A FinOps Ledger to Track Cost Savings and Avoidance

As the year winds down and plans for the next take shape, one thing remains clear: tracking your FinOps team’s cost savings and avoidance is essential for long-term success. Whether your organization uses a custom application, a simple spreadsheet, or something in between, a well-structured FinOps Ledger can be a game-changer.

Why a FinOps Ledger? Because it goes beyond tracking numbers—it tells the story of your team’s impact. It allows you to monitor the results of your work, refine strategies, and communicate value effectively to stakeholders.

What to Include in Your FinOps Ledger
To get the most out of your FinOps Ledger, make sure to include the following elements:

• Task/Service: Clearly define the initiative or focus area, e.g., Compute Optimization, S3 Cleanup, RDS Rightsizing.
• ID: Map your task to a Savings Plan (SP) or Reserved Instance (RI) ID for traceability.
• Service: Specify the AWS service involved, such as RDS, EC2, or S3.
• Status: Track the progress of each task (e.g., Realized, In Progress, Blocked, Backlog).
• Savings: Record both monthly and annual cost savings achieved through optimization efforts.
• Avoided Costs: Highlight costs you’ve managed to avoid—again, both monthly and annually.
• Notes: Add important context and details about each task.
• Explanation: Document how you calculated the savings or avoided costs, making it easy to justify and validate the results.

The Impact of a Well-Maintained Ledger
A FinOps Ledger isn't just about documentation—it's a powerful tool for:

• Demonstrating ROI: Show how your team’s efforts contribute to cost efficiency and business value.
• Driving Strategic Decisions: Identify areas to target for further optimization.
• Boosting Team Morale: Celebrate the tangible wins and progress your team makes throughout the year.

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How Are You Tracking FinOps Wins?
Whether you’re just starting to build your ledger or have an established process, let’s keep the conversation going! Join the conversation over on LinkedIn, or connect with me directly on my LinkedIn page if you’d like to explore how we can collaborate on AWS cost optimization!