Exports and sharing: the weekly report as a file

Updated

The Exports and sharing page takes the weekly cost report out of CostGuard as a PDF, Excel, CSV or web page file, fixed at the moment it is made, and shares a file through a private link that opens only for members of this workspace, until it expires or is revoked.

What this page is for

“Exports and sharing” answers one question: how do I take this week's report out of CostGuard, and share it privately? It makes the weekly report into a file, keeps every file it made, and gives each file private links.

It is opened by whoever needs the report outside CostGuard: for a meeting, for finance, or for a spreadsheet. The decision is which format to make, and who may open a link to it and for how long.

The top of the Exports and sharing page: the heading and the panel that creates an export, with the week, currency and language the next export covers. The top of the Exports and sharing page: the heading and the panel that creates an export, with the week, currency and language the next export covers.
The panel says what the next export covers before you make it.

Before you start

An export holds the cost CostGuard has recorded, so connect an Azure subscription and let its first cost import finish. Workspace owners and admins create exports and links; every member of the workspace can download a file.

Read the Getting started guide

Report exports are part of the Pro and Enterprise plans. The page sits under “Reports” in the sidebar, which lists it in “Advanced” mode.

See what each plan includes

Create an export

Before you make anything, the panel says what the next export covers:

  • “Week”: the seven days of the weekly report, ending on the latest day with recorded cost, with the date cost data runs through.
  • “Currency”: the one currency of the report; any other currency the workspace is billed in is named, not added.
  • “Language”: the language of the saved report schedule, or the default until one is saved.

Then pick a “Format”:

  • “PDF”: To read or print, laid out like the report.
  • “Excel”: To work with the figures in a spreadsheet.
  • “CSV”: Plain rows for any tool that reads CSV.
  • “Web page (HTML)”: The report as a web page, as recipients read it.
The Create an export panel of the seeded workspace: the week, the currency with the other currencies named, the language, the four formats with what each is for, and the Create export button. The Create an export panel of the seeded workspace: the week, the currency with the other currencies named, the language, the four formats with what each is for, and the Create export button.
Each format is described in the reader's language.

“Create export” makes the file. When it is ready the panel says “The export is ready. Download it from the list of exports below.” An export that cannot be made says why: the week's cost could not be read, or the file would be larger than 5 MB. Members who are not owners or admins read “Only workspace owners and admins can generate exports. You can download completed exports below.”

Exports

The list shows every export, newest first. Each row gives:

  • “Format”, “Week” and “Language”: what the file holds, kept as it was made.
  • “Created (UTC)”: when it was made.
  • “Status”: “Completed”, or “Failed” with the reason.
  • “Size” and “Active links”: the size of the file and how many of its links still open.
  • “Actions”: “Download” for every member, and “Share” for owners and admins.
The list of exports of the seeded workspace: completed CSV, Excel and PDF files with their week, language, creation time, size and active links, a failed web page whose week's cost could not be read, and the Download and Share actions. The list of exports of the seeded workspace: completed CSV, Excel and PDF files with their week, language, creation time, size and active links, a failed web page whose week's cost could not be read, and the Download and Share actions.
A failed export says why it failed and keeps no file.

“Load more” reads older exports. When they cannot be read, the exports above stay as they are and the page says so.

“Share” on a completed export opens its links. The panel says first who a link opens for: “Only signed-in members of this workspace with access to Reports can open this link.” CostGuard has no invitations yet, so today a link opens only for people who already have access to this workspace.

Choose when the link expires, after “1 day”, “7 days” or “30 days”, then “Create private link”. The new link appears with “Copy” to put it on the clipboard.

“Links to this file” lists every link of the file with its “State” (“Active”, “Expired” or “Revoked”), when it was created and when it expires, in UTC.

The Share privately panel of a PDF export: who a link opens for, the expiry choice, the Create private link button, and the links of the file with one active, one expired and one revoked. The Share privately panel of a PDF export: who a link opens for, the expiry choice, the Create private link button, and the links of the file with one active, one expired and one revoked.
The panel says who a link opens for before anything else.

