FOCUS Specification v1.0-preview

Copyright © 2023 – FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification (FOCUS) a
Series of the Joint Development Foundation Projects, LLC. Linux
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and document use rules apply.

Status of This Document

This section describes the status of this document at the time of its
publication.

This is a published release of the FinOps Open Cost and Usage
Specification.

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FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Abstract

FOCUS is an open-source specification for cloud billing data. It
defines a common schema for billing data, aligns terminology with the
FinOps Framework and defines a minimum set of requirements for billing
data. The specification provides clear guideline for billing data
generators to produce FinOps-serviceable data. The specification enables
FinOps practitioners to perform common FinOps capabilities such as
chargeback, cost allocation, budgeting and forecasting etc. using a
generic set of instructions, regardless of the origin of the FOCUS
compatible dataset.

Contributors

Thanks to the following FOCUS members for their contributions to this
specification.

• Alex Hullah (Goldman Sachs)
• Amit Wadhwa (Google)
• Anand Tripathi (Amazon Web Services)
• Anderson Oliveira (Farfetch.com)
• Andrew Qu (Everest)
• Anne Johnston (Capital One)
• Arun Ramakrishnan (Oracle)
• Ben Shy (Microsoft)
• Ben Swoboda (NetApp)
• Ben Zhou (Apptio)
• Casey Doran (Apptio)
• Chandra Devarajan (CloudTrakr)
• Chew Esmero (Alphaus Inc.)
• Christopher Harris (Datadog)
• Colin Jack (Snow Software)
• Deeja Cruz (Datadog)
• Eleni Rundle (Google)
• Erik Peterson (CloudZero)
• Graham Murphy (Australian Retirement Trust)
• Irena Jurica (Neos)
• Jacky Liu (Google)
• Janine Pickard-Green (MagicOrange Group Limited)
• Jason Kelly (Anglepoint Group Inc)
• Joe Ferrero (DB Gurus Inc.)
• John Grubb (Platform.sh)
• Joshua Kwan (Ternary)
• Karl Kraft (Walmart)
• Larry Advey (Twilio)
• Letian Wang (Atlassian)
• Luna Bernal (Twilio)
• Marc Perreaut (amadeus)
• Marcin Walkow (Nordcloud)
• Mark Krawczeniuk (NetApp)
• Matt Ray (Kubecost)
• Michael Arkoosh (Vega)
• Michael Flanakin (Microsoft)
• Mike Fuller (FinOps Foundation)
• Mike Polson (VMWare)
• Nick Kotze (Surveil)
• Nicolas Fonrose (Teevity)
• Ray Ding (Accenture)
• Ricardo Triana (Accenture)
• Peter Marton (OpenMeter.io)
• Riley Jenkins (Domo)
• Rodney Joyce (CloudMonitor)
• Rupa Patel (Google)
• Sarah McMullin (Google)
• Sanjna Srivatsa (VMWare)
• Shawn Alpay (Envisor)
• Sumaira Nazir (Platform.sh)
• Tatiana Dubovchenko (Flexera)
• Trey Morgan (Microsoft)
• Tim O’Brien (Walmart)
• Trig Ghosh (Accenture)
• Udam Dewaraja (FinOps Foundation)
• Yuriy Prykhodko (Amazon Web Services)
• Webb Brown (Kubecost)

Table of Contents

• 1. Introduction
  • 1.1. Background and History
  • 1.2. Intended Audience
  • 1.3. Scope
  • 1.4. Design Principles
  • 1.5. Design Notes
  • 1.6. Typographic Conventions
  • 1.7. Conformance Checkers and Validators

• 2. Columns
  • 2.1. Availability Zone
  • 2.2. Billed Cost
  • 2.3. Billing Account ID
  • 2.4. Billing Account Name
  • 2.5. Billing Currency
  • 2.6. Billing Period End
  • 2.7. Billing Period Start
  • 2.8. Charge Category
  • 2.9. Charge Description
  • 2.10. Charge Frequency
  • 2.11. Charge Period End
  • 2.12. Charge Period Start
  • 2.13. Charge Subcategory
  • 2.14. Commitment Discount Category
  • 2.15. Commitment Discount ID
  • 2.16. Commitment Discount Name
  • 2.17. Commitment Discount Type
  • 2.18. Effective Cost
  • 2.19. Invoice Issuer
  • 2.20. List Cost
  • 2.21. List Unit Price
  • 2.22. Pricing Category
  • 2.23. Pricing Quantity
  • 2.24. Pricing Unit
  • 2.25. Provider
  • 2.26. Publisher
  • 2.27. Region
  • 2.28. Resource ID
  • 2.29. Resource Name
  • 2.30. Resource Type
  • 2.31. Service Category
  • 2.32. Service Name
  • 2.33. SKU ID
  • 2.34. SKU Price ID
  • 2.35. Sub Account ID
  • 2.36. Sub Account Name
  • 2.37. Tags
  • 2.38. Usage Quantity
  • 2.39. Usage Unit

• 3. Attributes
  • 3.1. Column Naming Convention
  • 3.2. Currency Code Format
  • 3.3. Date/Time Format
  • 3.4. Discount Handling
  • 3.5. Key-Value Format
  • 3.6. Null Handling
  • 3.7. Numeric Format
  • 3.8. Unit Format

• • 4. Use Case Library
  • 5. Glossary
  • 6. Appendix
    • 6.1. Grouping constructs for resources or services
    • 6.2. Origination of Cost Data

1. Introduction

This section is non-normative.

FOCUS aims to establish a community-driven specification for
consumption-based billing data. Due to the lack of a broadly adopted
specification, infrastructure and services providers have resorted to
proprietary billing schemas and terminology. However, the lack of
conformance amongst the billing data generators has forced FinOps
practitioners to employ disparate, best-effort schemes which each
practitioner must develop individually for each
provider in order to perform essential FinOps capabilities such
as chargeback, cost allocation, budgeting and forecasting.

The FOCUS specification’s schema definition and FinOps aligned
terminology provide a clear guide for producing FinOps-serviceable
billing datasets. Datasets conforming to FOCUS enable FinOps
practitioners to perform common FinOps capabilities, like the ones
mentioned above, using a generic set of instructions, regardless of the
origin of the dataset.

1.1. Background and History

This project is sponsored by the FinOps Foundation. This work initially
started under the Open Billing working group under the FinOps
Foundation. The decision was made in Jan 2023 to begin to migrate the
work to a newly formed project under the Linux Foundation called the
FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification (FOCUS) to better support the
creation of a specification.

1.2. Intended Audience

This specification is designed to be used by three major groups:

• • • Billing data generators: Infrastructure and services
      providers that bill based on consumption, such as (but not
      limited to):
      • Cloud Service Providers
        (CSPs)
      • Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms
      • Managed Service
        Providers (MSPs)
      • Internal infrastructure and service platforms
    • FinOps tool providers: Organizations that provide tools to
      assist with FinOps
    • FinOps practitioners: Organizations and individuals consuming
      billing data for doing FinOps

1.3. Scope

The FOCUS working group will develop an open-source specification for
billing data. The schema will define data dimensions, metrics, a set of attributes about
billing data, and a common lexicon for describing billing data.

1.4. Design Principles

The following principles were considered while building the
specification.

1.4.1. FOCUS is
an iterative, living specification

• • • Incremental iterations of the specification released on a regular
      basis will provide higher value to practitioners and allow feedback as
      the specification develops. The goal is not to get to a complete,
      finished specification in one pass.

1.4.2. Working
backwards with ease of adoption

• • • Aim to work backwards from essential FinOps capabilities that
      practitioners need to perform to prioritize the dimensions, metrics and
      the attributes of the cost and usage data that should be defined in the
      specification to fulfill that capability.
    • Be FinOps scenario-driven. Define columns that answer scenario
      questions; don’t look for scenarios to fit a column, each column must
      have a use case.
    • Don’t add dimensions or metrics to the specification just because it
      can be added.
    • When defining the specification, consideration should be made to
      existing data already in the major providers’ (AWS, GCP, Azure, OCI)
      datasets.
    • As long as it solves the FinOps use case, there should be a
      preference to align with data that is already present in a majority of
      the major providers.
    • Strive for simplicity. However, prioritize accuracy, clarity, and
      consistency.
    • Strive to build columns that serve a single purpose, with clear and
      concise names and values.
    • The specification should allow data to be presented free from
      jargon, using simple understandable terms, and be approachable.
    • Naming and terms used should be carefully considered to avoid using
      terms for which the definition could be confused by the reader. If a
      term must be used which has either an unclear or multiple definitions,
      it should be clarified in the glossary.
    • The specification should provide all of the data elements necessary
      for the Capabilities.

