Asset Entities
Assets represent valuable items owned by entities in your structure. Track properties, shares, businesses, cash, and other wealth with full ownership allocation and value management.
What Are Assets?
Assets are anything of value that can be owned:
- Real estate (residential, commercial, industrial, farming properties, land)
- Businesses
- Listed and private shares
- Investment trusts
- Cash holdings
- Gold and precious metals
- Superannuation interests
- Life insurance policies
- Cryptocurrency
- Personal effects
- Other valuable items
Required Fields
Every asset must have:
- Asset Name: Display name for the asset (up to 200 characters)
- Asset Type: Category from 16 supported types (see Asset Types below)
Optional Fields
Financial Information
- Gross Value: Total value of asset ≥ $0
- Liability: Debt against asset ≤ $0 (entered as negative, e.g., -$500,000)
- Net Value: Automatically calculated (Gross Value + Liability)
Note: All currency values are in USD ($). Net value can be negative if liability exceeds gross value.
Additional Details
- Description: Free-form description (optional)
- Purpose: Why the asset is held (optional, up to 1,000 characters)
Ownership Information
For property assets only:
- Ownership Method: Sole, Joint Tenants, or Tenants in Common
- Number of Owners: Used for Sole and Joint Tenants
Important: These ownership fields are set on the asset itself, not on each ownership relationship. See Asset Ownership Methods for the detailed rules.
Asset Types
StructureGram supports 16 asset categories:
Property Assets
| Type | Description | Icon |
|---|---|---|
| Residential Property | Houses, apartments, residential real estate | Home |
| Commercial Property | Offices, retail spaces, commercial real estate | Building2 |
| Industrial Property | Warehouses, factories, industrial real estate | Factory |
| Farming Property | Agricultural land with improvements | Tractor |
| Land | Vacant land, development sites | TreePine |
Business & Investments
| Type | Description | Icon |
|---|---|---|
| Business | Operating businesses, goodwill | Briefcase |
| Listed Shares | Publicly traded shares | TrendingUp |
| Private Shares | Private company shares | Lock |
| Investment Trust | Managed fund units | Landmark |
Financial Assets
| Type | Description | Icon |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | Bank accounts, cash holdings | Banknote |
| Gold | Precious metals, bullion | Gem |
| Superannuation | Super interests (non-SMSF) | PiggyBank |
| Life Insurance | Life insurance policies | Shield |
| Crypto | Cryptocurrency holdings | Bitcoin |
Other
| Type | Description | Icon |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Effects | Jewelry, art, collectibles | Package |
| Other | Assets not in other categories | Box |
Value & Liability Management
Gross Value
- Must be ≥ $0 (cannot be negative)
- Represents total market value before debts
- Optional (can be left blank)
Liability
- Must be ≤ $0 (must be zero or negative)
- Entered as negative amount (e.g., -$500,000)
- Represents debt secured against the asset
- Optional (can be left blank)
Net Value (Automatic Calculation)
Formula: Net Value = Gross Value + Liability
Examples:
Property:
Gross Value: $1,000,000
Liability: -$600,000
Net Value: $400,000 ✅
Mortgaged Property (Negative Equity):
Gross Value: $500,000
Liability: -$650,000
Net Value: -$150,000 ⚠️ (negative net value shown in red)
Debt-Free Asset:
Gross Value: $250,000
Liability: $0 (or blank)
Net Value: $250,000 ✅
Display in Diagrams
Assets show their values below the icon:
- Net value: Bold text
- Gross value & liability: In parentheses
- Negative values: Shown in red with warning indicator
Example: $400,000 ($1,000,000 + -$600,000)
Ownership Methods
For property assets, you can specify how ownership is structured. The ownership method is stored on the asset. Ownership relationships must then fit that method.
