Google CloudCommitments3 min read

Check whether resource-based CUD sharing fits your billing setup

Sources checked September 10, 202610 minutes
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This check is due for a source refresh. Confirm the current documentation before you rely on provider-specific details.

THE SHORT ANSWER

Match the CUD scope to your intended coverage, and keep shared reservations within the commitment's Cloud Billing account. Otherwise eligible usage can miss discounts and incur on-demand charges; Project scope is correct when isolation is intentional.

What you need first

Tool
Google Cloud console is the web interface for this review. Start at CUD analysis, choose the Cloud Billing account, then open the Resource-based CUDs view.
Access
If you cannot view the account, ask an authorized billing colleague to provide the read-only CUD scope result for the selected Cloud Billing account. The documented update permission is billing.subscriptions.update, but this review does not change settings.
If you do not use that tool
Give your billing colleague the Cloud Billing account ID, commitment project, shared-reservation project IDs, and any planned destination account. Request the current scope, each project's billing-account link, and the destination sharing and attribution settings.

Why this is worth a look

If you expect cross-project coverage but the scope is Project, the commitment applies only in its purchasing project. Billing account scope applies resource-based CUDs across eligible usage in linked projects. A moved commitment project inherits the destination account's sharing and attribution settings, while source projects can lose access to discounts tied to that moved project.

Run this check

CHECKLIST

Use this Google Cloud console checklist for one Cloud Billing account. Record the current configuration and project links without saving changes.

Read-only discount sharing review
Execution surface: Google Cloud console, CUD analysis.
Scope: one Cloud Billing account, the commitment project, and projects sharing its reservations. Include the destination account for a planned move.
Access: use an authorized billing colleague for results you cannot view. Do not change settings.
Units and time window: current configuration only; no usage units or billing period.

[ ] Open CUD analysis and select the Cloud Billing account.
[ ] In Analyze, select Resource-based CUDs.
[ ] Open CUD scope & settings and read Resource-based CUDs scope.
[ ] Record Project, which limits discounts to eligible usage in the purchasing project, or Billing account, which shares discounts across eligible usage in linked projects.
[ ] For shared reservations, ask the authorized billing colleague to confirm that every sharing project is linked to the commitment's Cloud Billing account. Record any mismatch.
[ ] For a planned move of the commitment project, record the destination account's scope using the same steps. Request its attribution settings from the billing colleague.
[ ] Flag any mismatch with the intended coverage. Do not change settings during this review.

How to confirm it

  1. 01

    Record the current scope

    Open CUD analysis in the Google Cloud console and select the account. Choose Analyze > Resource-based CUDs, then CUD scope & settings. Record the Resource-based CUDs scope without changing it.

  2. 02

    Compare scope with intended coverage

    Flag Project scope when you expect the commitment to cover other projects. Keep Project scope when isolation to the purchasing project is intended. Ask the billing owner to review any mismatch before relying on the discounts.

  3. 03

    Confirm reservation project links

    Ask an authorized billing colleague to confirm the Cloud Billing account for every project sharing the reservation. Keep shared reservations limited to projects linked to the commitment's Cloud Billing account, or their usage might be ineligible for shared CUDs and incur on-demand rates.

  4. 04

    Review the destination before moving

    Compare the source and destination sharing and attribution settings before moving a project associated with a commitment. Identify source-account projects that rely on discounts tied to the moved project, because they no longer receive those CUDs after the move.

Before making changes

Assume this review covers Compute Engine resource-based commitments, not actual discount coverage. Eligible usage and available commitments still matter. If sharing is enabled, an unused monthly commitment portion is charged to the purchasing project. After a scope change, Billing account sharing takes effect at 12:00 AM US and Canadian Pacific Time the following day; Project scope takes effect within a few moments.

Skip this entirely if you use only spend-based commitments. They are pooled at the Cloud Billing account level, use proportional attribution, and have no separate CUD sharing configuration.

Primary sources