In Mises’s account, Economic Calculation compares alternatives of action and their results in monetary terms within a market division of labor. It requires prices of exchanged goods; a technical recipe, physical inventory or exact arithmetic alone cannot replace economic comparison.
A bridge can be built in different ways. An engineer establishes load capacity and material requirements, but tons of steel cannot simply be added to hours of labor. Money prices help compare alternative uses of heterogeneous inputs. This illustrates Mises’s distinction between technical reckoning and economic selection, rather than a reason to ignore technical constraints. [Mises — Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth]
Before production, expected costs and revenues are compared; afterward, realized results are assessed. Mises connects this sequence with capital accounting. Keep the project’s period and scope consistent: sales receipts alone are not profit after accounting for inputs and changes in asset valuations. [Mises — Human Action, XIII]
A historical price records a completed exchange, not a certain price for the next delivery. Mises emphasizes the conjectural nature of calculation in a changing world. Distinguish realized prices, valid offers and your own assumptions in a budget; more decimal places alone do not make a forecast reliable. [Mises — Human Action, XII]
Comparing two projects in crowns makes their monetary items comparable. It does not imply that equal income gives two people equal satisfaction or that summing profits measures social welfare. Mises defines monetary calculation from the standpoint of particular acting individuals. [Mises — Human Action, XIII]
Mises’s argument about socialism addresses the absence of exchange prices for production means under common control. It does not claim that nobody can write a production plan. When applying it to an organization, establish which inputs actually trade and where its prices come from; a label alone is insufficient. [Mises — Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth]
Hayek highlights local, changing knowledge dispersed among people. Computing with supplied data differs from obtaining relevant information and adapting plans. Software can help process offers, but its existence alone does not prove that inputs are complete or current. [Hayek — The Use of Knowledge in Society]
Health, honor or a personal commitment can influence decisions without an available market price. Mises thereby delineates calculation’s scope, not the worthlessness of these ends. A monetary result informs choice; it does not automatically settle every value judgment and nonmonetary question. [Mises — Human Action, XII]
An operating budget can be expressed in BTC, but converting items from another currency requires an exchange rate and date. Changing units alone removes neither uncertainty about future revenue nor resource availability. This applies the general principle: check price provenance, a consistent period and sensitivity to assumptions, not just correct arithmetic. [Mises — Human Action, XII] [Hayek — The Use of Knowledge in Society]
For the clearest picture, read this entry together with Catallactics, Socialist Calculation Debate, Knowledge Problem, Capital Goods, Entrepreneurship. The reverse links also lead from Catallactics, Socialist Calculation Debate, Knowledge Problem, Entrepreneurship.