Best practices - AWS Billing
Back up your billing data before billing transferPrerequisitesWithdrawing from billing transfer

Best practices

This page covers best practices for before you start using billing transfer, while you use it, and before you stop using it (if applicable).

Important

We strongly recommend to download and back up all billing artifacts (invoices, credit memos, CUR files, CSV files from Cost Explorer and other billing and cost management pages as applicable) on the bill-source account (the account that transfer out its billing management), before establishing a billing transfer.

Back up your billing data before billing transfer

Before you proceed with transfer billing from your bill source account, we strongly recommend that you download and back up the following billing artifacts:

  • Invoices

  • Credit memos

  • AWS Cost and Usage Report files

  • CSV files exported from Cost Explorer

  • CSV files exported from other AWS Billing and Cost Management console pages

Important

Downloading these billing artifacts helps ensure that you maintain access to your historical billing data after the billing transfer is complete.

Prerequisites

There are three options to start using billing transfer:

  • You support a single organization and want to split into multiple AWS Organizations

  • Transfer ownership when you manage multiple organizations

Option 1: Take over billing for externally owned organizations

This option involves taking over billing responsibility through billing transfer from AWS Organizations owned by external parties (such as end customers, affiliates, or subsidiaries). You can transfer billing to either an existing organization or create a new organization dedicated to billing and financial management.

Prerequisites

Your organization must meet these requirements:

  • Organization is in all-features mode

  • Customer has an email address for root account ownership

  • Organization serves one customer's workloads

This option is suitable for:

- Channel partners onboarding new end customers with existing AWS accounts

- Customers purchasing services directly from AWS who acquire new companies (such as private equity companies or enterprises expanding across subsidiaries and affiliates)

Set up billing transfer

In the AWS Billing and Cost Management console, choose Preferences and Settings, then Billing Transfers. Create a transfer from your bill transfer account to the existing management accounts that will become bill source accounts. If you're a channel partner, register your bill transfer account in Partner Central as a new Partner Management account before completing the transfer.

Important

Before proceeding with billing transfer:

Back up Cost Explorer data from bill source accounts, as they lose historical data visibility when billing transfer becomes active.

Create new preferences after billing transfer is active, as existing preferences become unhealthy and stop receiving data. Disable the split cost allocation data functionality when creating preferences.

Option 2: You support a single organization and want to split into multiple AWS Organizations

This process involves creating a new AWS Organizations, setting up billing transfer, and then migrating member accounts.

Benefits of organization migration

  • Maintains billing privacy during migration

  • Provides flexible migration scheduling

  • Supports both single-tenant and multi-tenant AWS Organizations

Consider the following requirements before migrating:

  • You must rebuild organization-level configurations

  • You must identify and recreate organization-level dependencies

  • Migration takes longer than a full organization transfer

We recommend this approach for AWS Partners who consolidate multiple end customers into one AWS Organizations (multi-tenant organization) and for customers who consolidate multiple business units, affiliates, or subsidiaries into one AWS Organizations.

Follow these steps and review the considerations for each:

Step 1: Create an AWS Organizations for each business unit or customer

Create a new AWS account or designate an existing account as the management account for each business unit or customer you plan to move from your existing AWS Organizations.

Note

If you're a channel partner, you might need to help your end customers create AWS Organizations. End customers must provide their own payment method.

For more information on how to create a management account for AWS Organizations, see Tutorial: Creating and configuring an organization.

Step 2: Set up billing transfer for the new management account

Configure billing transfer between your existing management account and the newly created management account. The new AWS Organizations will transfer its bills to the existing organization.

Important

The owner of the new AWS Organizations must accept the billing transfer invitation in their AWS Billing and Cost Management console. Wait for the billing transfer to become active on the date specified in the invitation before proceeding with account migration.

Step 3: Prepare member account migration

Review organization-level dependencies for the member accounts that you plan to migrate. Document or remove the following items that you'll need to rebuild in the new organization:

  • Service control policies

  • Resource sharing configurations

  • Delegated administrator settings

Create a plan to reconstruct these configurations in the end customer's or business unit's organization.

Step 4: Move member accounts

After billing transfer is active, begin the account migration.

From the new organization, send invitations to each member account you want to add. Sign in to each member account to accept these invitations. The member accounts then leave your current organization and join the new organization. Work with the new AWS Organizations owner to rebuild organizational configurations in the new environment.

For step-by-step instructions, see Migrate an account to another organization with AWS Organizations in the AWS Organizations User Guide.

Important

Member accounts migrating from the original AWS Organizations to the new organization lose access to their historical billing data. Back up all billing reports before proceeding with migration.

