AWS re:Invent 2025 - Transform digital experience: Accelerate AWS Partner & customer success(PEX208)

Source: Dev.to

Introduction

AWS re:Invent 2025 introduced Billing Transfer, a new service that lets channel partners and their end customers operate in separate AWS Organizations while the partner retains exclusive billing management. Billing Transfer enhances security autonomy, simplifies billing operations, and protects partners’ proprietary discounts.

Existing AWS account construct

Within AWS Organizations there are two account types:

• Management account – has full administrative control, can set service control policies, and is responsible for billing across the organization.
• Member accounts – are governed by the management account.

Traditionally, channel partners had to control the management account to handle billing for end customers, while customers used member accounts.

Challenges with traditional billing

• Security conflicts – partners needed access to the management account, forcing customers to relinquish governance controls and creating security risks.
• Operational inefficiencies – partners had to create and manage dozens or hundreds of organizations, retrieve billing artifacts each month, and process payments across many accounts.
• Scalability issues – the need to convince customers to allow partner control of the management account slowed deal closures and complicated account management.

Billing Transfer overview

Billing Transfer, now generally available through the AWS Billing and Cost Management console, allows the management account of one organization to delegate its billing to a separate AWS organization. This enables:

• Partners to manage billing exclusively.
• Customers to retain full control of their own organization without compromising on governance.

Key benefits

For channel partners

• Centralized management – manage multiple end‑customer accounts from a single partner account that receives all invoices.
• Margin privacy – chargeable billing artifacts are delivered only to the partner, keeping proprietary discounts confidential.
• Operational efficiency – eliminates the need to maintain hundreds of separate accounts for billing purposes.

For end customers

• Complete environment control – retain full governance of their own AWS organization.
• Native cost visibility – access AWS cost management tools such as Cost Explorer, Cost and Usage Reports, cost anomaly detection, and Reserved Instance purchase recommendations within their own organization.
• Simplified onboarding – no trade‑offs when joining a reseller’s channel program.

How Billing Transfer works

1. Separate organizations – the partner and each customer operate in distinct AWS Organizations.
2. Billing delegation – the partner’s management account receives the AWS invoices at the actual price paid, while the customer sees costs at the rates set by the solution provider (via AWS Billing Conductor).
3. Invoice segregation – the partner receives individual invoices for each customer’s consumption plus one for its own internal usage, enabling easy integration with third‑party billing tools and re‑rating.
4. Cost Explorer access – partners can view both their own cost data and the cost‑explorer experience of each customer, toggling between the two perspectives.

Using the Billing and Cost Management console

• Send invitations – partners can invite end customers to transfer billing to their organization.
• Centralized invoice delivery – manage invoice receipt, payment processing, and delivery from a single management account.
• Custom pricing – set and display custom rates for customers using AWS Billing Conductor.
• View switching – toggle between the partner’s chargeable view and the customer’s cost view within the console.

Billing Transfer is available today through the AWS Billing and Cost Management console, providing a streamlined, secure, and scalable solution for channel partners and their customers.