This article contains reference information for how spending is assigned to cost centers. To create and manage cost centers, see Utilisation des centres de coûts pour allouer les coûts aux unités commerciales.
Overview
To allocate spending to a cost center, you add repositories, organizations, or users to the cost center. Any usage that is not assigned to a specific cost center is categorized as "Enterprise Only" spending on your enterprise's "Usage" page.
- For metered products like GitHub Actions, cost centers are charged based on the repositories or organizations in the cost center, as this is where the usage takes place.
- For license-based products like GitHub Copilot, cost centers are charged based on the users in the cost center. If a licensed user isn't assigned to a cost center, costs for the license either default to "Enterprise Only" spending or are assigned to a cost center based on the user's organization membership. This depends on the product.
Breakdown by product
| Product | A cost center is charged if it contains this resource |
|---|---|
| GitHub Actions | The repository or organization where the workflow runs. |
| GitHub Codespaces | The repository or organization where the codespace is created. |
| GitHub Copilot | The user who receives the license (priority), or the organization where they are a member. |
| Git Large File Storage | The repository or organization where Git LFS is used. |
| GitHub Secret Protection and GitHub Code Security | The user who receives the license. |
| GitHub Enterprise | The user who receives the license. |
| GitHub Packages | The repository or organization that owns the package. |
Details for license-based products
To ensure your cost centers reflect spending as intended, it's important to understand how spending is allocated to cost centers for license-based products like GitHub Copilot, and how changes are reflected in your bill.
GitHub Copilot
- If a user belongs to a cost center, all charges associated with the user are billed to the cost center.
- If a user does not belong to any cost center, usage is billed to the organization where the user receives their Copilot license. If that organization is part of a cost center, the charges are billed to that cost center.
- If the user receives access to Copilot through multiple organizations, one of the organizations is chosen at random each month to be billed, and the cost center that contains the organization is charged accordingly. See À propos de la facturation pour GitHub Copilot dans les organisations et les entreprises.
GitHub Secret Protection and GitHub Code Security
- If a user belongs to a cost center, licenses consumed by the user are billed to the cost center.
- If a user does not belong to any cost center, their license consumption is charged to the enterprise's default payment method and grouped under "Enterprise Only" spending on the usage page.
GitHub Enterprise
- If a user belongs to a cost center, the license consumed by the user is billed to the cost center.
- If a user does not belong to any cost center, their license is billed to the enterprise's default payment method and grouped under "Enterprise Only" spending on the usage page.
Example for license-based products
The following example illustrates how usage is assigned to cost centers for license-based products. Based on four licensed users, their organization membership, and how cost centers are set up, you will see how usage is allocated to cost centers.
The users
There are four users, each a member of one or more organizations in the enterprise.
| User | Organization membership |
|---|---|
user-1 | org-1, org-2 |
user-2 | org-1 |
user-3 | org-1 |
user-4 | org-1, org-2 |
All users have a license for GitHub Copilot and GitHub Enterprise (GHE).
GitHub Secret Protection (GHSP) is enabled in org-1, where all users are active committers.
The cost centers
There are two cost centers in the enterprise, each with different users or organizations assigned.
| Cost center | Assigned resources |
|---|---|
| Cost Center A | user-1, user-3 |
| Cost Center B | org-1 |
user-2, user-4, and org-2 are not assigned to any cost center.
How usage is allocated
The following table illustrates how spending for each user is allocated to a cost center based on their membership of an organization or cost center. Any usage not assigned to a cost center is categorized as "Enterprise Only" spending.
| Copilot charges | GHSP charges | GHE charges | Explanation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost Center A | user-1, user-3 | user-1, user-3 | user-1, user-3 | These users are assigned directly to the cost center. |
| Cost Center B | user-2, user-4 | These users aren't directly assigned to a cost center, so Copilot charges are assigned based on organization membership, whereas GHSP and GHE default to enterprise spending. | ||
| Enterprise Only (default) | user-2, user-4 | user-2, user-4 | These users aren't directly assigned to a cost center, so GHSP and GHE default to enterprise spending. |
Effects of changes to cost centers
You can change the included resources of a cost center or delete a cost center at any time. This affects the cost center in different ways.
Deleting a cost center
If a cost center is deleted, future usage of its resources will be charged to the enterprise. Usage before deletion is billed to the cost center until the end of the billing cycle.
You can still view the cost center even after you delete it. To do so, select the "Deleted" tab on the cost center page.
Adding or removing a member
If you add a member to a cost center, any usage accrued (for example, a license) will immediately start being billed against the cost center. If you remove a member from a cost center, any usage from that point will be billed against the enterprise. For example:
| Date | Scenario | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| May 1 | An enterprise has three Copilot users. | The charges for all three users are billed to the enterprise. |
| May 10 | You create two cost centers: Cost Center 1 and Cost Center 2. User A and User B are assigned to Cost Center 1, and User C to Cost Center 2. | Future charges for Users A and B go to Cost Center 1, and for User C to Cost Center 2. |
| May 20 | You remove User A from Cost Center 1. | From now on, User A's charges are billed to the enterprise, while User B's charges remain with Cost Center 1, and User C's charges with Cost Center 2. |
The "units" for Copilot licenses displayed on your enterprise's "Usage" page will show fractional usage instead of whole numbers.
Update delays for license-based products
Adding or removing users from a cost center comes with a delay for license-based products.
- For GitHub Copilot: A change to add or remove a user from a cost center is reflected the next day.
- For GitHub Enterprise: A change to add or remove a user from a cost center is reflected the next day.
- For GitHub Secret Protection and GitHub Code Security: A change to add or remove a user from a cost center is reflected in the next billing cycle.
If a user is already part of a cost center and then receives a license, the license is immediately billed to the cost center.
If a user who already has a license is added to a cost center, the license will be billed to the cost center from the next billing cycle.