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Cost Attribution

Cirata Symphony provides chargeback reporting that aggregates usage by business unit, enabling internal cost allocation across departments, teams, or projects.

Attribution Reports​

Navigate to Licensing > Attribution > Reports to view aggregated usage data. Reports show total units consumed, broken down by the grouping dimensions you select.

Grouping Options​

Reports can be grouped by:

GroupingShows
Business unitTotal units consumed per business unit
ExtensionTotal units consumed per extension
Business unit + ExtensionUnits per business unit, further broken down by extension

This flexibility supports different cost allocation models—from simple per-department billing to detailed per-service breakdowns.

Time Periods​

Usage is recorded with timestamps and stored with date-based keys, allowing reports to be filtered by time period. The usage summary includes period_start and period_end fields that define the reporting window.

Cost Allocation Workflow​

A typical monthly chargeback workflow:

  1. Define business units—create entries for each cost centre in your organisation (Organization)

  2. Set up attribution rules—create rules that automatically assign usage to the correct business unit based on extension and account patterns (Organization—Rules)

  3. Review attribution—at the end of the period, check the Records tab for any unattributed usage and manually assign it if needed

  4. Generate report—view the Reports tab grouped by business unit to see each group's total consumption

  5. Allocate costs—use the unit totals to calculate each business unit's share of the total license cost

Calculating Cost Per Unit​

To determine the cost per unit for a billing period:

Cost per unit = License cost / Total licensed units

Then for each business unit:

Business unit cost = Units consumed × Cost per unit

Soft Quotas​

Each business unit can have an advisory soft quota (in units). Soft quotas are not enforced—they serve as a reference point for reviewing whether a business unit's consumption is within expectations. If a business unit's usage exceeds its soft quota, this is visible in the reports but does not trigger any enforcement action.

Usage Reports​

Symphony can generate signed usage reports that include:

  • A complete usage summary (total licensed units, total used, period dates, enforcement status)
  • Detailed per-record data (extension, account, dimensions, units, timestamp, attribution)
  • A cryptographic signature for verification

Signed reports provide an auditable, tamper-evident record of usage that can be shared with licence management or finance teams.

Per-Extension Breakdown​

The Usage tab shows a table of usage broken down by extension. Each row shows:

  • The extension name
  • Total units consumed by that extension
  • The dimensions reported (e.g. tables replicated, bytes transferred)

This view is useful for understanding which extensions are driving the most consumption and for identifying opportunities to optimise usage.

See Also​