BigQuery Billing Setup

  1. Enable Billing Export

    • Go to Billing → Billing Export in GCP console

    • Export Detailed usage cost data to BigQuery

    • Choose dataset (e.g., billing_dataset, or financial_data)

    Purpose: This creates the foundation for cost tracking by automatically exporting all GCP billing data to BigQuery. The agent will query this data to retrieve actual costs for each pipeline run, enabling precise cost attribution to specific queries and pipeline stages.

  1. Create Cost History Table

    Purpose: This table stores aggregated cost data for each pipeline run, organized by pipeline stage and individual queries. It serves as the centralized repository for historical cost trends, enabling dashboard visualization and cost optimization analysis over time.

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS analytics.pipeline_cost_history (
  pipeline_id STRING,   -- Identifies which pipeline (e.g., 'user_analytics_daily')
  run_id STRING,        -- Unique identifier for each pipeline execution
  stage STRING,         -- Pipeline stage (e.g., 'extract', 'transform', 'load')
  query_id STRING,      -- Individual BigQuery job ID for granular tracking
  cost FLOAT64,         -- Actual cost in USD for this query/stage
  timestamp TIMESTAMP   -- When the cost was incurred
);

  1. (Optional) Create View for Normalized Query Costs

    Purpose: This view provides real-time cost calculation based on bytes processed, useful for immediate cost estimation before billing data is fully exported. The agent can use this for near real-time cost tracking and validation against actual billing data.

CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW analytics.query_costs AS
SELECT
  job_id,
  (total_bytes_processed / POW(1024,4)) * 5.0 AS cost, -- replace with current $/TB pricing
  end_time AS timestamp
FROM region-us.INFORMATION_SCHEMA.JOBS_BY_PROJECT;

Why Optional: While billing export provides exact costs, this view offers immediate estimates. Use this for development/testing environments or when you need instant cost feedback during pipeline development.

Alternative Approaches

1. Native BigQuery Cost Controls

Instead of manual billing export setup, consider these automated approaches:

2. Real-time Cost Tracking

For immediate cost visibility:

3. Enhanced Cost Attribution

More granular cost tracking options:

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