Verify that billing transfer is active before starting any member account transfers to maintain proper billing responsibility throughout the migration process.

Step 5: Assign root user access to the new organization owner

Sign in to the organization's root account and navigate to My Account in the AWS Management Console. Update the root user email address to the new organization owner's email address and complete the email verification process. The new organization owner receives an email to activate their root account access. They must then:

  • Create new credentials

  • Set up MFA

  • Accept account ownership

During this process, remove any partner MFA devices and partner-specific security configurations.

Note

This step is required only for channel partners and their reselling end customers. It's optional for customers purchasing services directly from AWS.

Option 3: Transfer ownership when you manage multiple organizations

This option involves transferring root access of an existing AWS Organizations to a new owner and transferring billing responsibility through billing transfer. You can transfer billing to either an existing organization or create a new organization dedicated to billing and financial management.

Prerequisites

Your organization must meet these requirements:

  • Organization is in all-features mode

  • Customer has an email address for root account ownership

  • Organization serves one customer's workloads

Benefits

This approach provides:

  • Reduced operational effort because linked account migration isn't required

  • Reduced risk of breaking workloads due to incompatible policies

Important

Historical billing data from the previous root owner remains available to the new root owner.

Root access must be handed over after the payment of the previous billing cycle is settled.

For example:

  • Billing Transfer effective date: Oct 1st

  • Previous billing cycle closure: Oct 3rd (Sept invoice delivered)

  • Payment is settled: Oct 4th

  • Root access hand-over: Oct 5th

If you are expecting to receive credit memos (i.e., refunds) and you expect to no longer be able to access the account retrieve credit memos, we recommend to transfer root after 30-60 days from the Billing Transfer on-boarding.

This option is suitable for:

- Channel partners who currently own root access to their end customers' AWS Organizations for AWS payment obligations and want to return root ownership to end customers

- Customers purchasing services directly from AWS who maintain central controls over governance and security to protect negotiated discount terms from unauthorized parties (such as teams, business units, affiliates, or subsidiaries)

Step 1: Create a billing management organization (optional)

If you don't have a management account to use as the bill transfer account, create a new account and configure AWS Organizations as described in Tutorial: Creating and configuring an organization.

Note

As a best practice, use this account exclusively for billing and financial management.

Step 2: Set up billing transfer

Establish billing transfer with the existing AWS Organizations:

In the AWS Billing and Cost Management console, choose Preferences and Settings, then Billing Transfers. Create a transfer from your bill transfer account to the existing management accounts that will become bill source accounts. If you're a channel partner, register your bill transfer account in Partner Central as a new Partner Management account before completing the transfer.

Important

Before proceeding:

Wait for billing transfer to become active on the first day of the next month.

Back up Cost Explorer data from bill source accounts, as they lose historical data visibility when billing transfer becomes active.

Create new preferences after billing transfer is active, as existing preferences become unhealthy and stop receiving data. Disable the split cost allocation data functionality when creating preferences.

Step 3: Prepare for root access transfer

After billing transfer is active, prepare to transfer bill source account ownership:

In the AWS Billing and Cost Management console, update the organization's billing information with the new owner's details. Remove your payment method and update the billing address.

Note

AWS uses the bill transfer account's billing information for invoice generation while billing transfer is active. However, you must update the bill source account's billing information to prevent charges if billing transfer is withdrawn.

Step 4: Transfer root access

Sign in to the organization's root account and navigate to My Account in the AWS Management Console. Update the root user email address to the new owner's email domain and complete email verification. The new owner receives an email to activate their root account access. They must create new credentials, set up MFA, and accept account ownership.

Important

Before transferring root ownership:

Remove any existing MFA devices and security configurations.

Back up any billing information you need, including invoices, s, and Cost Explorer reports.

Note that the new owner will have access to historical billing data. Contact AWS Support with questions about historical data visibility.

To prevent new owner access to historical billing data, use Option A instead.

Step 5: Verify the transfer

After the new owner accepts ownership, verify that billing transfer remains active and your organization continues receiving invoices. The new owner now has full root access to manage their organization while billing responsibility remains with your organization through billing transfer.

Withdrawing from billing transfer

Any account can withdraw from billing transfer. For more information, see Withdrawing transfers.

Important

Before withdrawing from billing transfer:

Back up historical data from Cost Explorer, as bill source accounts lose access to their pro forma historical data after withdrawal.

Prepare to create new preferences, as existing reports are marked as unhealthy and stop receiving data after withdrawal.

Note

The bill transfer account maintains access to historical data for bill source accounts after withdrawal.