When running a workshop, you need to be able to show off and teach Terra's capabilities by having people run workflows and notebooks. After the workshop is over, however, you don't want to accidentally continue to accrue GCP charges for storage or compute. This article outlines options for billing for workshop participants and step-by-step instructions for cutting off billing after the workshop.  

Contents

Before the workshop: Set up participant billing
Workshop billing project(s)
After the workshop: Disable billing project(s)
Another option: $300 in GCP credits

Before the workshop: Set up participant billing

If you are able to give pre-workshop instructions, setting up billing ahead of time will save at least fifteen minutes of precious workshop time. You will need to collect the Terra user IDs of all participants (if you're using a workshop billing project).

If you want to use the additional option ($300 GCP credits) make sure to send out a link to  instructions and even follow up with participants beforehand to make sure they have done it. 

Workshop billing project or projects

You can set up a single temporary workshop billing project or a separate billing project for each participant (small workshop) funded by your GCP Billing account. You will add participants manually to the project or projects (preferably before the workshop). The workshop project will show in their drop down menu when they clone a workspace. Make sure to give it a unique name, to help with disabling it after the workshop!

Advantages 

• Most foolproof approach, easy for participants, and no extra steps
  
• Quick to add people the day of the workshop
• Only need to disable one project after the event

Disadvantages 

• Does not walk users through the process of creating a billing project
• In order to work on Terra following the workshop, participants will have to set up their own billing and clone their workshop workspace to their billing project 
• Participants cannot see detailed cost breakdowns or billing reports

Warning: In order to cut off spending after the workshop, you will need to disable the workshop billing project! It is not enough to remove users from the billing project, which only prevents them from creating a workspace. 

After the workshop: Disable billing for all workshop projects

Warning: To avoid accruing additional charges after the workshop, you must disable billing on the workshop billing projects. 

Removing users from the billing account or project, and removing Terra as a billing account user on the workshop projects is not enough to control costs! 

We repeat - Users can still run workflows and notebooks even after you remove them from the billing account!!

Note: You need to have “Owner” (Billing Account Administrator) permission of the GCP Billing Account in order to follow these instructions. 

If you are using STRIDES or third party resellers such as Onix, you may not be able to follow these steps unless you request admin privileges from the third-party reseller (who is the Owner). If you are not able to follow the directions below, or do not see the options in the screenshots, it is likely because you are not the GCP account owner. You will need to ask for admin privileges to disable billing.  

Once you disable billing, users won't be able to start a workflow or notebook in any workspace created with this project effective immediately. You will want to make sure to tell participants who want to be able to access work from the workshop to set up their own billing and copy any of their workspaces under their own billing. 

Why isn't it enough to remove users from a billing account or project? 

Billing in Terra is tied to the project, which still has funding (because the Google Billing account used to create the Terra Billing project still exists). When you remove users from the billing account or project, they will not be able to create new workspaces, but they will still be able to run workflows or notebooks in workspaces created with a valid billing project.

Another option: $300 in Google credits from GCP console 

In this scenario, participants would go to the GCP console and get access to the $300 getting started credits that Google offers new users. You could give instructions to do this before the workshop, or walk participants through it during the workshop.

Advantages 

• All workshop costs will be covered by the GCP credits
• Participants will have plenty of money to spend after the workshop to explore Terra
• They will have a year to use their credits
• Participants have full control over their spending and can access detailed billing on GCP

Disadvantages

• Participants have to give their credit card and go through GCP console to access GCP credits
• Some will not want to give their personal card (have to have a backup)
• GCP console can be confusing and overwhelming