Purpose
Set up cost tracking for sell-side contracts by defining billable commodities, assigning them to locations and users, configuring cost rates, and scheduling automated data collection. This flow connects Cost Center definitions through Customer Billing configuration to the Cost Tracker module for ongoing cost monitoring and reporting.
Benefits
- Tracks actual usage costs against contracted rates — identifies over-consumption or under-utilisation early.
- Breaks down costs by three dimensions: commodity (what), location (where), and user (who) — enabling granular analysis.
- Automates cost data collection via Data Connectors on a configurable schedule — no manual spreadsheets.
- Calculates costs using defined rates (minimum cost + cost per unit) for accurate billing reconciliation.
- Feeds into the Service Manager for portfolio-level cost visibility across all sell-side contracts.
- Supports cost reporting and analytics through the Reports module and Dashboard.
What You Need
- Cost Center definitions — Commodities, Locations, and Users to Bill (configured with Regions from Catalogs).
- A Customer record with a Billing tab configured — commodities selected, cost rates defined, locations and users assigned.
- A Data Connector for automated usage data collection (optional — manual entry also supported).
- A billing schedule — how frequently cost data is collected and updated.
- At least one active sell-side contract linked to the Customer.
Outcome
The Cost Tracker module displays a comprehensive cost breakdown for each sell-side contract — actual usage quantities, calculated costs per commodity, and totals by location and user. Data is refreshed automatically on schedule. Cost reports are available in the Reports module, and cost summaries appear on the Dashboard and Service Manager. Contract managers can monitor billing accuracy, track spend trends, and reconcile costs during invoice cycles.
Cost Tracking Pipeline
Prerequisites
- Platform setup completed
- At least one Customer record created
- A Data Connector for usage data (optional — can also enter manually)
- Cost rates and commodity definitions
Setup Steps
1
Define a Cost Center with its three dimensions: Commodities (what is being consumed — e.g., licenses, bandwidth, support hours), Locations (where consumption occurs), and Users (who is consuming). Each dimension can have multiple entries with associated cost rates.
Business Value:Cost Center defines the vocabulary for billing — what commodities exist (Printing, Cloud Storage), where they are consumed (Head Office, Warehouse A), and who is responsible for the cost (specific users or accounts). These definitions must exist before billing can be configured.
Depends On:Organisation → Catalogs — Regions must exist first (all Cost Center items require a Region). This is a configuration prerequisite.
Enables:Customer Billing (Step 3) — Commodities, Locations, and Users to Bill are selected from these definitions when configuring billing.
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2
Open the Customer record and configure billing. Assign commodities from the Cost Center, set the cost per unit and minimum cost for each commodity, link a Data Connector for automated usage data, and set the billing computation schedule.
Business Value:The Billing tab is where Cost Center items are brought together with pricing — each commodity is assigned a minimum cost and cost-per-unit rate, linked to a location and user-to-bill, and given a data collection schedule. This is the bridge between definitions (Cost Center) and tracking (Cost Tracker).
Depends On:Cost Center (Step 1) — commodities, locations, and users to bill are selected from these definitions. Connector — optionally linked for automated usage data collection.
Enables:Contract (Step 3) — the billing configuration becomes available when a sell-side contract is linked to this customer. Cost Tracker (Step 4) — billing rates and schedules drive cost calculations.
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3
Create a sell-side contract linked to the customer. The contract inherits the customer's billing configuration. Set the contract value, dates, and owning department. The cost tracking dimensions become available on this contract.
Business Value:The sell-side contract links the Customer (with billing) to the formal contract record. The contract provides the legal and operational framework; billing provides the financial tracking. Together they create a complete picture.
Depends On:Customer (Step 2) — the contract references the customer and inherits its billing configuration. Department — every contract needs a department for ownership and approval.
Enables:Cost Tracker (Step 4) — the contract is the target that cost data is tracked against. Dashboard and Calendar also pick up the contract record.
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4
Create a Cost Tracker and assign it to the contract. The Cost Tracker pulls usage data from the Data Connector (or accepts manual entries), applies the commodity cost rates, and computes the total cost at each scheduled interval.
Business Value:The Cost Tracker is the engine that collects usage data, applies the billing rates from the Customer configuration, and calculates actual costs. Without it, billing remains a static definition — the tracker makes it operational.
Depends On:Customer Billing (Step 2) — cost rates, schedules, and commodity assignments. Contract (Step 3) — the contract the tracker is assigned to. Connector — provides automated usage data.
Enables:Contract Cost Tracking tab (Step 5) — calculated costs are displayed. Service Manager (Step 6) — costs aggregate at service level.
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5
Navigate to the contract's Cost Tracking tab. View cost breakdowns by commodity, location, and user. See trend charts showing cost over time, and compare actual costs against budgeted amounts.
Business Value:Cost Tracker is the output — it displays the actual usage quantities, calculated costs per commodity, and totals broken down by location and user. This is where contract managers review billing accuracy, track spend trends, and reconcile during invoice cycles.
Depends On:Customer Billing (Step 3) — billing rates and schedules. Connector — automated data collection. Contract (Step 4) — the contract the costs are tracked against.
Enables:Service Manager — cost summaries aggregate at service level. Reports — cost data is available for financial reporting. Dashboard — cost summaries appear in portfolio views.
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6
If the contract is part of a service in Service Manager, costs aggregate at the service level. This provides a total cost-of-service view across all contracts, commodities, and locations within the service portfolio.
Business Value:Service Manager gives management a portfolio-level cost view — total spend across all contracts in a service area, without reviewing each contract individually. Essential for budget reviews and service pricing decisions.
Depends On:Cost Tracker (Step 4) and Contract Cost Tab (Step 5) — cost data from individual contracts rolls up into the service grouping.
Enables:Dashboard — service-level cost summaries. Reports — available for financial and management reporting. Data Visualisation — services appear as nodes with cost metrics.
Cost Calculation Formula:
The minimum cost applies as a base charge regardless of usage. If usage is zero, only the minimum cost is charged. Usage count is sourced from the Data Connector or entered manually.
Commodity Cost = (Usage Count × Cost Per Unit) + Minimum CostThe minimum cost applies as a base charge regardless of usage. If usage is zero, only the minimum cost is charged. Usage count is sourced from the Data Connector or entered manually.
Result
Sell-side contracts display detailed cost tracking with breakdowns by commodity, location, and user. Usage data flows from external systems through connectors, costs are computed on schedule, and service-level aggregation provides portfolio cost visibility in Service Manager.