1.4.3.
Provider-neutral approach by default

• • • While the schema, naming, terminology, and attributes of many
      providers are reviewed during development, this specification aims to be
      provider-neutral.
    • Contributors must take care to ensure the specification examines how
      each decision relates to each of the major cloud providers and SaaS
      vendors, not favoring any single one.
    • In some cases, the approach may closely resemble one or more
      provider’s implementation, while in other cases, the approach might be
      new. In all cases, the FOCUS group (community composed of FinOps
      practitioners, Cloud and SaaS providers and FinOps vendors) will attempt
      to prioritize alignment with the FinOps Framework and Capabilities.

1.4.4. Extensibility

• • • The initial specification aims to introduce a common schema and
      terminology for billing datasets produced by Cloud Service Providers
      (CSPs).
    • The specification, however, aims to be extensible to SaaS products
      and other types of cost datasets.
    • Future versions of the specification will look to expand the content
      to support a broader set of prioritized FinOps capabilities.

1.5. Design Notes

1.5.1. Optimize for data
analysis

• • • Optimize columns for data analysis at scale and avoid the
      requirement of splitting or parsing values.
    • Avoid complex JSON structures when an alternative columnar structure
      is possible.
    • Facilitate the inclusion of data necessary for a system of record
      for cost and usage data to consume.

1.5.2. Consistency helps
with clarity

• • • Where possible, use consistent names that will naturally create
      associations between related columns in the specification.
    • Column naming must strictly follow the column naming conventions.
    • Use established standards (e.g., ISO8601 for dates, ISO4217 for
      currency).

1.6. Typographic Conventions

The keywords “MUST”, “MUST NOT”, “REQUIRED”, “SHALL”, “SHALL NOT”,
“SHOULD”, “SHOULD NOT”, “RECOMMENDED”, “NOT RECOMMENDED”, “MAY”, and
“OPTIONAL” in this specification are to be interpreted as described in
BCP14 [RFC2119][RFC8174] when, and only
when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here.

An implementation of this specification is not compliant if it fails
to satisfy one or more of the “MUST”, “MUST NOT”, “REQUIRED”, “SHALL”,
or “SHALL NOT” requirements defined in the specification. Conversely, an
implementation of the specification is compliant if it satisfies all the
“MUST”, “MUST NOT”, “REQUIRED”, “SHALL”, and “SHALL NOT” requirements
defined in the specification.

1.7. Conformance
Checkers and Validators

There are no current resources available to test for specification
conformance or validators to run on sample data. When one becomes
available, this section of the specification will be updated with
details.

2. Columns

The FOCUS specification defines a group of columns that provide
qualitative values (such as dates, resource, and provider information)
categorized as “dimensions” and quantitative values (numeric values)
categorized as “metrics” that can be used for performing various FinOps
capabilities. Metrics are commonly used for aggregations (sum,
multiplication, averaging etc.) and statistical operations within the
dataset. Dimensions are commonly used to categorize, filter, and reveal
details in your data when combined with metrics. The Columns are
presented in Alphabetical order.

2.1. Availability Zone

Availability Zone is a
provider assigned identifier for a physically separated and isolated
area within a Region that provides high availability and fault
tolerance. Availability Zone is commonly used for scenarios like
analyzing cross-zone data transfer usage and the corresponding cost
based on where resources are
deployed.

The AvailabilityZone column SHOULD be present in the billing data.
This column MUST be of type String and MAY contain null values.

2.1.1. Column ID

AvailabilityZone

2.1.2. Display name

Availability Zone

2.1.3. Description

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

2.1.4. Content constraints

2.1.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.2. Billed Cost

The Billed Cost represents a
charge serving as the basis for invoicing, inclusive of the impacts of
all reduced rates and discounts while excluding the amortization of relevant
purchases (one-time or recurring) paid to cover future eligible charges.
This cost is denominated in the Billing
Currency. The Billed Cost is commonly used to perform FinOps
capabilities that require cash-basis accounting such as cost allocation,
budgeting, and invoice reconciliation.

The BilledCost column MUST be present in the billing data and MUST
NOT be null. This column MUST be of type Decimal, MUST conform to Numeric Format, and be denominated in the
BillingCurrency. The aggregated BilledCost for a billing period MUST match
the charge received on the invoice for the same billing
period.

2.2.1. Column ID

BilledCost

2.2.2. Display name

Billed Cost

2.2.3. Description

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).

2.2.4. Content constraints

2.2.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.3. Billing Account ID

A Billing Account ID is a provider assigned identifier for a billing account.
Billing accounts are commonly used for scenarios like grouping
based on organizational constructs, invoice reconciliation and cost
allocation strategies.

The BillingAccountId column MUST be present in the billing data. This
column MUST be of type String and MUST NOT contain null values.
BillingAccountId MUST be a globally unique identifier within a
provider.

See Appendix:
Grouping constructs for resources or services for details and
examples of the different grouping constructs supported by FOCUS.

2.3.1. Column ID

BillingAccountId

2.3.2. Display name

Billing Account ID

2.3.3. Description

The identifier assigned to a billing account by the
provider.

2.3.4. Content constraints

2.3.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.4. Billing Account Name

A Billing Account Name is a display name assigned to a billing account.
Billing accounts are commonly used for scenarios like grouping
based on organizational constructs, invoice reconciliation and cost
allocation strategies.

The BillingAccountName column MUST be present in the billing data.
This column MUST be of type String. The BillingAccountName MUST NOT be
null if a display name can be assigned to a billing account.
BillingAccountName MUST be unique within a customer when a customer has
more than one billing account.

See Appendix:
Grouping constructs for resources or services for details and
examples of the different grouping constructs supported by FOCUS.

2.4.1. Column ID

BillingAccountName

2.4.2. Display name

Billing Account Name

2.4.3. Description

The display name assigned to a billing account.

2.4.4. Content constraints

2.4.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.5. Billing Currency

Billing Currency is an
identifier that represents the currency that a charge for resources or services was billed in. Billing
Currency is commonly used in scenarios where costs need to be grouped or
aggregated.

The BillingCurrency column MUST be present in the billing data.
BillingCurrency MUST match the currency used in the invoice generated by
the invoice issuer. This column MUST be of type String and MUST NOT
contain null values. BillingCurrency MUST conform to Currency Code Format requirements.

2.5.1. Column ID

BillingCurrency

2.5.2. Display name

Billing Currency

2.5.3. Description

Represents the currency that a charge was billed in.

2.5.4. Content Constraints

2.5.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.6. Billing Period End

Billing Period End represents the end date and time of the billing period.

The BillingPeriodEnd column MUST be present in the billing data. This
column MUST be of type Date/Time and MUST NOT contain null values.
BillingPeriodEnd column MUST conform to Date/Time Format. The sum of the BilledCost column for rows in a given billing
period MUST match the sum of the invoices received for that
billing period for a billing account.

2.6.1. Column ID

BillingPeriodEnd

2.6.2. Display Name

Billing Period End

2.6.3. Description

The end date and time of the billing period.

2.6.4. Content Constraints

2.6.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.7. Billing Period Start

Billing Period Start represents the start date and time of the billing period.

The BillingPeriodStart column MUST be present in the billing data.
This column MUST be of type Date/Time and MUST NOT contain null values.
BillingPeriodStart column MUST conform to Date/Time Format. The sum of the BilledCost metric for rows in a given billing
period MUST match the sum of the invoices received for that
billing period for a billing account.

2.7.1. Column ID

BillingPeriodStart

2.7.2. Display Name

Billing Period Start

2.7.3. Description

The beginning date and time of the billing period.

2.7.4. Content Constraints

2.7.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.8. Charge Category

A Charge Category indicates whether the row represents an upfront or
recurring fee, cost of usage that already occurred, an after-the-fact adjustment (e.g., credits), or
taxes. The Charge Category is commonly used to identify prepaid
purchases separately from usage-based charges, to separate taxes that
may require special handling, or to apply finer-grained allocation logic
to purchases or adjustments.

The ChargeCategory column MUST be present and MUST NOT be null. This
column is of type String and MUST be one of the allowed values.

2.8.1. Column ID

ChargeCategory

2.8.2. Display Name

Charge Category

2.8.3. Description

Indicates whether the row represents an upfront or recurring fee,
cost of usage that already occurred, an after-the-fact
adjustment (e.g., credits), or taxes.

2.8.4. Content Constraints

Allowed values:

2.8.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.9. Charge Description

A Charge Description provides a high-level context of a row without requiring additional
discovery. This column is a self-contained summary of the charge’s
purpose and price. It typically covers a select group of corresponding
details across a billing dataset or provides information not otherwise
available.

The Charge Description column MUST be present within the dataset,
MUST be of type String, and SHOULD NOT be null. Providers SHOULD specify
the length of this column in their publicly available documentation.

2.9.1. Column ID

ChargeDescription

2.9.2. Display Name

Charge Description

2.9.3. Description

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

2.9.4. Content Constraints

2.9.5. Introduced (version)

1.0

2.10. Charge Frequency

Charge Frequency indicates how often a charge will occur. Along with
the charge period related columns,
the Charge Frequency is commonly used to understand recurrence periods
(e.g., monthly, yearly), forecast upcoming charges, and differentiate
between one-time and recurring fees for purchases.

