diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/hooks/cloudzero/useCloudZeroSettings.ts b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/hooks/cloudzero/useCloudZeroSettings.ts
index 5ccbe244e60..96f5ab2f944 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/hooks/cloudzero/useCloudZeroSettings.ts
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/hooks/cloudzero/useCloudZeroSettings.ts
@@ -17,19 +17,35 @@ const getCloudZeroSettings = async (accessToken: string): Promise<CloudZeroSetti
     },
   });
 
-  if (response.status === 404) {
-    // 404 means no settings are configured - this is expected and not an error
-    return null;
-  }
-
   if (!response.ok) {
-    const errorData = await response.json().catch(() => ({}));
-    const errorMessage =
-      errorData?.error?.message || errorData?.message || errorData?.detail || "Failed to fetch CloudZero settings";
+    let errorMessage = "Failed to fetch CloudZero settings";
+    try {
+      const errorData = await response.json();
+      // Handle different error response formats
+      if (typeof errorData === "object" && errorData !== null) {
+        errorMessage =
+          errorData?.error?.message ||
+          errorData?.error ||
+          errorData?.message ||
+          errorData?.detail ||
+          (typeof errorData?.error === "string" ? errorData.error : errorMessage);
+      } else if (typeof errorData === "string") {
+        errorMessage = errorData;
+      }
+    } catch {
+      // If JSON parsing fails, use the status text
+      errorMessage = response.statusText || errorMessage;
+    }
     throw new Error(errorMessage);
   }
 
   const data = await response.json();
+
+  // Check if settings are actually configured (all required fields are present)
+  if (!data || (!data.api_key_masked && !data.connection_id)) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
   return data;
 };
 
@@ -77,9 +93,22 @@ const updateCloudZeroSettings = async (accessToken: string, params: UpdateParams
   });
 
   if (!response.ok) {
-    const errorData = await response.json().catch(() => ({}));
-    const errorMessage =
-      errorData?.error?.message || errorData?.message || errorData?.detail || "Failed to update CloudZero settings";
+    let errorMessage = "Failed to update CloudZero settings";
+    try {
+      const errorData = await response.json();
+      if (typeof errorData === "object" && errorData !== null) {
+        errorMessage =
+          errorData?.error?.message ||
+          errorData?.error ||
+          errorData?.message ||
+          errorData?.detail ||
+          (typeof errorData?.error === "string" ? errorData.error : errorMessage);
+      } else if (typeof errorData === "string") {
+        errorMessage = errorData;
+      }
+    } catch {
+      errorMessage = response.statusText || errorMessage;
+    }
     throw new Error(errorMessage);
   }
 
@@ -117,9 +146,22 @@ const deleteCloudZeroSettings = async (accessToken: string): Promise<DeleteRespo
   });
 
   if (!response.ok) {
-    const errorData = await response.json().catch(() => ({}));
-    const errorMessage =
-      errorData?.error?.message || errorData?.message || errorData?.detail || "Failed to delete CloudZero settings";
+    let errorMessage = "Failed to delete CloudZero settings";
+    try {
+      const errorData = await response.json();
+      if (typeof errorData === "object" && errorData !== null) {
+        errorMessage =
+          errorData?.error?.message ||
+          errorData?.error ||
+          errorData?.message ||
+          errorData?.detail ||
+          (typeof errorData?.error === "string" ? errorData.error : errorMessage);
+      } else if (typeof errorData === "string") {
+        errorMessage = errorData;
+      }
+    } catch {
+      errorMessage = response.statusText || errorMessage;
+    }
     throw new Error(errorMessage);
   }
 
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/CloudZeroCostTracking.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/CloudZeroCostTracking.tsx
index fbb892cb1d8..db3ea94bbf9 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/CloudZeroCostTracking.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/CloudZeroCostTracking.tsx
@@ -36,7 +36,9 @@ export default function CloudZeroCostTracking() {
   if (error) {
     return (
       <Card>
-        <Typography.Text className="text-red-600">Error loading CloudZero settings: {error.message}</Typography.Text>
+        <Typography.Text className="text-red-600">
+          Error loading CloudZero settings: {error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}
+        </Typography.Text>
       </Card>
     );
   }
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/CloudZeroEmptyPlaceholder.test.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/CloudZeroEmptyPlaceholder.test.tsx
index 04e0a67dea6..f7b90884006 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/CloudZeroEmptyPlaceholder.test.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/CloudZeroEmptyPlaceholder.test.tsx
@@ -9,6 +9,6 @@ describe("CloudZeroEmptyPlaceholder", () => {
 
     expect(screen.getByText("No CloudZero Integration Found")).toBeInTheDocument();
     expect(screen.getByText(/Connect your CloudZero account/)).toBeInTheDocument();
-    expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Create Integration" })).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Add CloudZero Integration" })).toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 });
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/CloudZeroEmptyPlaceholder.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/CloudZeroEmptyPlaceholder.tsx
index 1719a949b86..aca074dc290 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/CloudZeroEmptyPlaceholder.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/CloudZeroEmptyPlaceholder.tsx
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ export default function CloudZeroEmptyPlaceholder({ startCreation }: CloudZeroEm
         }
       >
         <Button type="primary" size="large" onClick={startCreation} className="flex items-center gap-2 mx-auto mt-4">
-          Create Integration
+          Add CloudZero Integration
         </Button>
       </Empty>
     </div>
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/CloudZeroIntegrationSettings.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/CloudZeroIntegrationSettings.tsx
index 780fa83652a..c161d241f7d 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/CloudZeroIntegrationSettings.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/CloudZeroIntegrationSettings.tsx
@@ -134,10 +134,14 @@ export function CloudZeroIntegrationSettings({ settings, onSettingsUpdated }: Cl
             }}
           >
             <Descriptions.Item label="API Key (Redacted)">
-              <span className="font-mono text-gray-600">{settings.api_key_masked}</span>
+              <span className="font-mono text-gray-600">
+                {settings.api_key_masked || <span className="text-gray-400 italic">Not configured</span>}
+              </span>
             </Descriptions.Item>
             <Descriptions.Item label="Connection ID">
-              <span className="font-mono text-gray-600">{settings.connection_id}</span>
+              <span className="font-mono text-gray-600">
+                {settings.connection_id || <span className="text-gray-400 italic">Not configured</span>}
+              </span>
             </Descriptions.Item>
             <Descriptions.Item label="Timezone">
               {settings.timezone || <span className="text-gray-400 italic">Default (UTC)</span>}
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/types.ts b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/types.ts
index a41afee4f72..ed3c76cc3b1 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/types.ts
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/CloudZeroCostTracking/types.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 export interface CloudZeroSettings {
-  api_key_masked: string;
-  connection_id: string;
-  timezone?: string;
-  status?: string;
+  api_key_masked: string | null;
+  connection_id: string | null;
+  timezone?: string | null;
+  status?: string | null;
 }