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Set up pools for cost allocation

Summary​

Pools are Costimizer's unit of cost allocation — organize spend by team, project, environment, or business unit and attach budgets and policies.

Estimated time: 12 minutes
Required role: Manager with Manage Pools permission

Prerequisites​

  • Connected data sources with synced cost data
  • Basic tagging strategy (recommended) — see Tagging policies

Steps​

1. Open Pools​

Navigate to Home → Pools.

2. Create a root pool​

Create a top-level pool (e.g., "Engineering" or "Production") with type Budget, Team, or Project as appropriate.

3. Add child pools​

Nest pools to mirror your org structure:

Organization
└── Engineering (Team)
    ├── Platform (Project)
    └── Data (Project)

4. Set budget limits (optional)​

Attach monthly or quarterly budget limits to pools that require spend caps.

5. Create assignment rules​

Go to Assignment Rules and auto-assign resources to pools based on tags, cloud account, or resource attributes.

6. Verify allocation​

Open FinOps → Cost Explorer, filter by Pool, and confirm spend rolls up correctly.

What you'll see in Costimizer​

  • Pool tree with limit and forecast indicators
  • Pools requiring attention highlighted on Home
  • Pool-filtered views in Cost Explorer and Reports

Key takeaways​

  • Pools + assignment rules + tags = accurate chargeback — see Cost allocation model
  • Start with 2–3 high-impact teams before modeling the entire org
  • Budget alerts work best when combined with Slack integration