If the word "payable" is in the account title, assume it is a liability account. Liabilities are obligations, amounts the company owes. Examples are Accounts Payable, Wages Payable, Interest Payable, Notes Payable, Utilities Payable, Income Taxes Payable. All of these are obligations or liabilities.

Assets are things the company owns. Examples are Cash, Accounts Receivable, Supplies, Inventory, Equipment, Land, Buildings.

If your company borrows money from the bank, it gets an asset Cash AND it gets a liability Notes Payable or Loan Payable.

If your company buys merchandise from its supplier on credit, your company gets an asset Inventory and it also will get an obligation or liability Accounts Payable. When your company pays the supplier, the company reduces its asset Cash and it reduces its liability Accounts Payable.