Cost management and budgets in Azure - Step-by-Step Execution

Process Flow - Cost management and budgets

Start: Define Budget

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Set Budget Amount

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Assign Scope (Subscription/Resource Group)

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Configure Alerts Thresholds

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Monitor Costs

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Alert Triggered?

No→Continue Monitoring

Yes↓

Send Alert Notification

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Take Action (Optimize/Stop Resources)

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End

This flow shows how you create a budget, assign it to a scope, set alerts, monitor costs, and respond when alerts trigger.

Execution Sample

Azure

az consumption budget create --name MyBudget --amount 100 --time-grain Monthly --scope /subscriptions/12345
az consumption budget show --name MyBudget --scope /subscriptions/12345

Creates a monthly budget of $100 for a subscription and then shows the budget details.

Process Table

Step	Action	Input/Condition	Result/Output
1	Define Budget	Name=MyBudget, Amount=100, Time Grain=Monthly	Budget object created with these settings
2	Assign Scope	Scope=/subscriptions/12345	Budget linked to subscription 12345
3	Set Alerts	Thresholds at 80%, 100%	Alerts configured to trigger at these cost levels
4	Monitor Costs	Current cost = $50	No alert triggered, monitoring continues
5	Monitor Costs	Current cost = $85	Alert triggered at 80%, notification sent
6	Monitor Costs	Current cost = $105	Alert triggered at 100%, notification sent
7	Take Action	Alerts received	User reviews and optimizes resources
8	End	Budget period ends or reset	Budget monitoring restarts for next period

💡 Budget monitoring continues monthly; alerts trigger when thresholds are crossed.

Status Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 1	After Step 3	After Step 5	Final
Budget Amount	undefined	100	100	100	100
Scope	undefined	Subscription 12345	Subscription 12345	Subscription 12345	Subscription 12345
Current Cost	0	0	50	85	105
Alert Status	None	None	None	80% Alert Sent	100% Alert Sent

Key Moments - 3 Insights

Why does the alert trigger at 80% cost and again at 100% cost?

Because alerts are set at multiple thresholds (80% and 100%) as shown in execution_table rows 3, 5, and 6. Each threshold triggers its own alert.

What happens if the current cost never reaches the budget amount?

No alerts are triggered and monitoring continues as in execution_table row 4, so the budget just tracks costs without notifications.

Can budgets be assigned to resource groups instead of subscriptions?

Yes, budgets can be scoped to resource groups or subscriptions as shown in execution_table row 2 where scope is assigned.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution_table, what is the alert status after the current cost reaches $85?

A 80% Alert Sent

B No alert sent

C 100% Alert Sent

D Budget reset

💡 Hint

Check execution_table row 5 under Alert Status in variable_tracker.

At which step is the budget linked to the subscription?

A Step 1

B Step 4

C Step 2

D Step 6

💡 Hint

Look at execution_table row 2 for scope assignment.

If the budget amount was increased to 200, how would the alert trigger steps change?

A Alerts would trigger at $80 and $100

B Alerts would trigger at $160 and $200

C No alerts would trigger

D Alerts would trigger immediately

💡 Hint

Alerts trigger at set percentages of the budget amount, see execution_table rows 3, 5, and 6.

Concept Snapshot

Azure Cost Management Budgets:
- Create budgets with a name, amount, and time grain.
- Assign budgets to scopes like subscriptions or resource groups.
- Set alert thresholds (e.g., 80%, 100%) to get notified.
- Monitor actual costs against budget monthly.
- Alerts help control spending by notifying when limits approach or exceed.

Full Transcript

This visual execution shows how to manage costs in Azure using budgets. First, you create a budget with a set amount and time period. Then, you assign it to a scope such as a subscription. You configure alert thresholds to notify you when spending reaches certain percentages of the budget. As costs accumulate, the system monitors them and triggers alerts when thresholds are crossed. This helps you stay informed and take action to optimize or stop resources to control spending. The process repeats monthly to keep cost management ongoing.