Sole Ownership
- One owner only
- Number of owners: 1
- Owner has 100% beneficial interest
- Adding another owner is blocked until you change the asset ownership method
Joint Tenants
- Two or more owners (2-15)
- Equal shares automatically calculated
- Number of owners is stored on the asset
- The asset can record more joint owners than currently exist as ownership relationships
- Adding or removing an ownership relationship does not change the asset's number of owners
- Right of survivorship (on death, interest passes to surviving joint tenants)
- Example: 2 owners = 50% each, 4 owners = 25% each
Tenants in Common
- Two or more owners with specified percentages
- Can have unequal shares
- Total ownership percentages cannot exceed 100%
- No right of survivorship (interest passes via will/estate)
- Each owner's percentage set on ownership relationship
Key Difference:
- Joint Tenants: Equal automatic split, ownership method on asset
- Tenants in Common: Custom percentages, set on each relationship
Setting Ownership Method
- On the asset: Set "Ownership Method" field
- For Joint Tenants/Sole: Set "Number of Owners" on the asset
- For Tenants in Common: Leave number blank, set percentages on each ownership relationship
For the full rules, including how to change ownership method later, see Asset Ownership Methods.
Ownership Relationships
Who Can Own Assets?
Assets can be owned by:
- ✅ Individuals
- ✅ Companies
- ✅ Trusts
- ✅ SMSFs
- ✅ Partnerships
- ❌ NOT by other assets
One-Way Relationship: Ownership is always Entity → Asset, never Asset → Entity.
Ownership Percentage
Each ownership relationship includes:
- Ownership Percentage: 0-100%
- Ownership Method: Displayed from the asset
100% Validation
- Sole ownership is always 100%.
- Joint tenants use equal shares based on the asset's configured number of owners.
- Tenants in common can use different percentages, but the total cannot exceed 100%.
Assets as Loan Security
Assets can also be linked to loans as formal security records.
Important behavior:
- the security relationship runs from the lender to the asset,
- one asset can be used as security for a loan,
- security details can include type, value, PPSR-SIN, notes, and dates,
- and ownership diagrams can show separate Loan Security links when enabled.
If you need to review or manage the broader lending arrangement around an asset, use the dedicated loan workflow rather than treating the asset as a lender or borrower.
Assets as Lease Targets
Assets can also be the target of lease relationships.
Important behavior:
- the lease runs from the lessee entity to the asset,
- assets are lease targets, not lessees,
- lease rows can carry dates and lease metadata such as payment, review, option, bond, PPSR, and notes,
- and asset rows can show indicators such as who the asset is leased to and the payment summary when that data exists.
Use the dedicated lease workflow when you need to record or edit that use-right relationship.
Creating Assets
Two Ways to Create
Method 1: Inline Creation (During Ownership Allocation)
- Go to Asset Allocations page
- Click "Create New Asset" in ownership form
- Enter asset name and type
- Optionally add values
- Immediately create ownership relationship
Method 2: Direct Creation (Assets Page)
- Go to Assets list page (if available)
- Create asset with full details
- Later add ownership relationships
Ownerless Asset Handling: Assets with no ownership relationships are not automatically deleted. They appear in the Unowned Assets register on the Asset Allocations page, where you can reassign ownership or delete them.
Examples
Residential Property (Joint Tenants)
- Name: 123 Main Street, Sydney
- Type: Residential Property
- Gross Value: $1,200,000
- Liability: -$800,000
- Net Value: $400,000
- Ownership Method: Joint Tenants
- Number of Owners: 2
- Owners:
- John Smith (50% automatic)
- Sarah Smith (50% automatic)
Investment Property (Tenants in Common)
- Name: Unit 5/456 Investment Ave
- Type: Commercial Property
- Gross Value: $850,000
- Liability: -$450,000
- Net Value: $400,000
- Ownership Method: Tenants in Common
- Owners:
- Smith Family Trust (70%)
- Johnson Trust (30%)
Business Entity
- Name: Smith Consulting Business
- Type: Business
- Gross Value: $500,000
- Liability: -$100,000
- Net Value: $400,000
- Ownership Method: Sole
- Owner:
- Smith Holdings Pty Ltd (100%)
Listed Shares Portfolio
- Name: ASX Listed Shares Portfolio
- Type: Listed Shares
- Gross Value: $250,000
- Liability: $0
- Net Value: $250,000
- Owners:
- Michael Brown SMSF (100%)
Negative Equity Property
- Name: Underwater Investment Property
- Type: Residential Property
- Gross Value: $400,000
- Liability: -$550,000
- Net Value: -$150,000 ⚠️ (shown in red)
- Owner:
- Distressed Investor (100%)
Asset Allocations Page
Purpose
Central hub for managing asset ownership across all entities.
