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Mental Model

Mental Model — WordPress-Style Classification System

Asset management system uses a two-layer approach inspired by WordPress:

Layer 1: Asset Type (Accounting Classification)

Purpose: High-level financial/accounting categorization
Cardinality: ~10/15 types maximum
Relationship: Many-to-one (each asset has exactly ONE type)
Examples: - CHECKING ACCOUNTS - SAVINGS_ACCOUNTS - CASH - REAL_ESTATE - STOCKS & FUNDS - CRYPTO - LOANS - BUSINESS_OWNERSHIP - PERSONAL_PROPERTY

Think of it as: "What type of asset is this for accounting/tax purposes?"

Layer 2: Categories (WordPress-Style, Many-to-Many)

Purpose: Flexible, multi-dimensional organization
Cardinality: Unlimited, user-defined hierarchy
Relationship: Many-to-many (each asset can belong to MULTIPLE categories)
Structure: Hierarchical (parent/child relationships via parent_id)

Examples:

Hierarchical Categories

  • Clothing > T-Shirts > Summer T-Shirts
  • Real Estate > Residential > Apartments > Paris
  • Furniture > Dining > Wooden Chairs
  • Toys > Building Sets > LEGO > Star Wars

Cross-Cutting Categories

  • Income Generating Assets
  • Primary Residence
  • Athletic Wear
  • Collectibles > Investment Grade
  • Multi-Purpose Items
  • Office Equipment

Think of it as: "What organizational buckets does this belong to?" (Answer: potentially many!)

Layer 3: Tags (Flat Labels)

Purpose: Additional metadata and filtering
Cardinality: Unlimited, user-defined
Relationship: Many-to-many (each asset can have MANY tags)
Structure: Flat (no hierarchy)

Examples: - summer, cotton, breathable - paris, airbnb, sold - star_wars, vintage, unopened - wood, stackable, versatile

Think of it as: "What additional attributes describe this?"

WordPress Category Logic

Just like WordPress posts, your assets can belong to multiple categories simultaneously:

Example: Summer T-Shirts

✅ Clothing > T-Shirts (hierarchical path)
✅ Athletic Wear (functional category)
✅ Casual Wear (style category)

Example: Paris Apartment

✅ Real Estate > Residential > Apartments (hierarchical path)
✅ Primary Residence (legal classification)
✅ Income Generating Assets (financial classification)

Example: LEGO Set

✅ Toys > Building Sets > LEGO (hierarchical path)
✅ Collectibles > Investment Grade (purpose)
✅ Kids Room Items (location)

Why Many-to-Many Categories?

Scenario Single Category (Old Model) Multiple Categories (WordPress Model)
Apartment used as home + rental Must choose ONE: "Primary Residence" OR "Rental" BOTH: "Primary Residence" AND "Income Generating Assets"
T-shirts for sports + casual Must choose ONE path BOTH: "Clothing > T-Shirts" AND "Athletic Wear" AND "Casual Wear"
LEGO as toy + investment Must choose ONE purpose BOTH: "Toys > LEGO" AND "Collectibles"

Benefit: Assets can be organized from multiple perspectives without duplication.

How This Works in Practice

Creating an Asset

Asset: "Summer T-Shirts"
Asset Type: PERSONAL_PROPERTY (choose ONE)
Categories: 
  ✓ Clothing > T-Shirts
  ✓ Athletic Wear
  ✓ Casual Wear
  (select as many as needed)
Tags: summer, cotton, breathable

Querying Assets

Filter by "Athletic Wear" → Returns: - Summer T-Shirts - Running Shoes - Yoga Mat

Filter by "Clothing > T-Shirts" → Returns: - Summer T-Shirts - Winter T-Shirts - Designer T-Shirts

Filter by "Income Generating Assets" → Returns: - Paris Apartment - Rental Property Barcelona - Vending Machine

Filter by both "Clothing > T-Shirts" AND "Athletic Wear" → Returns: - Summer T-Shirts (intersection)

Category Hierarchy

Categories can have parent/child relationships just like WordPress: 

Real Estate (parent)
├── Residential (child)
│   ├── Apartments (grandchild)
│   └── Houses (grandchild)
└── Commercial (child)
    ├── Office Buildings (grandchild)
    └── Retail Spaces (grandchild)

An asset can belong to: - Just "Real Estate" (parent only) - "Real Estate" AND "Residential > Apartments" (parent + full path) - "Residential > Apartments" AND "Income Generating Assets" (hierarchy + cross-cutting)

Comparison Table

Feature Asset Type Categories Tags
Control Controlled vocabulary User-defined Complete freedom
Structure Flat list Tree hierarchy Flat labels
Per Asset Exactly 1 0 to many 0 to many
Purpose Accounting/tax Organization/navigation Filtering/metadata
Relationship Many-to-one Many-to-many Many-to-many
Hierarchy No Yes (parent_id) No

Key Principles

  1. Asset Type = Legal/Accounting classification (required, singular, stable)
  2. Categories = Organizational flexibility (optional, multiple, hierarchical)
  3. Tags = Descriptive metadata (optional, multiple, flat)

This gives you: - ✅ Precision (Asset Type for accounting) - ✅ Flexibility (Multiple categories per asset) - ✅ Discoverability (Find assets from multiple angles) - ✅ Simplicity (WordPress-familiar model)

WordPress Comparison

Feature WordPress Your Model
Posts/Assets Posts Assets
Post Type Post, Page, Custom Asset Type
Categories Many-to-many + hierarchy Many-to-many + hierarchy ✓
Tags Many-to-many, flat Many-to-many, flat ✓

Your model = WordPress categories + Asset Type for accounting structure

This is the most flexible approach while maintaining clear accounting boundaries via Asset Type.