---
title: Cost Visibility Quick Start
slug: cost-visibility-quick-start
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-04-15T21:43:36.636Z
---

This guide walks you through a complete flow for tracking and understanding cost in Amberflo.

By the end, you will have:

- A **meter** capturing usage
- A **cost rate** defining how usage translates into cost
- A **workload** for attribution
- **Spend data** visible in the dashboard

The goal is to get a working cost visibility loop. Keep it simple.

## What You’ll Build

Example use case:

You want to understand the cost of an internal system, such as a **text processing pipeline**.

You will:

1. Create a meter to track usage
2. Define cost rates for that usage
3. Create a workload
4. Send usage attributed to that workload
5. View resulting spend

## Step 1: Create a Meter

This is identical to the Customer Billing Quick Start.

### Navigate

- In the left navigation:
  - Go to **Meters**

### Create the Meter

- Click **Create Meter** (top right)

### Configure

- **Label**
  Example: Token Usage or API Requests
- **API Name**
  Auto-generated
  - No spaces
  - Allowed: letters, numbers, hyphens, underscores
  - Max 50 characters
- **Description (optional)**
- **Meter Type**
  Select **Count**

### Dimensions (Recommended)

Add dimensions that impact cost.

Example:

- model
- type (input, output)

Note:

- **Workload** is included by default
- You do not need to remove it

Click **Create**.

## Step 2: Configure Cost Rates

### Navigate

- In the left navigation:
  - Go to **Meters**
- Select your meter to open it
- Click the **Rate** tab
- Click **Create Meter Rate** (top right)

### Configure the Rate

- **Label**
  Example: Cost Rates v1
- **Description (optional)**

### Choose Rate Model

**Option 1: Per Unit**

- Same cost for every unit

Example:

- Every request costs $0.01

**Option 2: Per Unit with Dimensions (Recommended)**

Cost varies based on dimension values.

Example:

- Input vs output usage
- Different models with different costs

### Build the Rate Table

- Each row = a combination of dimension values
- Each row has its own cost per unit

Example:

| **model** | **type** | **cost** |
| --------- | -------- | -------- |
| A         | input    | 0.001    |
| A         | output   | 0.002    |
| B         | input    | 0.003    |

Notes:

- You **cannot remove workload** from this page
- Only include dimensions relevant to cost
- Use **Add Row** to define combinations

Click **Save**.

## Step 3: Create a Workload

### Navigate

- In the left navigation:
  - Go to **Workloads**

### Create

- Click **Create Workload** (top right)

Fill in:

- **Name**
  Example: Text Processing Pipeline
- **Workload ID**
  Unique identifier
  - Letters, numbers, hyphens, underscores only

Click **Save**.

## Step 4: Send Usage (with Workload)

### Navigate

- In the left navigation:
  - Go to **Meters**
- Open your meter

### Upload an Event

- Click **Event Upload**

Fill in:

- **Customer**
  Leave blank
- **Workload**
  Select your workload
- **Value**
  Example: 1000
- **Dimensions**
  Must match values defined in your rate table
  Example:
  - model = A
  - type = input

Click **Ingest Meter**.

## Step 5: View Spend

### Navigate

- In the left navigation:
  - Go to **Spend**

### What to Expect

You should see:

- **Spend Month-to-Date**
- **Spend Quarter-to-Date**
- **Spend Year-to-Date**

Since this is your first data, these may be the same.

Under **Overview**:

- **Top Spend by Workload**
  Your workload should appear
- **Top Trending Workloads**
  Your workload should appear

### If You Do Not See Data

Amberflo does not automatically refresh dashboards.

- **Refresh the page**

If data still does not appear:

- Confirm usage was sent with a **workload selected**
- Confirm your dimension values match the rate table
- Confirm a **rate is configured** on the meter

## What You Just Did

You completed the full cost visibility loop:

- Metered usage
- Defined cost logic
- Attributed usage to a workload
- Generated spend data

## What’s Next

From here, you can expand into:

- More detailed dimension-based cost models
- Multiple workloads
- Cost guards and alerts
- Connecting cost with customer billing

This is the foundation for understanding how your system consumes resources and where your costs come from.