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#
Open FinOps → Allocate
Select the Group node you want to budget
In the right panel, click “Add budget”
Set the Amount (in your tenant currency)
Set the Reset period: Monthly (most common) or Quarterly
Set the Start date — the first day of the first budget period
Note
The Start date cannot be changed after saving. Choose carefully.
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#
The Forecast threshold type predicts whether the current budget period will close above the configured threshold and fires the alert before the budget is actually exceeded.
Reply CMP uses a two-stage model:
Horizon |
Model |
|---|---|
Up to 30 days ahead |
Machine learning — adapts to the Group node’s historical daily cost data |
Beyond 30 days |
Linear regression extrapolation — extends coverage for quarterly and annual budget periods |
As each day passes and new cost data arrives, the model refreshes. The alert fires when the updated prediction crosses the configured threshold.
Note
Forecast alerts do not use Azure OpenAI — they are computed within Reply CMP using statistical and ML models over your billing data.
Note
Forecast accuracy improves as the period progresses. During the first 1–5 days of a period 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.