The ChargeFrequency column MUST be present in the billing data and
MUST NOT be null. This column is of type String and MUST be one of the
allowed values. When ChargeCategory is
“Purchase”, ChargeFrequency MUST NOT be “Usage-Based”.

2.10.1. Column ID

ChargeFrequency

2.10.2. Display Name

Charge Frequency

2.10.3. Description

Indicates how often a charge will occur.

2.10.4. Content Constraints

Allowed values:

2.10.5. Introduced (version)

1.0

2.11. Charge Period End

Charge Period End represents the end date and time of the charge period.

The ChargePeriodEnd column MUST be present in the billing data. This
column MUST be of type Date/Time and MUST NOT contain null values.
ChargePeriodEnd column MUST conform to Date/Time Format.

2.11.1. Column ID

ChargePeriodEnd

2.11.2. Display name

Charge Period End

2.11.3. Description

The end date and time of a charge period.

2.11.4. Content constraints

2.11.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.12. Charge Period Start

Charge Period Start represents the starting date and time of the charge period.

The ChargePeriodStart column MUST be present in the billing data.
This column MUST be of type Date/Time and MUST NOT contain null values.
ChargePeriodStart column MUST conform to Date/Time Format.

2.12.1. Column ID

ChargePeriodStart

2.12.2. Display name

Charge Period Start

2.12.3. Description

The beginning date and time of a charge period.

2.12.4. Content constraints

2.12.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.13. Charge Subcategory

Charge Subcategory indicates what kind of usage or adjustment the row represents. Charge Subcategory is
a supplemental detail to the Charge
Category. It provides additional context to describe the primary
category of charge.

This linkage to the parent Charge Category means that for every entry
under Charge Category, there can be a corresponding Charge Subcategory
that further refines the nature of the charge. It’s a nested level of
detail that allows users to see not just what type of charge was
incurred. Current sub-categorization currently applies to Charge
Category values “Usage” and “Adjustment”. Support for others will be
added as needed.

When Charge Category is “Usage” and the charge is related to a commitment, the Charge
Subcategory indicates whether the row represents committed usage or is
an amortized charge for
the unused portion of the commitment. Charge Subcategory is
commonly used for scenarios like calculating commitment
utilization when Charge Category is “Usage”.

When Charge Category is “Adjustment”, the Charge Subcategory
indicates what kind of after-the-fact adjustment the record
represents and is commonly used to identify changes like credits and
refunds.

ChargeSubcategory MUST follow the requirements listed below:

• • • The ChargeSubcategory MUST be present in the billing data.
    • ChargeSubcategory is of type String and MUST be one of the allowed
      values.
    • ChargeSubcategory MUST NOT be null when ChargeCategory is “Usage”
      and the charge is covered by a commitment.
      • When a usage charge is covered by a commitment,
        ChargeSubcategory MUST be “Used Commitment”.
      • When a commitment is not used fully used or partially used
        within the committed period, ChargeSubcategory MUST be “Unused
        Commitment” for the unused usage charge.
    • ChargeSubcategory MUST be null when ChargeCategory is “Usage” and is
      not covered by a commitment.
    • ChargeSubcategory MUST NOT be null when ChargeCategory is
      “Adjustment”.
      • When an adjustment applies to a specific item, the
        corresponding FOCUS columns that identify that item MUST NOT be null and
        MUST match the applicable item details the adjustment pertains
        to.
    • ChargeSubcategory MUST be null when ChargeCategory is “Purchase” or
      “Tax”.

2.13.1. Column ID

ChargeSubcategory

2.13.2. Display Name

Charge Subcategory

2.13.3. Description

Indicates what kind of usage or adjustment the row
represents.

2.13.4. Content Constraints

Allowed values when ChargeCategory is “Usage”:

Allowed values when ChargeCategory is “Adjustment”:

2.13.5. Introduced (version)

1.0

2.14. Commitment Discount
Category

Commitment Discount Category indicates whether the commitment-based
discount identified in the CommitmentDiscountId column is based
on usage quantity or cost (aka “spend”).

The CommitmentDiscountCategory column MUST be present in the billing
data. This column MUST be of type String, MUST be null when CommitmentDiscountId is null, and MUST
NOT be null when CommitmentDiscountId is not null. The
CommitmentDiscountCategory MUST be one of the allowed values.

2.14.1. Column ID

CommitmentDiscountCategory

2.14.2. Display name

Commitment Discount Category

2.14.3. Description

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

2.14.4. Content constraints

Allowed values:

2.14.5. Introduced (version)

1.0

2.15. Commitment Discount ID

A Commitment Discount ID is the identifier assigned to a commitment-based
discount by the provider. Commitment Discount ID is commonly
used for scenarios like chargeback for commitments and savings
per commitment-based discount.

The CommitmentDiscountId column MUST be present in the billing data.
This column MUST be of type String and MUST NOT contain null values when
a charge is related to a commitment-based discount. When a
charge is not associated with a commitment-based discount, the
column MUST be null. CommitmentDiscountId MUST be unique within the
provider.

2.15.1. Column ID

CommitmentDiscountId

2.15.2. Display name

Commitment Discount ID

2.15.3. Description

The identifier assigned to a commitment-based discount by
the provider.

2.15.4. Content constraints

2.15.5. Introduced (version)

1.0

2.16. Commitment Discount
Name

A Commitment Discount Name is the display name assigned to a commitment-based
discount.

The CommitmentDiscountName column MUST be present in the billing
data. This column MUST be of type String. The CommitmentDiscountName
value MUST be null if the charge is not related to a
commitment-based discount and MAY be null if a display name
cannot be assigned to a commitment-based discount.
CommitmentDiscountName MUST NOT be null if a display name can be
assigned to a commitment-based discount.

2.16.1. Column ID

CommitmentDiscountName

2.16.2. Display name

Commitment Discount Name

2.16.3. Description

The display name assigned to a commitment-based
discount.

2.16.4. Content constraints

2.16.5. Introduced (version)

1.0

2.17. Commitment Discount
Type

Commitment Discount Type is a provider-assigned name to identify the
type of commitment-based
discount applied to the row.

The CommitmentDiscountType column MUST be present in the billing
data. This column MUST be of type String, MUST be null when CommitmentDiscountId is null, and MUST
NOT be null when CommitmentDiscountId is not null. Providers MUST use a
consistent value-format and a set of values for CommitmentDiscountType
values within their billing datasets.

2.17.1. Column ID

CommitmentDiscountType

2.17.2. Display name

Commitment Discount Type

2.17.3. Description

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

2.17.4. Content constraints

2.17.5. Introduced (version)

1.0

2.18. Effective Cost

Effective Cost represents a cost inclusive of the impacts of all
reduced rates and discounts, augmented with the amortization of relevant
purchases (one-time or recurring) paid to cover future eligible charges.
The amortized portion included should be proportional to the Pricing Quantity and the time granularity of
the data. This cost is denominated in the Billing Currency. The Effective Cost is
commonly utilized to track and analyze spending trends.

This column resolves two challenges that are faced by
practitioners:

• • 1. Practitioners need to amortize relevant purchases, such as
       upfront fees, over the duration of the commitment and
       distribute them to the appropriate reporting groups (e.g. tags, resources).
    2. Many commitment-based
       discount constructs include a recurring expense for the
       commitment for every billing period and must
       distribute this cost to the resources using the
       commitment. This forces reconciliation between the initial
       commitment row per period
       and the actual usage rows.

The EffectiveCost column MUST be present in the billing data and MUST
NOT be null. This column MUST be of type Decimal, MUST conform to Numeric Format, and be denominated in the
BillingCurrency. The aggregated EffectiveCost for a billing period MAY
NOT match the charge received on the invoice for the same billing
period.

In cases where the SkuPriceId is null, the
following applies:

• • • The EffectiveCost MUST be calculated based on the EffectiveCost of
      the related charges if the charge is calculated based on other charges
      (e.g. ChargeCategory is “Tax”).
    • The EffectiveCost MUST match the BilledCost if the charge is unrelated to other
      charges (e.g. ChargeSubcategory is
      “Credit”).

2.18.1. Column ID

EffectiveCost

2.18.2. Display name

Effective Cost

2.18.3. Description

Cost inclusive of the impacts of all reduced rates and discounts,
augmented with the amortization of relevant purchases (one-time
or recurring) paid to cover future eligible charges.

2.18.3.1.
Concerning Granularity and Distribution of Recurring Fee

Providers should distribute the commitment purchase amount
instead of including a row at the beginning of a period so
practitioners do not need to manually distribute the fee themselves.

2.18.3.2. Concerning
Amortization Approaches

Eligible purchases should be amortized using a methodology
determined by the provider that reflects the needs of their customer
base and is proportional with the Pricing Quantity and the time
granularity of the row. Should a practitioner desire to
amortize relevant purchases using a different approach, the
practitioner can do so using the Billed Cost
for the line item representing the initial purchase.