Features
- Top Section: Create new ownership relationships (with inline asset creation)
- Bottom Section: Searchable list of all existing ownership relationships
- Unowned Assets Register: Appears at the bottom when one or more assets have zero ownership relationships
- Inline Editing: Edit ownership percentages and asset details directly
- Group Filtering: Filter by active group (or "All Groups")
For the detailed edit workflow, see Editing Assets on Asset Allocations.
Workflow
- Select entity (from active group)
- Select or create asset
- Check the asset ownership method
- Enter an ownership percentage if the asset is tenants in common
- Save relationship
- View in list below with totals
Unowned Assets Register (Orphan Asset Schedule)
When an asset has zero ownership relationships, it appears in the Unowned Assets section at the bottom of Asset Allocations.
What you can do there
- Reassign ownership: Use the top ownership form to create a new ownership relationship for the asset.
- Edit asset details: Use the edit action on the asset row.
- Delete assets: Delete one-by-one or use Select all + Delete Selected for bulk cleanup.
Why this exists
- It gives you a safe holding area for ownerless assets.
- It supports ownership transition workflows (for example, remove one owner and then add a new owner).
Ownership Transition Behaviour in Diagrams
In an Ownership Diagram session, assets follow this deterministic contract:
- If an asset has at least one persisted ownership relationship, it behaves normally.
- If its last ownership relationship is deleted, it becomes a session-retained orphan.
- A session-retained orphan:
- can remain on canvas,
- can be hidden to stencil and dragged back,
- does not show false "already has an owner" warnings.
- If a new ownership relationship is created successfully, retained-orphan status is cleared immediately.
- If creation fails, retained-orphan status remains unchanged.
- The source of truth is the persisted/scoped relationship state (not stale local cache).
For long-term management of ownerless assets, use the Unowned Assets register on Asset Allocations.
Inline Editing
For the full edit workflow, including when to edit the asset versus the ownership row, see Editing Assets on Asset Allocations.
Edit Ownership Relationship
- Click the pencil action on the ownership row
- Modify relationship-level details such as owner, dates, or percentage where allowed
- Click "Save" (validates) or "Cancel"
- Other rows remain read-only
Edit Asset Details
- Click the asset name to open the edit dialog
- Modify name, type, values, liability, description, or ownership method
- Click "Save" or "Cancel"
- Ownership method changes may require related ownership relationships to be adjusted
Delete Ownership
- Click "Delete" button
- Confirm deletion
- If this was the last owner, the asset moves to the Unowned Assets register (it is not auto-deleted)
Implementation Notes
Code vs Story Differences
- Asset Types: Implemented 16 types (stories 7.1a/b specified 13 types, added 3 more: superannuation, life-insurance, crypto)
- Ownership Method Storage: Stored on asset entity itself (stories implied per-relationship storage)
- Number of Owners Field: Added to asset for joint tenants calculation (not in original stories)
- Inline Creation: Fully integrated into ownership form (stories outlined concept, implementation made seamless)
- Ownerless Asset Lifecycle: Assets without owners are surfaced in the Unowned Assets register; in Ownership Diagram sessions they can be temporarily retained to support reassignment flows
- Net Value Calculation: Automatic calculation with negative value support (stories specified but implementation adds UI indicators)
- Purpose Field: Added to assets (not in story 7.1)
Validation Rules
- Asset name is required (up to 200 characters)
- Asset type is required (must select from 16 types)
- Gross value must be ≥ $0 if provided
- Liability must be ≤ $0 if provided (entered as negative)
- Net value can be negative (calculation allows it)
- Ownership relationships are entity → asset (never asset → entity)
- Ownership method applies to property types primarily
- Ownership method is stored on the asset, not on each ownership relationship
- Joint tenant owner count is stored on the asset and must be at least 2
- Actual joint tenant ownership relationships cannot exceed the asset's configured number of owners
- Tenants in common percentages cannot exceed 100% in total