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.

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Assets and Liabilities

This page works with two kinds of record: assets — things of value that are owned — and liabilities — debts that someone is responsible for. Assets add to net worth; liabilities count against it.

Liabilities have their own guide; see Liabilities. The rest of this page covers assets, plus the two ways an asset can carry debt: embedded debt (a debt amount recorded directly on the asset) and associated liabilities (a link to a separate liability record).

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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

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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)

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Optional Fields

Financial Information

• Gross Value: Total value of asset ≥ $0
• Embedded debt: Debt recorded directly on the asset, stored ≤ $0 (entered as a positive amount; stored negative). This is the "house minus its mortgage as one record" approach. The field label varies by surface — "Liability (Debt)" in the create dialog, "Liability (positive)" in the edit dialog, and "Embedded debt ($)" in the diagram inspector — but it's the same value.
• Net Value: Automatically calculated (Gross Value + embedded debt)

Note: All currency values are in USD ($). Net value can be negative if embedded debt exceeds gross value.

Embedded debt vs a standalone liability: embedded debt is fine for a simple "asset minus its loan" figure, but it can't capture the lender, who is responsible, or that the debt secures a specific asset. When any of those matter, record the debt as a Liability record instead and link it to the asset (see Associated Liabilities below).

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.

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Asset Types

StructureGram supports 16 asset categories:

Each type has its own icon shown on the record and in diagrams.

Property Assets

Business & Investments

Financial Assets

Other

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Value & Liability Management

Gross Value

• Must be ≥ $0 (cannot be negative)
• Represents total market value before debts
• Optional (can be left blank)

Embedded debt

• Stored as ≤ $0 (zero or negative)
• Entered as a positive amount; stored negative (e.g., -$500,000)
• Represents debt recorded directly on the asset record
• Optional (can be left blank)
• Labelled "Liability (Debt)" / "Liability (positive)" / "Embedded debt ($)" depending on the surface — all the same value
• For a debt you want to name, attribute, or link, use a Liability record instead

Net Value (Automatic Calculation)

Formula: Net Value = Gross Value + embedded debt

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)

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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

1. On the asset: Set "Ownership Method" field
2. For Joint Tenants/Sole: Set "Number of Owners" on the asset
3. 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.

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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%.

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Associated Liabilities

Instead of (or in addition to) embedded debt, an asset can be linked to a standalone Liability record — the debt that is secured by, or was used to acquire, the asset.

• On an asset record, the inspector shows an Associated Liabilities picker; on a liability it shows Associated Assets.
• On a diagram the link is created as an Associated connection (relationship type associated_with), drawn between the asset and the liability.
• The link is informational only — it does not change net-value maths. It records the relationship, not a transfer of value. (The asset's embedded debt, by contrast, does count toward net value.)
• Links save immediately, independently of the record's own Save.

Embedded debt or associated liability — not both for the same dollar. Embedded debt nets against the asset's value; an associated liability is a separate record with its own (negative) net value. Recording the same debt in both places would double-count it. Pick one: embedded debt for a quick net figure, an associated liability record when you need lender/obligor/relationship detail.

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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.

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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.

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Creating Assets

Two Ways to Create

Method 1: Inline Creation (During Ownership Allocation)

1. Go to Asset Allocations page
2. Click "Create New Asset" in ownership form
3. Enter asset name and type
4. Optionally add values
5. Immediately create ownership relationship

Method 2: Direct Creation (Assets Page)

1. Go to Assets list page (if available)
2. Create asset with full details
3. 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.

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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)

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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%)

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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%)

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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%)

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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%)

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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

1. Select entity (from active group)
2. Select or create asset
3. Check the asset ownership method
4. Enter an ownership percentage if the asset is tenants in common
5. Save relationship
6. View in list below with totals

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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).

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Ownership Transition Behaviour in Diagrams

In an Ownership Diagram session, assets follow this deterministic contract:

1. If an asset has at least one persisted ownership relationship, it behaves normally.
2. If its last ownership relationship is deleted, it becomes a session-retained orphan.
3. 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.
4. If a new ownership relationship is created successfully, retained-orphan status is cleared immediately.
5. If creation fails, retained-orphan status remains unchanged.
6. 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.

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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

1. Click the pencil action on the ownership row
2. Modify relationship-level details such as owner, dates, or percentage where allowed
3. Click "Save" (validates) or "Cancel"
4. Other rows remain read-only

Edit Asset Details

1. Click the asset name to open the edit dialog
2. Modify name, type, values, liability, description, or ownership method
3. Click "Save" or "Cancel"
4. Ownership method changes may require related ownership relationships to be adjusted

Delete Ownership

1. Click "Delete" button
2. Confirm deletion
3. If this was the last owner, the asset moves to the Unowned Assets register (it is not auto-deleted)

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Implementation Notes

Code vs Story Differences

1. Asset Types: Implemented 16 types (stories 7.1a/b specified 13 types, added 3 more: superannuation, life-insurance, crypto)
2. Ownership Method Storage: Stored on asset entity itself (stories implied per-relationship storage)
3. Number of Owners Field: Added to asset for joint tenants calculation (not in original stories)
4. Inline Creation: Fully integrated into ownership form (stories outlined concept, implementation made seamless)
5. 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
6. Net Value Calculation: Automatic calculation with negative value support (stories specified but implementation adds UI indicators)
7. 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
• Embedded debt must be ≤ $0 if provided (entered as a positive amount, stored 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

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Related Topics

• Liabilities
• Loans, Security, and Guarantors
• Leases
• Editing Assets on Asset Allocations
• Creating Relationships
• Asset Ownership Methods
• Individuals
• Companies
• Trusts
• SMSFs
• Partnerships
• Ownership Diagrams