2.18.4. Content constraints

2.18.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.19. Invoice Issuer

An Invoice Issuer is an entity responsible for invoicing for the resources or services consumed. It is commonly
used for cost analysis and reporting scenarios.

The InvoiceIssuer column MUST be present in the billing data. This
column MUST be of type String and MUST NOT contain null values.

See Appendix: Origination of cost
data section for examples of Provider, Publisher and Invoice Issuer values that can be
used for various purchasing scenarios.

2.19.1. Column ID

InvoiceIssuerName

2.19.2. Display Name

Invoice Issuer

2.19.3. Description

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

2.19.4. Content Constraints

2.19.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.20. List Cost

List Cost represents the cost calculated by multiplying List Unit Price and the corresponding Pricing Quantity. List Cost is denominated
in the Billing Currency and is commonly
used for calculating savings based on various rate optimization
activities, by comparing it with Effective
Cost.

The ListCost column MUST be present in the billing data and MUST NOT
be null. This column MUST be of type Decimal, MUST conform to Numeric Format, and be denominated in the
BillingCurrency. When a ListUnitPrice is not null, multiplying the
ListUnitPrice by PricingQuantity MUST produce the ListCost.

In cases where the ListUnitPrice is null, the following applies:

• • • The ListCost MUST be calculated based on the ListCost of the related
      charges if the charge is calculated based on other charges (e.g. ChargeCategory is “Tax”).
    • The ListCost MUST match the BilledCost if
      the charge is unrelated to other charges (e.g. ChargeSubcategory is “Credit”).

2.20.1. Column ID

ListCost

2.20.2. Display name

List Cost

2.20.3. Description

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

2.20.4. Content Constraints

2.20.5. Introduced (version)

1.0

2.21. List Unit Price

The List Unit Price represents the suggested provider-published unit
price for a single Pricing Unit of the
associated SKU, exclusive of any discounts. This price is denominated in
the Billing Currency. The List Unit Price
is commonly used for calculating savings based on various rate
optimization activities.

The ListUnitPrice column MUST be present in the billing data. This
column MUST be a Decimal within the range of non-negative decimal
values, MUST conform to Numeric Format, and
be denominated in the BillingCurrency. ListUnitPrice MUST NOT be null if
SkuPriceId is not null and MUST be null if
SkuPriceId is null. When ListUnitPrice is not null, multiplying
ListUnitPrice by PricingQuantity MUST
equal ListCost.

2.21.1. Column ID

ListUnitPrice

2.21.2. Display name

List Unit Price

2.21.3. Description

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

2.21.4. Content Constraints

2.21.5. Introduced (version)

1.0

2.22. Pricing Category

Pricing Category describes the pricing model used for a charge at the
time of use or purchase. It can be useful for distinguishing between
charges at the List Unit Price or a reduced
price and exposing optimization opportunities, like increasing commitment-based discount
coverage.

The PricingCategory column adheres to the following requirements:

• • • PricingCategory MUST be present in the billing data and MUST be of
      type String.
    • PricingCategory MUST be null if SkuPriceId
      is null and MUST NOT be null if SkuPriceId is not null.
    • PricingCategory MUST be one of the allowed values.
    • PricingCategory MUST be “On-Demand” when pricing is predetermined at
      the standard rate for the billing
      account.
    • PricingCategory MUST be “Commitment-Based” when CommitmentDiscountId is not null.
    • PricingCategory MUST be “Dynamic” when pricing is determined by the
      provider and may change over time, regardless of predetermined agreement
      pricing.
    • PricingCategory MUST be “Other” when there is a pricing model but
      none of the current allowed values apply.

2.22.1. Column ID

PricingCategory

2.22.2. Display name

Pricing Category

2.22.3. Description

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

2.22.4. Content constraints

Allowed values:

2.22.5. Introduced (version)

1.0

2.23. Pricing Quantity

The Pricing Quantity represents the volume of a given resource or service used or purchased based on
the Pricing Unit. Distinct from Usage Quantity (complementary to Usage Unit), it focuses on pricing and cost, not
resource and service consumption.

PricingQuantity MUST be present in the billing data. This column MUST
be of type Decimal and MUST conform to Numeric
Format. The value MAY be negative in cases where ChargeSubcategory is “Refund”. This column
MUST NOT be null if SkuPriceId is not null and
MUST be null if SkuPriceId is null. When unit prices are not null,
multiplying PricingQuantity by a unit price MUST produce a result equal
to the corresponding cost metric.

2.23.1. Column ID

PricingQuantity

2.23.2. Display name

Pricing Quantity

2.23.3. Description

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

2.23.4. Content constraints

2.23.5. Introduced (version)

1.0

2.24. Pricing Unit

The Pricing Unit represents a provider-specified measurement unit for
determining unit prices, indicating how a provider rates measured usage
and purchase quantities considering pricing rules like block pricing. Common
examples include the number of hours for compute appliance runtime (e.g.
Hours), gigabyte-hours for a storage appliance (e.g.,
GB-Hours), or an accumulated count of requests for a
network appliance or API service (e.g., 1000 Requests).
Pricing Unit complements the Pricing
Quantity metric. Distinct from the Usage
Unit, it focuses on pricing and cost, not resource and service consumption, often at a
coarser granularity.

The PricingUnit column MUST be present in the billing data. This
column MUST be of type String. It MUST NOT be null if SkuPriceId is not null and MUST be null if
SkuPriceId is null. Units of measure used in PricingUnit SHOULD adhere
to the values and format requirements specified in the UnitFormat attribute.

The PricingUnit value MUST be semantically equal to the corresponding
pricing measurement unit value provided in:

• • • The provider-published price
      list
    • The invoice, when the invoice includes a pricing measurement
      unit

2.24.1. Column ID

PricingUnit

2.24.2. Display name

Pricing Unit

2.24.3. Description

A provider-specified measurement unit for determining unit prices,
indicating how a provider rates measured usage and purchase quantities
after applying pricing rules like block pricing.

2.24.4. Content constraints

2.24.5. Introduced (version)

1.0

2.25. Provider

A Provider is an entity that made the resources or services available for purchase.
It is commonly used for cost analysis and reporting scenarios.

The Provider column MUST be present in the billing data. This column
MUST be of type String and MUST NOT contain null values.

See Appendix: Origination of cost
data section for examples of Provider, Publisher and Invoice Issuer
values that can be used for various purchasing scenarios.

2.25.1. Column ID

ProviderName

2.25.2. Display Name

Provider

2.25.3. Description

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

2.25.4. Content Constraints

2.25.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.26. Publisher

A Publisher is an entity that produced the resources or services that were purchased. It
is commonly used for cost analysis and reporting scenarios.

The Publisher column MUST be present in the billing data. This column
MUST be of type String and MUST NOT contain null values.

See Appendix: Origination of cost
data section for examples of Provider,
Publisher and Invoice Issuer values that
can be used for various purchasing scenarios.

2.26.1. Column ID

PublisherName

2.26.2. Display Name

Publisher

2.26.3. Description

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

2.26.4. Content Constraints

2.26.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.27. Region

A Region is a provider assigned identifier for an isolated geographic
area where a resource is
provisioned in or a service is
provided from. Region is commonly used for scenarios like analyzing cost
and unit prices based on where resources are deployed.

Region MUST be present in the billing data and MUST be of type
String. Region MUST NOT be null when a resource or
service is operated in or managed from a distinct region.
Region values MUST be consistent within the provider and MUST be the
same values used to indicate the region when provisioning or purchasing
the resource or service.

2.27.1. Column ID

Region

2.27.2. Display name

Region

2.27.3. Description

Isolated geographic area where a resource is provisioned in
or a service is provided from.

2.27.4. Content constraints

2.27.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.28. Resource ID

A Resource ID is an identifier assigned to a resource by the provider. The
Resource ID is commonly used for cost reporting, analysis, and
allocation scenarios.

The ResourceId column MUST be present in the billing data. This
column MUST be of type String. The ResourceId value MAY be a nullable
column as some cost data rows may
not be associated with a resource. ResourceId MUST appear in
the cost data if an identifier is assigned to a resource by the
provider. ResourceId SHOULD be a fully-qualified identifier that ensures
global uniqueness within the provider.

2.28.1. Column ID

ResourceId

2.28.2. Display Name

Resource ID

2.28.3. Description

Identifier assigned to a resource by the provider.

2.28.4. Content Constraints

2.28.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.29. Resource Name

The Resource Name is a display name assigned to a resource. It is commonly used for
cost analysis, reporting, and allocation scenarios.

