Data Synchronization

How CosmosCost syncs and updates your cloud cost data.

Sync Overview

CosmosCost automatically synchronizes cost data from your connected cloud providers on a regular schedule. Data is fetched incrementally to minimize API usage and ensure up-to-date information.

Sync Frequency

Free

Automatic Sync

Once daily

Manual Sync

Not available

Basic monitoring

Business

Automatic Sync

Every 6 hours

Manual Sync

3 per day

Regular updates

Business+

Automatic Sync

Hourly

Manual Sync

Unlimited

Real-time monitoring

Initial Sync

What to Expect

Duration: 24-48 hours for first sync
Historical Data: Up to 24 months imported
Email Notification: Sent when complete
Status Updates: Track progress in Cloud Accounts page

During Initial Sync

While your first sync is running:

Dashboard shows "Syncing" status
Partial data may appear as sync progresses
Some reports may be incomplete
Wait for completion email before analyzing trends

Incremental Sync

After the initial sync, subsequent syncs are incremental:

Only new/updated data fetched

Much faster than initial sync (minutes vs hours)

Automatic at scheduled intervals

Minimal impact on cloud provider APIs

Manual Sync

Triggering Manual Sync

Navigate to Settings → Cloud Accounts
Find the account to sync
Click Sync Now
Sync starts immediately
Status updates in real-time

When to Use Manual Sync

After major cloud resource changes
Before generating important reports
When data appears stale
After resolving connection issues

Rate Limits

Manual sync limits prevent excessive API usage. Business plan: 3/day, Business+: unlimited.

What Gets Synced

AWS Data

Daily cost and usage from Cost Explorer
Service-level cost breakdown
Regional distribution
Linked account costs (if using Organizations)
Cost allocation tags

GCP Data

BigQuery billing export data
Project-level costs
Service and SKU details
Geographic location data
Labels and tags

Data Freshness

Cloud Provider Delays

Cloud providers have inherent delays in cost data availability:

AWS

24-hour delay typical

GCP

Several hours to 24 hours

Azure

Up to 72 hours (when available)

Real-time Data

CosmosCost syncs as frequently as possible, but data freshness is limited by cloud provider APIs. Current-day costs are estimates until finalized by the provider.

Sync Status Indicators

Synced

Last sync completed successfully

Syncing

Currently fetching data from cloud provider

Pending

Sync scheduled, waiting to start

Error

Sync failed, check error details

Troubleshooting Sync Issues

Sync Never Completes

Possible causes:

Very large dataset (years of historical data)
Network connectivity issues
Cloud provider API timeouts

Solutions:

Wait longer (up to 48 hours for initial sync)
Check Cloud Accounts page for error messages
Contact support if stuck for 48+ hours

Sync Errors

Common errors:

Permission Denied

Check IAM roles/service account permissions

API Rate Limit

Wait and retry, or adjust sync frequency

Invalid Credentials

Verify cloud provider configuration

Account Not Found

Check account ID and access

Data Not Updating

Check last sync timestamp
Verify automatic sync is enabled
Try manual sync
Check cloud provider for new data availability
Review sync logs for errors

Sync Optimization

Best Practices

Allow initial sync to complete fully before analysis
Use manual sync sparingly to avoid rate limits
Schedule important reports after automatic sync
Monitor sync status before board meetings/presentations

Performance Tips

Limit historical data range when possible
Use appropriate sync frequency for your needs
Consolidate multiple AWS accounts via Organizations
Enable only necessary cost allocation tags

Data Retention

Free Plan

12 months of data retained

Business/Business+

24 months of data retained

Older Data

Automatically archived/deleted

Export

Download data before it expires

Sync Working Well?

Start exploring your cost data in the Dashboard.

Experiencing sync issues? Check our troubleshooting guide or contact support.