A contract template may optionally specify a variable named tside. This becomes a product level attribute with one of the values "ASSET" or "LIABILITY". Default value is "LIABILITY". The effect of this field is simply the sign of every balance. Every posting is either counted as a credit or a debit. If tside of a product is "LIABILITY", every account instance will calculate net balance as net = total credit - total debit. For an "ASSET" type account, net balances are defined as net = total debit - total credit.

Contract writers must be aware of this detail when writing business logic using net balances.