How to Change or Disable Billing Exports

Managing your BigQuery billing exports is essential when you need to reorganize your billing data infrastructure, move to a different dataset, or stop exports to reduce storage costs. This guide shows you how to modify existing billing export configurations or disable them entirely through the Google Cloud Console and gcloud CLI.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

• Billing Account Administrator role on the billing account
• Access to the Google Cloud Console or gcloud CLI installed
• Knowledge of the current billing export configuration (dataset location and name)
• Owner or Editor permissions on the project containing the BigQuery dataset

Understanding Billing Export Changes

When you change or disable billing exports, keep these points in mind:

• Historical data remains: Disabling exports does not delete existing billing data in BigQuery
• No retroactive exports: Changing to a new dataset only exports future billing data
• Multiple exports allowed: You can export to multiple datasets simultaneously
• Immediate effect: Changes take effect within a few hours

Step-by-Step Guide

Method 1: Using Google Cloud Console

To Change Billing Export Destination

1. Navigate to Billing Settings

   • Open the Google Cloud Console
   • Click the navigation menu (three horizontal lines) in the top-left corner
   • Select Billing
   • If you have multiple billing accounts, select the one you want to modify

2. Access Billing Export Settings

   • In the left sidebar, click Billing export
   • You'll see two export types: BigQuery export and File export (CSV)
   • Click on BigQuery export

3. Modify Standard Export Settings

   • Under "Standard usage cost data", click EDIT SETTINGS
   • In the dialog box, you can:
     • Change Project: Select a different project from the dropdown
     • Change Dataset: Select a different dataset or create a new one
     • Keep Data Location: Ensure the new dataset is in the same region for optimal performance

4. Modify Detailed Export Settings (Optional)

   • Under "Detailed usage cost data", click EDIT SETTINGS
   • Follow the same process to change project and dataset
   • Detailed exports include resource-level usage information

5. Save Changes

   • Click SAVE to apply the new configuration
   • Google Cloud will begin exporting new billing data to the specified dataset
   • Historical data remains in the original dataset

To Disable Billing Exports

1. Navigate to Billing Export

   • Follow steps 1-2 from the previous section

2. Disable Standard Export

   • Under "Standard usage cost data", click EDIT SETTINGS
   • Click DISABLE BILLING EXPORT
   • Confirm the action in the dialog box
   • Click DISABLE to confirm

3. Disable Detailed Export (If Enabled)

   • Under "Detailed usage cost data", click EDIT SETTINGS
   • Click DISABLE BILLING EXPORT
   • Confirm the action

4. Verify Disablement

   • The export status should now show "Not configured"
   • No new billing data will be exported to BigQuery

Method 2: Using gcloud CLI

To View Current Export Configuration

# List all billing accounts
gcloud billing accounts list

# View current export configuration (requires billing account ID)
gcloud billing accounts describe BILLING_ACCOUNT_ID --format="table(billingAccountName,open)"

Note: The gcloud CLI does not provide direct commands to modify BigQuery exports. You'll need to use the Console or the Cloud Billing API directly.

To Disable via API (Advanced)

# Use the Cloud Billing API to remove the dataset configuration
# This requires constructing an API request with curl or a client library

curl -X PATCH \
  "https://cloudbilling.googleapis.com/v1/billingAccounts/BILLING_ACCOUNT_ID/billingExport" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "bigqueryExportEnabled": false
  }'

Best Practices

When Changing Export Destinations

1. Create the new dataset first: Set up your new BigQuery dataset before changing the export configuration
2. Document the change: Record the old and new dataset locations for reference
3. Monitor initial exports: Check that data appears in the new dataset within 24 hours
4. Keep old data: Retain the historical billing data in the original dataset for trend analysis
5. Update dashboards: If you have Looker Studio or Data Studio reports, update them to point to the new dataset

When Disabling Exports

1. Export historical data: Before disabling, ensure you've exported or backed up any data you need
2. Notify stakeholders: Inform finance and engineering teams before disabling exports
3. Archive old data: Consider exporting BigQuery tables to Cloud Storage for long-term archival
4. Document the decision: Record why exports were disabled for future reference
5. Review billing console: You can still view billing data in the Cloud Console even without BigQuery exports

Cost Optimization

1. Disable unused exports: If you're not actively analyzing billing data, disable exports to save on BigQuery storage costs
2. Use standard export only: Detailed exports consume more storage; only enable if you need resource-level detail
3. Set table expiration: Configure BigQuery tables to auto-delete data older than your retention policy
4. Partition tables: Use date-partitioned tables to optimize query costs and enable efficient data deletion

Troubleshooting

Export Continues After Disabling

Problem: New data still appears in BigQuery after disabling exports

Solution:

• Wait 24-48 hours; billing data is batched and may have a delay
• Verify you disabled the correct billing account
• Check that no other billing accounts are exporting to the same dataset
• Clear your browser cache and re-check the Billing export settings

Cannot Change Dataset

Problem: Error message when trying to change to a new dataset

Solution:

• Verify the dataset exists in the target project
• Ensure you have Owner or Editor role on the project
• Check that the BigQuery API is enabled in the project
• Confirm the dataset is in a supported region (US multi-region recommended)

Historical Data Missing

Problem: Old billing data is no longer accessible after changing exports

Solution:

• Historical data remains in the original dataset
• Navigate to the old project and dataset in BigQuery
• Data is not automatically migrated to the new destination
• Query the old dataset directly or create views to union old and new data

Permissions Errors

Problem: "Permission denied" when modifying billing exports

Solution:

• Verify you have Billing Account Administrator role
• Check that you're signed in with the correct Google account
• Request access from your organization's billing administrator
• Ensure the billing account is active and not suspended

Data Not Appearing in New Dataset

Problem: After changing export destination, no data appears in the new dataset

Solution:

• Wait 24-48 hours for the first export batch
• Verify the dataset exists and you have access
• Check that the BigQuery API is enabled in the target project
• Review the export configuration to ensure it's enabled (not disabled)
• Verify billing account is active and incurring charges

Next Steps

After changing or disabling your billing exports, consider these related tasks:

• Set up table expiration: Configure automatic data deletion to manage storage costs
• Create custom views: Build SQL views to simplify access to billing data across multiple datasets
• Update dashboards: Modify Looker Studio reports to point to new data sources
• Archive old data: Export historical data to Cloud Storage for long-term retention
• Review billing alerts: Set up budget alerts in the Cloud Console to monitor spending

Related Resources

• Understanding Billing Export Table Schemas
• Run Sample Billing Queries in BigQuery
• Create a BigQuery Dataset
• Google Cloud Billing Export Documentation