The ResourceName column MUST be present in the billing data. This
column MUST be of type String. The ResourceName value MAY be a nullable
column as some cost data rows may
not be associated with a resource or because a display name
cannot be assigned to a resource. ResourceName MUST NOT be null
if a display name can be assigned to a resource.
Resources not provisioned interactively or only have a system
generated ResourceId MUST NOT duplicate the
same value as the ResourceName.

2.29.1. Column ID

ResourceName

2.29.2. Display Name

Resource Name

2.29.3. Description

Display name assigned to a resource.

2.29.4. Content Constraints

2.29.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.30. Resource Type

Resource Type describes the kind of resource the charge applies to. A
Resource Type is commonly used for scenarios like identifying cost
changes in groups of similar resources and may include values
like Virtual Machine, Data Warehouse, and Load Balancer.

The ResourceType column MUST be present within billing data. This
column MUST be of type String and MUST NOT be null when a corresponding
ResourceId is not null. When a corresponding
ResourceId value is null, the ResourceType column value MUST also be
null. Providers MUST use a consistent value-format and a set of values
for ResourceType values within their billing datasets.

2.30.1. Column ID

ResourceType

2.30.2. Display Name

Resource Type

2.30.3. Description

The kind of resource the charge applies to.

2.30.4. Content Constraints

2.30.5. Introduced (version)

1.0

2.31. Service Category

The Service Category is the highest-level classification of a service based on the core function
of the service. Each service should have one and only
one category that best aligns to its primary purpose. The Service
Category is commonly used for scenarios like analyzing costs across
providers and tracking the migration of workloads across fundamentally
different architectures.

The ServiceCategory column MUST be present and MUST NOT be null. This
column is of type String and MUST be one of the allowed values.

2.31.1. Column ID

ServiceCategory

2.31.2. Display Name

Service Category

2.31.3. Description

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

2.31.4. Content Constraints

Allowed values:

2.31.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.32. Service Name

A service represents an
offering that can be purchased from a provider (e.g., cloud virtual
machine, SaaS database, professional services from a systems
integrator). A service offering can include various types of
usage or other charges. For example, a cloud database service
may include compute, storage, and networking charges.

The Service Name is a display name for the offering that was
purchased. The Service Name is commonly used for scenarios like
analyzing aggregate cost trends over time and filtering data to
investigate anomalies.

The ServiceName column MUST be present in the cost data. This column
MUST be of type String and MUST NOT contain null values.

2.32.1. Column ID

ServiceName

2.32.2. Display Name

Service Name

2.32.3. Description

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

2.32.4. Content Constraints

2.32.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.33. SKU ID

A SKU ID is an unique identifier that defines a provider-supported
construct for organizing properties that are common across one or more
SKU Prices. SKU ID can be
referenced on a catalog or price
list published by a provider to look up detailed information
about the SKU. The composition of the properties associated with the SKU
ID may differ across providers. Some providers may not support the SKU construct and instead associate
all such properties directly with the SKU Price. SKU ID is
commonly used for analyzing cost based on SKU related
properties above the pricing constructs.

The SkuId column MUST be present in the billing data. This column
MUST be of type String. The SkuId MUST NOT be null when SkuPriceId is not null. SkuId MUST equal
SkuPriceId when a provider does not support an overarching SKU ID
construct.

2.33.1. Column ID

SkuId

2.33.2. Display name

SKU ID

2.33.3. Description

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

2.33.4. Content constraints

2.33.5. Introduced (version)

1.0

2.34. SKU Price ID

A SKU Price ID is a unique identifier that defines the unit price
used to calculate the charge. SKU Price ID can be referenced on a price list published by a
provider to look up detailed information, including a corresponding list
unit price. The composition of the properties associated with the SKU
Price ID may differ across providers. SKU Price ID is commonly used for
analyzing cost based on pricing properties such as Terms and Tiers.

The SkuPriceId column MUST be present in the billing data. This
column MUST be of type String. SkuPriceId MUST define a single unit
price used for calculating the charge. The ListUnitPrice MUST be associated with the
SkuPriceId in the provider published price list. The SkuPriceId
MUST NOT be null when ChargeCategory is
“Purchase” or “Usage”. SkuPriceId MUST NOT be null when ChargeSubcategory is “Refund” and the
refund is related to charges with a specific SkuPriceId. A given value
of SkuPriceId MUST be associated with one and only one SkuId, except in cases of commitment discount
flexibility.

2.34.1. Column ID

SkuPriceId

2.34.2. Display name

SKU Price ID

2.34.3. Description

Unique identifier that defines the unit price used to calculate the
charge.

2.34.4. Content constraints

2.34.5. Introduced (version)

1.0

2.35. Sub Account ID

A Sub Account ID is a provider assigned identifier assigned to a sub account. Sub account ID is
commonly used for scenarios like grouping based on organizational
constructs, access management needs, and cost allocation strategies.

The SubAccountId column MUST be present in the billing data. This
column MUST be of type String. If a provider supports a sub
account construct, that value MUST appear in this column. If a
provider does not support a sub account construct (only has a
billing account](#glossary:billing-account)) or does support a
sub account construct, but the charge does not apply to a
sub account, the SubAccountId column MUST be null.

See Appendix:
Grouping constructs for resources or services for details and
examples of the different grouping constructs supported by FOCUS.

2.35.1. Column ID

SubAccountId

2.35.2. Display name

Sub Account ID

2.35.3. Description

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

2.35.4. Content constraints

2.35.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.36. Sub Account Name

A sub account name is a display name assigned to a sub
account. Sub account Name is commonly used for scenarios like
grouping based on organizational constructs, access management needs,
and cost allocation strategies.

The SubAccountName column MUST be present in the billing data. This
column MUST be of type String. If a provider supports setting a display
name for sub accounts, that value MUST appear in this column.
If a provider does not support a sub account construct (only
has a billing account)
or does support a sub account construct, but the charge does
not apply to a sub account, the SubAccountName column MUST be
null.

See Appendix:
Grouping constructs for resources or services for details and
examples of the different grouping constructs supported by FOCUS.

2.36.1. Column ID

SubAccountName

2.36.2. Display name

Sub Account Name

2.36.3. Description

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

2.36.4. Content constraints

2.36.5. Introduced (version)

0.5

2.37. Tags

The Tags column represents the set of tags assigned to tag sources that also account
for potential provider-defined or user-defined tag evaluations. Tags are
commonly used for scenarios like adding business context to billing data
to identify and accurately allocate charges.

A tag becomes finalized when a single
value is selected from a set of possible tag values assigned to the tag
key. When supported by a provider, this can occur when a tag value is
set by provider-defined or user-defined rules.

The Tags column adheres to the following requirements:

• • • The Tags column MUST contain user-defined and provider-defined
      tags.
    • The Tags column MUST only contain finalized tags.
    • The Tags column MUST be in Key-Value
      Format.
    • A Tag key without a specified value MUST have its tag value set to
      null.
    • If Tag finalization is supported, providers MUST publish tag
      finalization methods and semantics within their respective
      documentation.
    • Providers MUST NOT alter user-defined Tag keys or values.

Provider-defined Tags additionally adhere to the following
requirements:

• • • Provider-defined tags MUST be prefixed with a provider-specified tag
      key prefix.
    • Providers SHOULD publish all provider-specified tag key prefixes
      within their respective documentation.

2.37.1.
Provider-Defined vs. User-Defined Tags

The following is an example of one user-defined tag and one
provider-defined tag, respectively, with tag key, foo. The
first tag is user-defined and not prefixed. The second tag is
provider-defined and prefixed with acme/, which the
provider has specified as a reserved tag key prefix.

    {
        "foo":"bar",
        "acme/foo": "bar"
    }

2.37.2. Finalized Tags

Within a provider, tag keys may be associated with multiple values,
and potentially defined at different levels within the provider, such as
accounts, folders, resource
and other resource grouping constructs. When finalizing,
providers must reduce these multiple levels of definition to a
single value where each key is associated with exactly one value. The
method by which this is done and the semantics are up to each provider,
but must be documented within their respective documentation.

As a example, let’s assume 1 sub
account exists with 1 virtual machine with the following
details, and tag inheritance favors Resources over Sub
Accounts.

• • • Sub Account
      • id: my-sub-account
      • user-defined tags: team:ops, env:prod
    • Virtual Machine
      • id: my-vm
      • user-defined tags: team:web

The table below represents a finalized billing dataset with these
resources. It also shows the finalized state after all
resource-oriented, tag inheritance rules are processed.

Because the the Virtual Machine Resource did not have an
env tag, it inherited tag, env:prod
(italicized), from its parent sub account. Conversely, because
the Virtual Machine Resource already has a team tag
(team:web), it did not inherit team:ops from
its parent sub account.

2.37.3. Column ID

Tags

2.37.4. Display Name

Tags

2.37.5. Description

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

2.37.6. Content Constraints

2.37.7. Introduced (version)

1.0

2.38. Usage Quantity

The Usage Quantity represents the volume of a given resource or service used or purchased based on
the Usage Unit. Usage Quantity is often derived
at a finer granularity or over a different time interval when compared
to the Pricing Quantity (complementary to
Pricing Unit), and focuses on
resource and service consumption, not pricing and
cost.