“Revoke” asks “Revoke this link?” first. A revoked link stops opening at once and cannot be turned back on; the file itself is kept. “Keep link” changes nothing.

A link opens the page “Shared export” in CostGuard, after sign-in. It shows the file's “Format”, “Week”, “File created (UTC)”, “Link expires (UTC)” and “Size”, with “Download”.

An expired or revoked link says so and offers no download. A link that does not exist, belongs to another workspace, or is opened by someone without access shows “This link is not available”, with a way back to “Exports and sharing”.

The Shared export page opened from an active link: the file's format, week, creation time, link expiry and size, with the Download button. The Shared export page opened from an active link: the file's format, week, creation time, link expiry and size, with the Download button.
CostGuard checks the link every time it is opened.

CostGuard has no invitations yet, so today a link opens only for people who already have access to this workspace. It is a private way to point a colleague at a file, not a public link.

How exports work

The notes at the bottom of the page say in short how exports work:

  • A file holds the weekly report of its week: the same figures, the same one currency and the same language as the weekly report.
  • A file never changes after it is created; create a new export to include newer cost.
  • Workspace owners and admins create exports and links; every member of the workspace can download a file.
  • A link opens only for signed-in members of this workspace, until it expires after 1, 7 or 30 days or is revoked. CostGuard checks this every time the link is opened.
  • Exports stay in the list; CostGuard does not remove them on its own. A file larger than 5 MB is not kept.
  • An export always covers the weekly report's week. For another date range, use Cost explorer.

Go further

The links at the bottom of the page lead on:

  • “Weekly reports”: every report prepared, with its content.
  • “Report preview”: what this week's report says before you export it.
  • “Cost explorer”: cost over any other date range.

What you may see instead of figures

Instead of the exports, the page may show:

  • Grey blocks while the exports are read.
  • “No exports yet”, with a sentence on where a new export appears.
  • “The exports could not be read”, with “Try again”. Nothing was changed.
  • “What the next export covers could not be read. You can still create one.”
  • “The export could not be downloaded. Try again.”
  • A notice that your session has ended, with a link to sign in again.

When your plan does not include exports

When your plan does not include report exports, the page shows a fixed example under the label “Sample data”, with the sentence “Your current plan does not include this feature. The figures shown here are an example, not your data.”

The sample shows what a Contoso export would cover and four Contoso exports from August 2026: a PDF with one active link, a CSV, an Excel file, and a web page that failed. It offers no download and no link, and it is the same for everyone, never your data.

The labelled sample of the Exports and sharing page: what a Contoso export would cover and four Contoso exports, under the Sample data label, with the Compare plans link. The labelled sample of the Exports and sharing page: what a Contoso export would cover and four Contoso exports, under the Sample data label, with the Compare plans link.
A sample is always labelled, and always an example.

“Compare plans” opens the pricing page in a new tab. CostGuard decides what your plan includes on the server; the sample is only how the page shows it.

What each plan includes

The table shows the first plan that includes each part of the page. Every plan above it includes it too.

FeatureFreeStarterGrowthProEnterprise
A labelled sample of the page
Your workspace's report exports and private links

Plans and pricing

Pro and Enterprise include report exports; Free, Starter and Growth show the labelled sample. The plan is checked on the server, and the page never shows a price.

Troubleshooting

A colleague cannot open a link

A link opens only for signed-in members of this workspace with access to Reports, until it expires or is revoked. Check the link's state in the file's links, ask the colleague to sign in to this workspace, and create a new link if the old one expired.

An export failed

The row says why. When the week's cost could not be read, try again a little later. A file larger than 5 MB is not kept; a CSV or Excel file of the same week is usually smaller.

I need another date range

An export always covers the weekly report's week. For any other range, use “Cost explorer”.

The page is not in the sidebar

The sidebar lists it in “Advanced” mode only. Choose “Advanced” at the top of the sidebar; the page's address opens in either mode.