Showback & Chargeback
Guardian Pro's showback feature allocates your total AWS spend to Organizational Units (OUs), giving you clear visibility into which parts of your organisation are driving costs. Use it for internal billing, cost accountability, and budget planning.
Prerequisites
- An AWS Organisation with a management account connected to Guardian Pro.
- CUR (Cost and Usage Reports) configured and syncing. See CUR Setup.
- The Cost Intelligence module enabled on your subscription.
Accessing Showback
Navigate to Cost Intelligence > Showback from the left sidebar.
Dashboard
Period Selector
Use the dropdown to select a billing period. Showback data is available for the current month and the previous five months.
Summary Cards
Three cards at the top provide a quick overview:
| Card | Description |
|---|---|
| Allocation Accuracy | A percentage score showing how much of your total spend has been attributed to an OU. Colour-coded: green (80%+), yellow (60--79%), red (below 60%). |
| Allocated Cost | The dollar amount successfully tied to an OU, with the percentage of total spend. |
| Unallocated Cost | The dollar amount from accounts not mapped to any OU. |
A low allocation accuracy score usually means you have AWS accounts that are not part of your OU structure. Organising accounts into OUs improves both your showback accuracy and your governance posture.
OU Breakdown
A table showing cost allocation per Organizational Unit:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| OU Name | The Organizational Unit name |
| Total Cost | Amortised cost for the selected period |
| % of Total | This OU's share of total spend |
| Month-over-Month Change | Trend indicator showing whether costs increased or decreased compared to the previous period |
Exporting Chargeback Data
Click Export Chargeback to download a CSV file containing OU-level cost data. The export includes OU ID, OU name, total cost, currency, and billing period -- ready for import into your internal billing or finance systems.
How Allocation Works
Guardian Pro maps each AWS account to its parent OU using your Organisation hierarchy. All costs for accounts within an OU are aggregated to that OU. Costs from accounts not assigned to any OU appear as unallocated.
To improve your allocation accuracy:
- Ensure all accounts in your Organisation are assigned to OUs.
- Connect your management account to Guardian Pro for full Organisation visibility.
- Use the Organisation Sync feature to refresh your OU hierarchy if you have recently restructured.
Next Steps
- Cost Dashboard -- Return to the cost overview.
- Budgets -- Set spending limits per account or organisation.
- Organisation Scope -- Manage your OU structure and account coverage.