UsageQuantity MUST be present in the billing data. This column MUST
be of type Decimal and MUST conform to Numeric
Format. The value MAY be negative in cases where ChargeSubcategory is “Refund”. This column
MUST NOT contain null values when SkuPriceId
is not null.

2.38.1. Column ID

UsageQuantity

2.38.2. Display name

Usage Quantity

2.38.3. Description

Volume of a given resource or service used or
purchased based on the Usage Unit.

2.38.4. Content constraints

2.38.5. Introduced (version)

1.0

2.39. Usage Unit

Usage Unit represents the units of a given resource or service used or purchased in
combination with Usage Quantity. Usage Unit
is often listed at a finer granularity or over a different time interval
when compared to the Pricing Unit
(complementary to Pricing Quantity), and
focuses on resource and service consumption, not
pricing and cost.

The UsageUnit column MUST be present in the billing data. This column
MUST be of type String and MUST NOT contain null values when the ChargeCategory is “Usage”. Units of measure
used in UsageUnit SHOULD adhere to the values and format requirements
specified in the UnitFormat attribute. The
UsageUnit column MUST NOT be used as the basis for determining values
related to any pricing or cost metric.

2.39.1. Column ID

UsageUnit

2.39.2. Display name

Usage Unit

2.39.3. Description

Units of a given resource or service used or
purchased in combination with Usage
Quantity.

2.39.4. Content constraints

2.39.5. Introduced (version)

1.0

3. Attributes

Attributes are requirements that apply to the billing datasets.
Requirements on data content can include naming conventions, data types,
formatting standardizations, etc. Attributes may introduce high-level
requirements for data granularity, recency, frequency, etc. Requirements
defined in attributes are necessary for servicing FinOps
capabilities accurately using a standard set of instructions
regardless of the origin of the data.

3.1. Column Naming Convention

Column IDs provided in cost data which follow a consistent naming
convention reducing friction for FinOps practitioners that consume the
data for analysis, reporting, and other use cases.

All columns defined in the FOCUS
specification MUST follow the naming requirements listed below.

3.1.1. Attribute ID

ColumnNamingConvention

3.1.2. Attribute Name

Column Naming Convention

3.1.3. Description

Naming convention for columns appearing in billing data.

3.1.4. Requirements

• • • All columns defined by FOCUS MUST follow the following rules:
      • Column IDs MUST use Pascal case.
      • Column IDs MUST NOT use abbreviations.
      • Column IDs SHOULD NOT use acronyms.
      • Column IDs MUST be alphanumeric with no special characters.
      • Columns that have an ID and a Name MUST have the Id or
        Name suffix in the Column ID. Display Name for a Column MAY
        avoid the Name suffix if there are no other columns with the same name
        prefix.
    • Custom (e.g., provider-defined) columns SHOULD follow the same rules
      as FOCUS columns listed above.
    • Columns that have an ID and a Name MUST have the Id or
      Name suffix in the Column ID. Display Name for a Column MAY
      avoid the Name suffix if it is considered superfluous.
    • Columns with the Category suffix must be
      normalized.
    • All custom columns MUST be prefixed with a consistent
      x_ prefix to identify them as external, custom columns and
      distinguish them from FOCUS columns to avoid conflicts in future
      releases.
    • All FOCUS columns SHOULD be first in the provided dataset.
      • Custom columns SHOULD be listed after all FOCUS columns and SHOULD
        NOT be intermixed.
      • Columns MAY be sorted alphabetically but custom columns SHOULD be
        after all FOCUS columns.

3.1.5. Exceptions

• • • Identifiers will use the “Id” abbreviation since this is a standard
      pattern across the industry.
    • Product offerings that incur charges will use the “Sku” abbreviation
      because it is a well-understood term both within and outside the
      industry.

3.1.6. Introduced (version)

0.5

3.2. Currency Code Format

Columns that contain currency information in cost data following a
consistent format reduces friction for FinOps practitioners that consume
the data for analysis, reporting, and other use cases.

All columns capturing a currency value, defined in the FOCUS
specification, MUST follow the requirements listed below. Custom
currency-related columns SHOULD also follow the same formatting
requirements.

3.2.1. Attribute ID

CurrencyCodeFormat

3.2.2. Attribute name

Currency Code Format

3.2.3. Description

Formatting for currency columns appearing in billing data.

3.2.4. Requirements

• • • Currency related columns MUST be represented as a three-letter
      alphabetic code as dictated in the governing document ISO 4217:2015.

3.2.5. Exceptions

None

3.2.6. Introduced (version)

0.5

3.3. Date/Time Format

Columns that provide date and time information conforming to
specified rules and formatting requirements ensure clarity, accuracy,
and ease of interpretation for both humans and systems.

All columns capturing a date/time value, defined in the FOCUS
specification, MUST follow the formatting requirements listed below.
Custom date/time-related columns SHOULD also follow the same formatting
requirements.

3.3.1. Attribute ID

DateTimeFormat

3.3.2. Attribute name

Date/Time Format

3.3.3. Description

Rules and formatting requirements for date/time related columns
appearing in billing data.

3.3.4. Requirements

• • • Date/time values MUST be in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) to
      avoid ambiguity and ensure consistency across different time zones.
    • Date/time values format MUST be aligned with ISO 8601 standard,
      which provides a globally recognized format for representing dates and
      times (see ISO
      8601-1:2019 governing document for details).
    • Values providing information about a specific moment in time MUST be
      represented in the extended ISO 8601 format with UTC offset
      (‘YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ssZ’) and conform to the following guidelines:
      • Include the date and time components, separated with the letter
        ‘T’
      • Use two-digit hours (HH), minutes (mm), and seconds (ss).
      • End with the ‘Z’ indicator to denote UTC (Coordinated Universal
        Time)

3.3.5. Exceptions

None

3.3.6. Introduced (version)

0.5

3.4. Discount Handling

A discount is a pricing construct where providers offer a reduced
price for services. Providers
may have many types of discounts, including but not limited to
commercially negotiated discounts, commitment-based discounts when you
agree to a certain amount of usage or spend, and bundled discounts where
you receive free or discounted usage of one product or service
based on the usage of another. Discount Handling is commonly used in
scenarios like verifying discounts were applied and calculating cost
savings.

Some discount offers can be purchased from a provider to get reduced
prices. The most common example is a commitment-based discount, where
you “purchase” a commitment to use or spend a specific amount within a
period. When a commitment isn’t fully utilized, the unused amount
reduces the potential savings from the discount and can even result in
paying higher costs than without the discount. Due to this risk, unused
commitment amounts need to be clearly identifiable at a granular level.
To facilitate this, unused commitments are recorded with a separate row
for each charge period where the commitment was not fully utilized. In
order to show the impact of purchased discounts on each discounted row,
discount purchases need the purchase amount the be amortized over the
term the discount is applied to (e.g., 1 year) with each charge period
split and applied to each row that received the discount.

Amortization is a process used to break down and spread purchase
costs over a period of time or term of use. When a purchase is
applicable to resources, like commitment-based discounts, the amortized
cost of a resource takes the initial payment and term into account and
distributes it out based on the resource’s usage, attributing the
prorated cost for each unit of billing. Amortization enables users of
billing data to distribute purchase charges to the appropriate audience
in support of cost allocation efforts. Discount Handling for purchased
commitments is commonly used for scenarios like calculating utilization
and implementing chargeback for the purchase amount.

While providers may use different terms to describe discounts, FOCUS
identifies a discount as being a reduced price applied directly to a
row. Any price or cost reductions that are awarded after the fact are
identified as a “Credit” Charge Subcategory. One example might be when a
provider offers a reduced rate after passing a certain threshold of
usage or spend.

All rows defined in FOCUS MUST follow the discount handling
requirements listed below.

3.4.1. Attribute ID

DiscountHandling

3.4.2. Attribute name

Discount Handling

3.4.3. Description

Indicates how to include and apply discounts to usage charges or
rows.

