Creating Azure Billing Exports

If you don't have Cost Management exports configured yet, follow this guide to create them. CXM requires access to these exports for cost analysis and FinOps recommendations.

Recommended Format

We recommend using FOCUS format (or Parquet with Snappy compression) for optimal compatibility and reduced storage costs.

Supported Billing Account Types

CXM supports Azure accounts that can create Cost Management exports:

Account Type	Supported	Notes
EA (Enterprise Agreement)	Yes	Can export at billing account or subscription level
MCA (Microsoft Customer Agreement)	Yes	Can export at billing profile or subscription level
Pay-as-You-Go (MOSP)	Yes	Subscription-level exports only
CSP (Cloud Solution Provider)	Partial	Depends on partner configuration

How to Check Your Account Type

1. Go to Azure Portal
2. Search for "Cost Management + Billing"
3. Look at Billing scopes in the left menu
4. Your account type is shown next to each billing scope

EA and MCA Customers

You can create exports at the billing account level to capture costs across all subscriptions in one export - simpler than per-subscription exports.

Export Formats

Azure supports two export dataset types:

Format	Description	Best For
FOCUS	FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification - standardized cross-cloud format	Multi-cloud environments, future-proof
Legacy (ActualCost/AmortizedCost)	Azure-native format	Azure-only environments

CXM Recommendation

Use FOCUS format if available for your account type. It provides standardized column names that work across AWS, Azure, and GCP, making multi-cloud analysis easier.

Prerequisites

• Azure Subscription or Billing Account with Cost Management access
• Storage Account to store the export files (or permissions to create one)
• Permissions:
  • Subscription exports: Cost Management Contributor on the subscription
  • Billing account exports: Billing Account Contributor (EA) or Billing Profile Contributor (MCA)

Option 1: Azure Portal (Recommended)

Step 1: Navigate to Cost Management

1. Go to Azure Portal
2. Search for "Cost Management" in the top search bar
3. Select Cost Management from the results

Step 2: Create Export

1. In the left menu, click Exports
2. Click + Add to create a new export

Step 3: Configure Export Settings

Fill in the export configuration:

Setting	Recommended Value	Description
Name	cxm-daily-export	A descriptive name for the export
Metric	Cost and usage (FOCUS)	Standardized format (preferred)
Export type	Daily export of month-to-date costs	Captures daily cost updates
Dataset version	Latest available	Use the most recent version
Start date	Today's date	When to start exporting

FOCUS vs Legacy

If "Cost and usage (FOCUS)" is not available, select "Actual cost" or "Amortized cost" instead. FOCUS availability depends on your billing account type.

Step 4: Configure Storage

1. Storage account: Select an existing storage account or create a new one
2. Container: Create or select a container (e.g., cost-exports)
3. Directory: Optional path prefix (e.g., daily)

Step 5: Configure Format (Important)

Under File format and compression:

Setting	Recommended Value
Format	Parquet
Compression	Snappy
File partitioning	On (recommended for large datasets)
Overwrite data	On (keeps only latest data)

Why Parquet?

Parquet is a columnar format optimized for analytics:

• 70% smaller file sizes compared to CSV
• Faster processing with tools like Spark, Synapse, or Fabric
• Snappy compression provides fast decompression with good compression ratios

Step 6: Create and Run

1. Click Create
2. After creation, click Run now to generate the first export immediately
3. Subsequent exports will run automatically based on your schedule

Option 2: Azure CLI

Create a daily Parquet export using the Azure CLI:

# Set your variables
SUBSCRIPTION_ID="your-subscription-id"
STORAGE_ACCOUNT_ID="/subscriptions/$SUBSCRIPTION_ID/resourceGroups/your-rg/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/yourstorageaccount"
CONTAINER_NAME="cost-exports"

# Create the export
az costmanagement export create \
  --name "cxm-daily-export" \
  --type "ActualCost" \
  --scope "/subscriptions/$SUBSCRIPTION_ID" \
  --storage-account-id "$STORAGE_ACCOUNT_ID" \
  --storage-container "$CONTAINER_NAME" \
  --timeframe "MonthToDate" \
  --recurrence "Daily" \
  --recurrence-period-from "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT00:00:00Z)" \
  --recurrence-period-to "$(date -u -d '+10 years' +%Y-%m-%dT00:00:00Z)" \
  --schedule-status "Active" \
  --format "Parquet"

Run the export immediately:

az costmanagement export run \
  --name "cxm-daily-export" \
  --scope "/subscriptions/$SUBSCRIPTION_ID"

Option 3: Terraform (CXM Module)

If you're using the CXM Terraform module, you can have it create FOCUS exports automatically:

Experimental Feature

Automatic FOCUS export creation via Terraform is experimental. The Azure Cost Management export API may change, and FOCUS format support varies by billing account type.

