# Cost Alert
## Overview
The Cost Alert Notification feature helps you to monitor and manage the cloud infrastructure costs. This feature allows you to set up alerts that notify you when your spending reaches predefined thresholds. Once the set threshold is exceeded, you will receive a notification via email, providing immediate awareness of cost overruns. The Cost Alert Notification feature is available for contract owners and administrators.
This documentation covers how to create, edit, and delete the cost alert notification.
## Mechanism
The Cost Alert Notification is a real-time notification. IONOS Cloud runs billing calculations periodically due to the data aggregation of billing events. It does not run the invoice calculation permanently. Therefore, an offset to the configured amount may be expected. The first time the invoice amount calculated is above or equal to the threshold value, an e-mail will be sent to the e-mail address defined in the configuration. This notification is sent only once and not repeated with every following invoice calculation.
The Cost Alert Notification will be based on the net amount of the contract invoice (excl. VAT).
Furthermore, the Cost Alert Notification feature does not execute any other operation - especially no changes to any service.
## API endpoint
The Cost Alert Notification feature is part of the Billing API. It can be managed using the `/{contractId}/` usage-alert endpoints. Further documentation can be found in the respective [Billing API documentation](https://api.ionos.com/docs/billing/v3/).
To access the Billing API, you must authenticate requests using your basic authentication credentials or a Bearer token (required for Multi-Factor Authentication accounts). The Bearer token must be retrieved through the [Token Manager](https://docs.ionos.com/sections-test/guides/set-up-ionos-cloud/management/identity-access-management/token-manager) in the DCD.
## DCD How-Tos
The Cost Alert Notification feature is part of the Account Settings at the top right of the menu bar.
### Create a cost alert
To create a cost alert for your account, follow these steps:
1. In the **DCD**, go to **Menu** > **Management** > **Cost alert**.
2. In the **Cost alert** window choose **Create cost alert**.
3. Enter the amount you need and your email address in the window.
4. Choose **Create cost alert**.
{% hint style="success" %}
**Result:** The cost alert is successfully created.
{% endhint %}
### Edit a cost alert
You can edit the cost alert after creating it.
1. In the **Menu** go to **Management** > **Cost alert**.
2. In the **Cost alert** window choose **Edit**.
3. Edit the amount and the email in the corresponding fields.
4. Click **Save** to save changes.
Regularly check your email for updates regarding your spending. Based on the alerts you receive, make adjustments as necessary.
### Delete a cost alert
1. In the **Menu** go to **Management** > **Cost alert**.
2. In the **Cost alert** window choose **Delete**.
{% hint style="success" %}
**Result:** You will receive a notification that the cost alert was successfully deleted.
{% endhint %}
## Feature permission
The configuration of a cost alert can be managed by contract owners and users in the role of administrators only. Other contract members with the user role cannot access the feature. Within the IONOS Cloud multi-tenant model, access to the feature is also restricted to users in the role of administrators. It is only accessible to the contract owner of the respective multi-tenant contract.