3.4.4. Requirements

• • • All applicable discounts SHOULD be applied to each row they pertain
      to and SHOULD NOT be negated in a separate row.
    • All discounts applied to a row MUST apply to the entire charge.
      • Multiple discounts MAY apply to a row, but they MUST apply to the
        entire charge covered by that row.
      • If a discount only applies to a portion of a charge, then the
        discounted portion of the charge MUST be split into a separate row.
      • Each discount MUST be identifiable using existing FOCUS columns.
        • Rows with a commitment-based discount applied to it MUST include a
          CommitmentDiscountId.
        • If a provider applies a discount that cannot be represented by a
          FOCUS column, they SHOULD include additional columns to identify the
          source of the discount.
    • ChargeSubCategory MUST NOT be null for rows where ChargeType is
      “Usage” and the row received reduced rates from a discount.
    • Purchased discounts (e.g., commitment-based discounts) MUST be
      amortized.
      • The BilledCost MUST be 0 for any row where the commitment covers the
        entire cost for the charge period.
      • The EffectiveCost MUST include the portion of the amortized purchase
        cost that applies to this row.
      • ChargeSubcategory MUST be “Used Commitment” for rows that received a
        reduced price from that commitment.
      • If a commitment is not fully utilized, the provider MUST include a
        row that represents the unused portion of the commitment for that charge
        period. ChargeSubcategory MUST be “Unused Commitment”.
      • The sum of the EffectiveCost for all “Used Commitment” and “Unused
        Commitment” rows for each CommitmentDiscountId over the entire duration
        of the commitment MUST be the same as the total BilledCost of the
        commitment-based discount.
    • Credits that are applied after the fact MUST use a ChargeType of
      “Adjustment” and ChargeSubcategory of “Credit”.

3.4.5. Exceptions

None

3.4.6. Introduced (version)

1.0

3.5. Key-Value Format

Columns that provide Key-Value information are often used in place of
separate columns for enumerating data which would be inherently sparse
and/or without predetermined keys. This consolidates related information
and provides more consistency in the schema. Key-value pairs are also
referred to as name-value pairs, attribute-value pairs, or field-value
pairs.

All key-value related columns defined in the FOCUS
specification MUST follow the key-value formatting requirements listed
below.

3.5.1. Attribute ID

KeyValueFormat

3.5.2. Attribute Name

Key-Value Format

3.5.3. Description

Rules and formatting requirements for columns appearing in billing
data which convey data as key-value pairs.

3.5.4. Requirements

• • • Key-Value Format columns MUST contain a serialized JSON string,
      consistent with the ECMA
      404 definition of an object.
    • Keys in a key-value pair MUST be unique within an object.
    • Values in a key-value pair MUST one of the following types: number,
      string, true, false, or
      null.
    • Values in a key-value pair MUST NOT be an object nor an array.

3.5.5. Exceptions

None

3.5.6. Introduced (version)

1.0

3.6. Null Handling

Cost data rows that don’t have a
value that can be presented for a column must be handled in a consistent
way to reduce friction for FinOps practitioners that consume the data
for analysis, reporting, and other use cases.

All columns defined in the FOCUS
specification MUST follow the null handling requirements listed below.
Custom columns SHOULD also follow the same formatting requirements.

3.6.1. Attribute ID

NullHandling

3.6.2. Attribute Name

Null Handling

3.6.3. Description

Indicates how to handle columns that don’t have a value.

3.6.4. Requirements

• • • Columns MUST use NULL when there isn’t a value that can be specified
      for a nullable column.
    • Columns MUST NOT use empty strings or placeholder values such as
      “Not Set” or “Not Applicable” in columns, regardless of if the column
      allows nulls or not.

3.6.5. Exceptions

None

3.6.6. Introduced (version)

0.5

3.7. Numeric Format

Columns that provide numeric values conforming to specified rules and
formatting requirements ensure clarity, accuracy, and ease of
interpretation for humans and systems. The FOCUS
specification does not require a specific level of precision for numeric
values. The level of precision required for a given column is determined
by the provider and should be part of a data definition published by the
provider.

All columns capturing a numeric value, defined in the FOCUS
specification, MUST follow the formatting requirements listed below.
Provider-generated numeric value capturing columns SHOULD adopt the same
format requirements over time.

3.7.1. Attribute ID

NumericFormat

3.7.2. Attribute name

Numeric Format

3.7.3. Description

Rules and formatting requirements for numeric columns appearing in
billing data.

3.7.4. Requirements

• • • Columns with a Numeric value format MUST contain a single numeric
      value.
    • Numeric values MUST be expressed as an integer value, a decimal
      values, or a value expressed in scientific notation. Fractional notation
      MUST NOT be used.
    • Numeric values expressed using scientific notation MUST be expressed
      using E notation “mEn” with a real number m and an integer n indictating
      a value of “m x 10^n”. The sign of the exponent MUST only be expressed
      as part of the exponent value if n is negative.
    • Numeric values MUST NOT be expressed with mathematical symbols,
      functions, or operators.
    • Numeric values MUST NOT contain qualifiers or additional characters
      (e.g., currency symbols, units of measure, etc.).
    • Numeric values MUST NOT contain commas or punctuation marks except
      for a single decimal point (“.”) if required to express a decimal
      value.
    • Numeric values MUST NOT include a character to represent a sign for
      a positive value. A negative sign (-) MUST indicate a negative
      value.
    • Columns with a Numeric value format MUST present one of the
      following values as the “Data type” in the column definition.
      • Allowed values:
        

        Data Type	Type Description
        Integer	Specifies a numeric value represented by a whole number or by zero. Integer number formats correspond to standard data types defined by ISO/IEC 9899:2018
        Decimal	Specifies a numeric value represented by a decimal number. Decimal formats correspond to ISO/IEC/IEEE 60559:2011 and IEEE 754-2008 definitions.

    • Providers SHOULD define precision and scale for Numeric Format
      columns using one of the following precision values in a data definition
      document that providers publish.
      • Allowed values:
        

        Data Type	Precision	Definition	Range / Significant Digits
        Integer	Short	16-bit signed short int ISO/IEC 9899:2018	-32,767 to +32,767
        Integer	Long	32-bit signed long int ISO/IEC 9899:2018	-2,147,483,647 to +2,147,483,647
        Integer	Extended	64-bit signed two’s complement integer or higher	-(2^63 – 1) to (2^63 – 1)
        Decimal	Single	32-bit binary format IEEE 754-2008 floating-point (decimal32)	9
        Decimal	Double	64-bit binary format IEEE 754-2008 floating-point (decimal64)	16
        Decimal	Extended	128-bit binary format IEEE 754-2008 floating-point (decimal128) or higher	36+

3.7.4.1. Examples

This format requires that single numeric values be represented using
an integer or decimal format without additional characters or
qualifiers. The following lists provide examples of values that meet the
requirements and those that do not.

• • • Values Meeting Numeric Requirements:
      • -100.2
      • -3
      • 4
      • 35.2E-7
      • 1.234
    • Values NOT Meeting Numeric Requirements
      • 1 1/2 – contains fractional notation
      • 35.2E+7 – contains a positive exponent with a sign
      • 35.24 x 10^7 – contains an invalid format for scientific
        notation
      • [3,5,8] – contains an array
      • [4:5] – contains a range
      • 5i + 4 – contains a complex number
      • sqrt(2) – contains a mathematical symbol or operation
      • 2.3^3 – contains an exponent
      • 32 GiB – contains a unit of measure
      • $32 – contains a currency symbol
      • 3,432,342 – contains a comma
      • +333 – contains a positive sign

3.7.5. Exceptions

None

3.7.6. Introduced (version)

1.0

3.8. Unit Format

Billing data frequently captures data measured in units related to
data size, count, time, and other dimensions. The Unit Format
attribute provides a standard for expressing units of measure in columns
appearing in billing data.

All columns defined in FOCUS
specifying Unit Format as a value format MUST follow the requirements
listed below.

3.8.1. Attribute ID

UnitFormat

3.8.2. Attribute Name

Unit Format

3.8.3. Description

Indicates standards for expressing measurement units in columns
appearing in billing data.

3.8.4. Requirements

• • • Units SHOULD be expressed as a single unit of measure adhering to
      one of the following three formats.
      • <plural-units> – “GB”, “Seconds”
      • <singular-unit>-<plural-time-units> –
        “GB-Hours”, “MB-Days”
      • <plural-units>/<singular-time-unit> –
        “GB/Hour”, “PB/Day”
    • Units MAY be expressed with a unit quantity or time interval. If a
      unit quantity or time interval is used, the unit quantity or time
      interval MUST be expressed as a whole number. The following formats are
      valid:
      • <quantity> <plural-units> – “1000 Tokens”,
        “1000 Characters”
      • <plural-units>/<interval> <plural-time-units>
        – “Units/3 Months”
    • Unit values and components of columns using the Unit Format MUST use
      a capitalization scheme that is consistent with the capitalization
      scheme used in this attribute, if that term is listed in this section.
      For example, a value of “gigabyte-seconds” would not be compliant with
      this specification as the terms “gigabyte” and “second” are listed in
      this section with the appropriate capitalization. If the unit is not
      listed in the table, it is to be used over a functional equivalent with
      similar meaning with the same capitalization scheme.
    • Units SHOULD be composed of the list of recommended units listed in
      this section, unless the unit value covers a dimension not
      listed in the recommended unit set, or if the unit covers a count-based
      unit distinct from recommended values in the count dimension
      listed in this section.

