> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.nops.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Google Cloud Platform - Prerequisites

> Set up billing exports and prepare your GCP environment for nOps onboarding.

## FAQs

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Why should I enable GCP Billing Exports?">
    Enabling billing exports allows you to store and analyze cost and usage data using BigQuery. This helps with tracking expenses, optimizing spending, and integrating with other cost management tools like nOps.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I export billing data to multiple projects?">
    Billing data must be linked to a single BigQuery dataset per billing account. However, you can share access across multiple projects for visibility and analysis.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do I need to use the same location for both Pricing and Detailed Usage Cost exports?">
    Yes, both pricing and resource exports **must** be configured to use the same location (US or EU) and preferably the same dataset. Using different locations or datasets will cause integration issues with nOps.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Overview

Integrate your **Google Cloud Billing** data with the nOps platform for comprehensive cost tracking and analysis. This integration allows you to visualize and manage GCP spending directly within the nOps platform.

<Warning>
  **Currency Support** — nOps currently supports only **USD currency** for billing export data. Ensure your GCP billing account is configured to use USD currency for proper integration with the nOps platform.
</Warning>

***

## Administrative Prerequisites

To perform this setup, the person executing the steps needs high-level privileges. If you don't have these, you'll need to coordinate with your **IAM or Cloud Governance team**.

* **Organization Administrator**: Required to grant permissions at the Organization level.
* **Billing Account Administrator**: Required to access the Billing Console and grant the Billing Account Viewer role.
* **Project Owner**: Required to enable APIs and manage project-level IAM.
* **BigQuery Admin**: Required to manage permissions on the specific datasets (Detailed Usage, Pricing, CUD, and FOCUS if enabled).
* **Organization Policy Administrator**: Required only if your organization uses Domain Restricted Sharing and you need to add the nOps Customer ID to allowed domains (see [Integration Setup](/gcp/integration-setup#1-domain-restricted-sharing))

***

## 1. Check If Billing Exports Are Already Enabled

Before proceeding with the setup, check if your GCP billing exports are already configured:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to Billing Export">
    Go to the **Billing** section in the [GCP Console](https://console.cloud.google.com/billing). Select your billing account from the list. Click **Billing Export** from the left-hand menu.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify Export Status">
    If billing exports are already enabled, you'll see **Project name** and **Dataset name** fields populated for each export type.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  **Already Enabled?** — If your billing exports are already configured with Project name and Dataset name populated for all three export types, you can skip the configuration steps below and proceed directly to [GCP Integration Setup](/gcp/integration-setup). Note the FOCUS dataset name too if that export is enabled — nOps has an optional field for it.
</Info>

If the exports are **not enabled** (showing as empty or disabled), continue with the configuration steps below.

***

## 2. Configure GCP Billing Exports

You must enable three specific exports: **Detailed Usage Cost**, **Pricing**, and **Committed Use Discounts**. You can create the BigQuery dataset directly within the first export configuration.

You can also enable the **FOCUS usage cost** export on the same page. It is optional in nOps, but it gives you cost data in the FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification format, which is consistent across cloud providers. Google creates and names this dataset for you as `gcp_billing_immutable_<BILLING_ACCOUNT_ID>_<LOCATION>` in the project you select, so it does not follow the shared-dataset guidance below.

### Select or Create a GCP Project

A **Google Cloud project** is required to store billing data. If managing multiple billing accounts, configure the export for each account separately.

<Info>
  For help setting up the Cloud Billing account, refer to the [Google Cloud Billing documentation](https://cloud.google.com/billing/docs).
</Info>

### Enable Cloud Billing Exports to BigQuery

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to Billing Export">
    Go to the **Billing** section in the [GCP Console](https://console.cloud.google.com/billing) and select **Billing Export** from the left-hand menu.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure Detailed Usage Cost Export">
    Click **Edit Settings** under **Detailed Usage Cost**.

    * Select your **Project**.
    * Create a **New Dataset** (e.g., `gcp_billing_exports`) or select an existing one.
    * Choose a location (**US** or **EU**) and click **Save**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure Pricing Export">
    Click **Edit Settings** under **Pricing**.

    * Select the **same Project and Dataset** as above.
    * Click **Save**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure Committed Use Discounts Export">
    Click **Edit Settings** under **Committed Use Discounts**.

    * Select the **same Project**.
    * Enter a dataset name (e.g., `cudsExportDataset`) and select the **same location** (Multi-region US or EU).
    * Click **Save**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure FOCUS Export (optional)">
    Click **Edit Settings** under **FOCUS usage cost**.

    * Select the **same Project** and the **same location** (Multi-region US or EU).
    * Click **Save**. Google creates the dataset and table for you — you do not name them.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  **Billing Data Backfill Behavior** — When enabling Cloud Billing export to BigQuery for the first time and selecting a multi-region dataset location (EU or US), the export includes billing data **retroactively from the start of the previous month**. This historical data backfill provides immediate access to recent billing information for analysis.

  **Important**: This retroactive data population occurs **only once** during the initial setup. If the export is disabled and later re-enabled, or if the dataset is changed, the backfill will **not occur again**. Billing data will only be available from the date of re-enablement or dataset change onward.
</Warning>

### Important Configuration Details

<Warning>
  **Location Consistency** — All three exports **must** use the same location (US or EU) and preferably the same project. Using different locations will cause integration issues.
</Warning>

* **CUD Export Status**: After creating the Committed Use Discounts export, it may initially appear as **Disabled**. Simply **refresh the page**, and it should show as **Active**.
* **Table Creation**: Each export creates a separate BigQuery table with its own unique **Table ID**. These tables may take up to **48 hours** to be created.

***

## Next Steps

Once your billing exports are configured and the BigQuery tables have been created (allow up to 48 hours), you're ready to connect GCP to nOps.

<Tip>
  **Ready to connect?** Go to [nOps Settings → Cloud Provider Integrations](https://clara.nops.io/settings) and click the **Google Cloud Platform** card to start the integration wizard. For a detailed walkthrough, see the guide below.
</Tip>

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Integration Setup" icon="plug" href="/gcp/integration-setup">
    Configure Domain Restricted Sharing when required, link GCP billing data, and grant service account permissions.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Commitment Management Setup" icon="chart-line" href="/gcp/commitment-management-setup">
    Overview of all permissions and resources needed for Savings Analysis and Commitment Management.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Permissions and Resources - Savings Analysis" icon="shield-check" href="/gcp/permissions-and-resources-sa">
    Overview of all permissions and resources needed for Savings Analysis.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Permissions and Resources - Commitment Management" icon="shield-check" href="/gcp/permissions-and-resources-cm">
    Overview of all permissions and resources needed for Commitment Management.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>