charge at the time of use or purchase.

String

Yes

PricingQuantity

The volume of a given SKU associated with a resource or service used or purchased, based on the Pricing Unit.

Decimal

Yes

PricingUnit

Provider-specified pricing measurement unit used for usage measurement after applying rules such as tiered pricing.

String

Yes

ProviderName

The name of the entity that made the resources or services available for purchase.

String

No

PublisherName

The name of the entity that produced the resources or services that were purchased.

String

No

RegionId

Provider-assigned identifier for an isolated geographic area where a resource is provisioned or a service is provided.

String

Yes

RegionName

The name of an isolated geographic area where a resource is provisioned or a service is provided.

String

Yes

ResourceId

Identifier assigned to a resource by the provider.

String

Yes

ResourceName

Display name assigned to a resource.

String

Yes

ResourceType

The kind of resource the charge applies to.

String

Yes

ServiceCategory

Highest-level classification of a service based on the core function of the service.

String

No

ServiceName

An offering that can be purchased from a provider (e.g., cloud virtual machine, SaaS database, professional services from a systems integrator).

String

No

SkuId

A unique identifier that defines a provider-supported construct for organizing properties that are common across one or more SKU Prices.

String

Yes

SkuPriceId

A unique identifier that defines the unit price used to calculate the charge.

String

Yes

SubAccountId

An ID assigned to a grouping of resources or services, often used to manage access and/or cost.

String

Yes

SubAccountName

A name assigned to a grouping of resources or services, often used to manage access and/or cost.

String

Yes

Tags

The set of tags assigned to tag sources that account for potential provider-defined or user-defined tag evaluations.

JSON

Yes

X_CommodityCode

Alibaba Cloud's unique code for identifying specific commodities under cloud products.

string

No

X_CommodityName

Name of the specific commodity under the cloud product.

string

No

X_BillingItemCode

The billing item code to which the cloud resource fee belongs.

string

No

X_BillingItemName

The billing item name to which the cloud resource fee belongs.

string

No

X_InstanceID

This refers to the dimension used by various Alibaba Cloud products/services for cost output statistics and summarization when generating bills. Different cloud products and services may have different billing granularities, which affect the level of detail in bills and how costs are calculated.

For cloud products where the billing granularity is not equal to the resource management granularity, additional splitting processing is required to meet enterprise internal management needs.

string

No