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OPS.14:4.2 - Choose quantities that answer the decision

Keep the accounting basis with the quantity being compared.

QuantityWhat the practitioner needs to recover
Physical throughputThe physical output counted, its unit and period, keeping completed service results separate from the attempts needed to obtain them.
Monetary throughput or contributionThe selected model of proceeds less specified variable costs, with its cost assumptions and demand basis.
Recognized revenue or accounting profitThe accounting period and recognition rules supplied for that purpose.
Cash receipts and paymentsThe amounts that actually enter or leave, their timing, conditions and authority.
Released resource capacityThe usable time or capability released and the next service or avoided payment that could use it.

Choose only the quantities whose difference can change the decision. A throughput-accounting model can be useful for a short-horizon product or service mix when one resource is limiting and its assumptions fit. The common direct-material treatment presumes that other costs remain largely fixed over that horizon. Per-use cloud charges, contracted labor or changed support costs can defeat that presumption.

For a suitable model, compare contribution per unit of the scarce resource together with demand limits. With coupled resources, indivisible jobs, sequencing requirements or binding commitments, obtain the feasible schedule or corresponding optimization result. A ranking alone does not determine the feasible mix.