3.8.4.1. Data Size Unit Names

Data size unit names MUST be abbreviated using one of abbreviations
in the following table. For example, a unit name of “TB” is a valid unit
name, and a unit name of “terabyte” is an invalid unit name. Data size
abbreviations can be considered both the singular and plural form of the
unit. For example, “GB” is both the singular and plural form of the unit
“gigabyte”, and “GBs” would an invalid unit name. Values that exceed
10^18 MUST use the abbreviation for exabit, exabyte, exbibit, and
exbibyte, and values smaller than a byte MUST use the abbreviation for
bit or byte. For example, the abbreviation “YB” for “yottabyte” is not a
valid data size unit name as it represents a value larger than what is
listed in the following table.

The following table lists the valid abbreviations for data size units
from a single bit or byte to 10^18 bits or bytes.

3.8.4.2. Count-based Unit
Names

A count-based unit is a noun that represents a discrete number of
items, events, or actions. For example, a count-based unit can be used
to represent the number of requests, instances, tokens, or
connections.

If the following list of recommended values does not cover a
count-based unit, a provider MAY introduce a new noun representing a
count-based unit. All nouns appearing in unit that are not listed in the
recommended values table will be considered count-based units. A new
count-based unit value MUST be capitalized.

3.8.4.3. Time-based Unit Names

A time-based unit is a noun that represents a time interval.
Time-based units can be used to measure consumption over a time interval
or in combination with another unit to capture a rate of consumption.
Time-based units MUST match one of the values listed in the following
table.

3.8.4.4. Composite Units

If the unit value is a composite value made from combinations of one
or more units, each component MUST also align with the set of
recommended values.

Instead of “per” or “-” to denote a Composite Unit, slash (“/”) and
space(” “) MUST be used as a common convention.  Count-based units like
requests, instances, and tokens SHOULD be expressed using a value listed
in the count dimension.  For example, if a usage unit is
measured as a rate of requests or instances over a period of time, the
unit SHOULD be listed as “Requests/Day” to signify the number of
requests per day.

3.8.5. Exceptions

None

3.8.6. Introduced (version)

1.0

4. Use Case Library

The following table contains a set of commonly performed FinOps
scenarios that were used as a basis for developing this specification.
These use cases were developed by FinOps practitioners.

5. Glossary

Adjustment

A charge representing a modification to billing data to account for
certain events or circumstances not previously captured, or captured
incorrectly. Examples include: billing errors, service disruptions, or
pricing changes.

Amortization

The distribution of upfront costs over time to accurately reflect the
consumption or benefit derived from the associated resources or
services. Amortization is valuable when the commitment period (time
duration of the cost) extends beyond the granularity of the source
report.

Availability Zone

A collection of geographically-separated locations containing a data
center or cluster of data centers. Each availability zone (AZ) should
have its own power, cooling, and networking, to provide redundancy and
fault tolerance.

Billed Cost

A charge that serves as the basis for invoicing. It includes the
total amount of fees and discounts, signifying a monetary obligation.
Valuable when reconciling cash outlay with incurred expenses is
required, such as cost allocation, budgeting, and invoice
reconciliation.

Billing Account

A container for resources and/or services that are billed together in
an invoice. A billing account may have sub accounts, all of whose costs
are consolidated and invoiced to the billing account.

Billing Currency

An identifier that represents the currency that a charge for
resources and/or services was billed in.

Billing Period

The time window that an organization receives an invoice for,
inclusive of the start date and exclusive of the end date. It is
independent of the time of usage and consumption of resources and
services.

Block Pricing

A pricing approach where the cost of a particular resource or service
is determined based on predefined quantities or tiers of usage. In these
scenarios, the Pricing Unit and the corresponding Pricing Quantity can
be different from the Usage Unit and Usage Quantity.

Charge

A row in a FOCUS compatible cost and usage dataset.

Charge Period

The time window in which a charge was incurred, inclusive of the
start date and exclusive of the end date. A charge can start and/or end
at any time within a charge period window. The charge period for
continuous usage should match the time granularity of the dataset (e.g.,
1 hour for hourly, 1 day for daily).

Commitment

A customer’s agreement to consume a specific quantity of a service or
resource over a defined period, usually also creating a financial
commitment throughout the entirety of the commitment period. Some
commitments also hold Providers to certain assurance levels of resource
availability.

Commitment-Based
Discount

Also known as Commitment Discount, this is a commitment for an amount
of usage or spend throughout a specified term, in exchange for
discounted unit pricing on that amount. The commitment may be based on
quantities of resource units or monetary value, with various payment
options and time frames.

Cloud Service Provider
(CSP)

A company or organization that provides remote access to computing
resources, infrastructure, or applications for a fee.

Dimension

A specification-defined categorical attribute that provides context
or categorization to billing data.

Effective Cost

Cost inclusive of the impacts of all reduced rates and discounts,
augmented with the amortization of relevant purchases (one-time or
recurring) paid to cover future eligible charges.

Finalized Tag

A tag with one tag value chosen from a set of possible tag values
after being processed by a set of provider-defined or user-defined
rules.

FinOps Cost
and Usage Specification (FOCUS)

An open source specification that defines requirements for billing
data.

Interruptible

A category of compute resources that can be paused or terminated by
the CSP within certain criteria, often advertised at reduced unit
pricing when compared to the equivalent non-interruptible resource.

List Unit Price

The suggested provider-published unit price for a single Pricing Unit of the associated SKU, exclusive of
any discounts. This price is denominated in the Billing Currency.

Metric

A FOCUS defined column that provides numeric values, allowing for
aggregation operations such as arithmetic operations (sum,
multiplication, averaging etc.) and statistical operations.

Managed Service
Provider (MSP)

A company or organization that provides outsourced management and
support of a range of IT services, such as network infrastructure,
cybersecurity, cloud computing, and more.

On Demand

A term that describes a service that is available and provided
immediately or as needed, without requiring a pre-scheduled appointment
or prior arrangement. In Cloud Computing, virtual machines can be
created and terminated as needed, i.e. on demand.

Practitioner

An individual who performs FinOps within an organization to maximize
the business value of using cloud and cloud-like services.

Provider

An entity that made internal or 3rd party resources and/or services
available for purchase.

Price List

A comprehensive list of prices offered by a provider.

Resource

A unique component that incurs a charge.

Row

A row in a FOCUS compatible cost and usage dataset.

Service

An offering that can be purchased from a provider, and can include
many types of usage or other charges; eg., a cloud database service may
include compute, storage, and networking charges.

SKU

A construct composed of the common properties of a product offering
associated with one or many SKU Prices.

SKU Price

The unit price used to calculate a charge that is associated to one
SKU. SKU Prices are usually referenced from provider’s price list and
unique to various providers.

Sub Account

A sub account is an optional provider-supported construct for
organizing resources and/or services connected to a billing account. Sub
accounts must be associated with a billing account as they do not
receive invoices.

Tag

A metadata label assigned to a resource to provide information about
it or to categorize it for organizational and management purposes.

Tag Source

A Resource or Provider-defined construct for grouping resources
and/or other Provider-defined construct that a Tag can be assigned
to.

6. Appendix

This section is non-normative.

6.1. Grouping
constructs for resources or services

Providers natively support various constructs for grouping resources
or services. These grouping constructs are often used to mimic
organizational structures, technical architectures, cost
attribution/allocation and access management boundaries, or other
customer-specific structures based on requirements.

Providers may support multiple levels of resource or service grouping
mechanisms. FOCUS supports two distinct levels of groupings that are
commonly needed for FinOps capabilities like chargeback, invoice
reconciliation and cost allocation.

• • • Billing account: A mandatory container for resources or services
      that are billed together in an invoice. Billing accounts are commonly
      used for scenarios like grouping based on organizational constructs,
      invoice reconciliation and cost allocation strategies.
    • Sub account: An optional provider-supported construct for organizing
      resources and services connected to a billing account. Sub accounts are
      commonly used for scenarios like grouping based on organizational
      constructs, access management needs and cost allocation strategies. Sub
      accounts must be associated with a billing account as they do not
      receive invoices.

The table below highlights key properties of the two grouping
constructs supported by FOCUS.

^* For organizations that have multiple AWS Member Accounts
within an AWS Organization, consolidated billing is enabled by default
and invoices are received at Management Account level. A Member Account
can be removed from AWS consolidated billing whereby the removed account
receives independent invoices and is responsible for payments.

6.2. Origination of Cost Data

Cost data presented in the billing datasets originates from various
sources depending on the purchasing mechanism. There are at least 3
different pieces of information that are important for understanding
where cost originated from.

• • • Provider: The entity that made the resources or services available
      for purchase.
    • Publisher: The entity that produced the resources or services that
      were purchased.
    • Invoice Issuer: The entity responsible for invoicing for the
      resources or services consumed.

The value for each of these may be different depending on the various
purchasing scenarios for resources or services. Use cases for purchasing
direct, via a Managed Service Provider (MSP), via a cloud marketplace,
and from internal service offerings were considered. The table below
presents a few scenarios to show how the value for each dimension may
change based on the purchasing scenario.