Cost Allocation and Email Integrations
Octo enables the distribution of costs through cost allocation, streamlining internal processes when a fee is billed to one account and needs to be allocated to other accounts or cost groups. Additionally, we've integrated Brevo with Octo to enhance email communication management.
In this release, discover how these updates can improve your financial management, strengthen Octo's marketing strategy, and ensure you stay informed about the latest updates via email.
🆕Cost Allocation of AWS Fees
In this release, setting the allocator has been improved to make it easier to configure. Previously, the allocator for cost allocation was set through a JSON editor. This marks the first of three key areas in cost allocation.
In Octo cost allocation, two processes are involved. The first is setting the allocators, which determine the fees to be allocated and the accounts to which the fees will be distributed. The second is the automatic distribution of AWS fees.
Octo has improved the location of the setting for the allocator of the Cost Allocation Fees section to make it easier to access.
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How to set the cost allocators?
There are four steps when creating the cost allocators:
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Allocation Source. The allocation source defines the fees to be allocated. You can specify how long the allocator will remain effective for your fees. It can be set to have no expiry or to operate for a specified period, during which it will continue distributing fees that meet the criteria. In addition to the account source, Octo now supports allocation from cost groups. The available source fees are also automatically displayed, making the selection of fee data easier.
Allocation Target. The allocation target sets the account or cost group where you want to allocate the fees. In this step, you can specify the target account or cost group and set the specific cost for that target. When setting the cost, it can be done through percentage allocation or could be based on the usage of the account or cost group. If you have an available specific percentage of the cost, you can use the percentage method. And, if you want to have it based on the overall usage of the account, you can have the By Usage method.
Allocator Name. The location when setting the allocator name and description has been transferred on the later part of the process also. This is to make sure that you already have the idea of how the cost allocator works.
Preview Settings. Before Octo proceeds to save the cost allocator, the page to preview the settings has been provided. You can review your settings and edit if there is a need for updates.
After saving the created cost allocator, it will be displayed on the list of cost allocators which you can update anytime.
How does Octo automatically allocate the cost?
Based on the created cost allocator, it will scan the AWS fee data on our database. If the fee data on our database meet the criteria on the cost allocator, it will now proceed with the distribution of the cost. Cost allocation will be based on the formula that you have provided. It could be done through percentage or usage ratio allocation.
As a result of the cost allocation, charges are applied accordingly on their allocated accounts or cost groups. When viewing the cost group chart, the original fee will be removed from the source account and it can now be viewed on the target account or cost group with the allocated cost. To easily spot the allocated item, we have provided a “Octo Allocation” keyword on the fee item description.
🆕Integration with Brevo
We have now integrated Brevo, an email marketing platform, with Octo to help manage and automate email campaigns for an improved marketing strategy.
There are two ways for you to subscribe to updates related to Octo:
Subscribe to updates during the onboarding process for new users. If you're new to Octo and still going through the onboarding process, you can subscribe to updates. Simply follow the steps in the onboarding process until you reach the step where you can subscribe to updates.
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Subscribe through Octo Preferences. If the definition isn’t available during the onboarding process, you can also subscribe directly from the Octo interface. Simply click the gear icon next to your avatar in the upper right corner of your screen and select "Update" under NOTIFICATIONS.
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🛠️Minor Bug Fixes and Improvements
We have also made some minor bug fixes and improvements to other existing features.
We will continue to improve features based on user feedback.