Recommended approach: Create exports manually using Azure Portal, then point the Terraform module to your existing storage account.

module "cxm_integration" {
  source = "github.com/cxmlabs/terraform-azure-cxm-integration"

  # Enable billing export access AND creation
  enable_billing_export_access = true

  # Create a new storage account and FOCUS exports (experimental)
  billing_export_create_storage_account = true
  billing_export_create_cost_exports    = true
  billing_export_format                 = "focus"  # FOCUS format (default)

  # ... rest of configuration
}

The module uses the azapi provider to create FOCUS exports, which provides:

• FOCUS format with Parquet and Snappy compression
• Daily partitioned exports for efficient querying
• Automatic role assignments for CXM to read the exports

Already have exports?

If you already have Cost Management exports configured, just point the module to your existing storage account and skip export creation:

billing_export_storage_account_name   = "your-existing-storage"
billing_export_storage_resource_group = "your-rg"
billing_export_create_cost_exports    = false  # Don't create new exports

Standalone Terraform Resource

If you're not using the CXM module, you can create exports with the standard azurerm provider (legacy format only):

resource "azurerm_subscription_cost_management_export" "cxm" {
  name                    = "cxm-daily-export"
  subscription_id         = "/subscriptions/${data.azurerm_subscription.primary.subscription_id}"
  recurrence_type         = "Daily"
  recurrence_period_start_date = formatdate("YYYY-MM-DD'T'00:00:00'Z'", timestamp())
  recurrence_period_end_date   = formatdate("YYYY-MM-DD'T'00:00:00'Z'", timeadd(timestamp(), "87600h"))

  export_data_storage_location {
    container_id     = azurerm_storage_container.exports.id
    root_folder_path = "daily"
  }

  export_data_options {
    type       = "ActualCost"
    time_frame = "MonthToDate"
  }
}

FOCUS via Terraform

The azurerm provider doesn't natively support FOCUS exports. To create FOCUS exports via Terraform outside of the CXM module, you would need to use the azapi provider to call the Azure REST API directly.

Export Types Explained

FOCUS Format (Recommended)

FOCUS (FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification) is a standardized format maintained by the FinOps Foundation:

Benefit	Description
Cross-cloud compatibility	Same column names across AWS, Azure, GCP
Includes all cost types	Actual and amortized costs in one export
Future-proof	Industry standard, continuously improved

Legacy Formats

If FOCUS is not available, use these Azure-native formats:

Export Type	Description	Use Case
ActualCost	Actual billed costs including purchases	Primary cost analysis
AmortizedCost	Costs with reservation purchases spread over time	Reservation ROI analysis
Usage	Usage quantities without costs	Resource utilization analysis

CXM Recommendation

• First choice: FOCUS format (single export covers all needs)
• Alternative: Create both ActualCost and AmortizedCost exports for complete coverage

Backfilling Historical Data

To analyze historical costs, you can backfill up to:

• 13 months from the Azure Portal
• 7 years using the REST API

Backfill via Portal

1. Go to your export in Cost Management > Exports
2. Click on the export name
3. Click Export historical data
4. Select the date range to backfill
5. Click Export

Verify Your Export

After creating the export:

1. Wait a few minutes for the first export to complete
2. Navigate to your storage account
3. Open the container you specified
4. Verify that Parquet files are being created

Expected file structure:

cost-exports/
└── daily/
    └── cxm-daily-export/
        └── 20250108-20250108/
            └── part-00000.snappy.parquet

Next Steps

Once your exports are configured:

1. Note the storage account name and resource group
2. Continue with Terraform Setup or Manual Setup
3. CXM will automatically read the export files once connected

Troubleshooting

Export not running

• Verify the export status is Active
• Check that the storage account is accessible
• Ensure you have Cost Management Contributor permissions

Empty or missing files

• New exports may take up to 24 hours to populate
• Click Run now to trigger an immediate export
• Check the export run history for errors

Permission denied on storage

• Ensure the Cost Management service has write access to the storage account
• The export creation wizard typically handles this automatically

References

• Microsoft Learn: Create and manage exports
• Enhanced Cost Management exports announcement