Why doesn't my Science Cloud balance match my AWS Cost Explorer dashboard?
A common question from Principal Investigators is why the costs shown in cloud provider dashboards (like AWS) differ from their official Science Cloud balances.
Native cloud dashboards only show estimated base pricing. They completely omit the Enterprise Support fees NASA pays, and they do not factor in NASA's negotiated discounts , or special pricing agreements, or contract‑dependent adjustments. Because of this, relying on AWS Cost Explorer can result in variances differences of 10% or more, which could cause you to falsely predict a budget shortfall.
How
...
Science Cloud Calculates Actual Costs
Cost accuracy in the Science Cloud is maintained through a monthly reconciliation with ARC’s officially verified cost reports. However, because ARC data takes time to process, there is a built-in reporting lag:
- The One‑Month Lag: ARC's verified data lags by
- runs one month behind. To bridge this gap, FinOps publishes interim cost estimates for your most recent month, which are then officially reconciled the following month. Any numbers that have not yet been verified by ARC are explicitly marked as
(estimate)in your toolkit. - Current‑Month Adjustments: Some pricing adjustments depend on your total monthly volume. These cannot be finalized until the month ends, so they are estimated based on your projected usage until actuals are received.
Reading Your Cloud Account Balances
Your dashboard balance includes only the funds obligated directly to your cloud contract. It does not include the CCS overhead fees, as those are tracked separately. ARC automatically updates your balance in the toolkit whenever new obligations occur, and they occasionally send interim notices mid‑cycle that will immediately refresh your balance.
What are Expected Funds?
If a fund transfer misses the mid-month processing deadline, it will appear as "Expected." This serves as a visible reminder that a transfer is in progress, but these funds are are not included in your available balance. If Expected funds remain unresolved for an extended period of time, it usually indicates an administrative issue with the transfer that requires your attention.