# Allocation Periods

> Source: https://parallelworks.com/docs/organization-admin/billing/allocation-periods

# Allocation Periods

Allocation periods are named date ranges, such as fiscal years, that [allocations](/docs/organization-admin/billing/allocations) budget against. An allocation with periods gets a separate budget for each one, and can be billed only while one of them covers today.

Use periods when a budget is time-bound, such as a budget per fiscal year or a monthly budget that starts over each month. An allocation without periods has no time limit.

## Navigation

From the Organizations list, select your organization. In the sidebar, under **Billing**, click **Allocation Periods**.

The page lists each period's **Start**, **Last day**, **Status** (**Active**, **Upcoming**, or **Ended**), how it **Repeats**, and how many **Allocations** budget in it. An active period that ends within 30 days shows **Ends in N days** here, on the allocations list, and on the allocation's page.

![Screenshot of the Allocation Periods page, listing fiscal-year periods, a monthly period, and a period that ends soon.](/content-images/docs/organization-admin/billing/allocation-periods/allocation-periods-list.png?v=6fd91905)

## Creating a period

Click **Add** and fill in:

![Screenshot of the Add period dialog with a name, start date, and last day filled in.](/content-images/docs/organization-admin/billing/allocation-periods/add-period.png?v=4f45198d)

#### Name

Allocations refer to the period by this name, for example `FY27` or `Year 1`.

#### Start date and Last day

The period starts at 00:00 UTC on the start date and runs through the end of the last day (UTC). A period can start in the past.

#### Repeats

- **Doesn't repeat** — one budget for the whole date range.
- **Every month** — each month in the range gets the full amount, usage starts over at the start of every month, and threshold alerts re-arm. For example, a $200 monthly period gives the allocation $200 to spend each month.

## Editing a period

Click **Edit** in a period's row menu. Dates that have passed can't change: once a period has started, its start date and how it repeats are fixed, and once it has ended, its last day is fixed. Dates that haven't passed can still move, which is how you extend a period.

If you move a period's last day past the start of the period after it, you're offered to move that period's start along with it (**Move ... and save**), so a year can be extended in one step. Its last day stays the same.

## Deleting a period

Click **Delete** in a period's row menu. A period can't be deleted while allocations budget in it; remove it from those allocations first.

## Budgeting an allocation by period

When you create or edit an allocation, add rows under **Budget periods**: pick a **Period** and enter its **Amount**. For a monthly period, the amount is per month.

- **The total follows today's period.** The allocation's **Total**, **Used**, and **Estimated** cover the period that covers today, and thresholds act on that period's usage.
- **Nothing bills between periods.** When none of an allocation's periods covers today, it shows **No active period**, and new resources, AI usage, and usage events can't bill it until an admin adds or extends a period. Usage events must fall within one of its periods.
- **Periods can't overlap** on the same allocation.
- **No carry-over.** Budget left at the end of a period, monthly or yearly, doesn't roll into the next one.
- **Sub-allocations stay inside their parent.** A sub-allocation's periods must fall within its parent's. A parent's periods also bound when anything under it can bill.

## Fiscal years

Fiscal years come from the [Allocation Start Date](/docs/organization-admin/settings/policies#allocation-start-date) policy, or October 1 when it isn't set. With **October 1**, FY27 runs from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. A period counts in the fiscal year it starts in.

Fiscal years are used to view budgets by year on the [allocations list](/docs/organization-admin/billing/allocations#viewing-budgets-by-year-and-period) and as a time range in [Reports](/docs/monitoring/allocation-costs#time-range).

## API and CLI

Periods are managed with the `/allocation-periods` API, and allocations take a `periods` list with an amount for each period. [`pw billing allocations ls`](/docs/cli/pw/billing/allocations/ls) shows each allocation's active period, `none` between periods, or `-` for an allocation without periods.