Verified Botswana facts
This guide lists documents to retain after signing a Botswana loan agreement and explains how to save repayment schedules and payment receipts for Botswana credit. Its working system is a contract register plus payment ledger, exception queue and closure certificate. NBFIRA has issued an official direction concerning repayment schedules for non-bank lenders; borrowers should still request and preserve the documents that apply to their actual provider and agreement.
Questions before signing
A borrower may save only the signature page, lose the schedule after a portal changes, or rely on a bank-statement description that does not identify how a payment was allocated. Refinancing, a holiday, arrears arrangement or correction can create several versions. Editing the original to reflect a later conversation destroys the chronology. Payment receipts can also expose account identifiers if shared carelessly. Good retention balances reconstruction of the loan with secure handling of household financial information.
Decision worksheet
Create a contract register on signing day. Hash or otherwise lock the original file where practical, label later amendments separately and record how each was accepted. Enter scheduled and actual payments in different columns, attach provider receipts and reconcile deductions to statements. Open an exception when amounts or dates differ. At payoff or closure, request written status and preserve it with the full payment history rather than deleting the file immediately. Index the personal loan agreement separately from drafts and expired offers.
Freeze the agreement package
Save the complete signed agreement, all schedules and annexes, the accepted quotation, required disclosures and the submission or signing confirmation. Record provider legal name, product, agreement number, signing date, parties and file source. Do not rename a draft or unsigned offer as final. Where electronic signing is used, preserve the completion record and the exact document returned afterward. Store the original read-only and create a working copy for notes. If a referenced annex is missing, request it immediately through the official provider channel and log the gap. The package should allow a later reader to identify every document incorporated into the agreement without reconstructing the contract from screenshots or sales messages.
Control the repayment schedule
Keep the schedule issued for the actual agreement and record when it was received. NBFIRA's official circular concerns directions for non-bank lenders to issue repayment schedules to borrowers; it does not justify inventing a schedule when one is missing. Ask the provider for the applicable record. Capture scheduled date, amount, balance components where stated and any assumptions shown, but do not silently calculate provider figures into the document. When terms change, preserve the old schedule and label the replacement with its effective date and authorising amendment. Compare the first deduction with the controlling schedule promptly. A mismatch opens a reconciliation question; it is not corrected by altering the saved schedule.
Run a dual-entry payment ledger
Enter what the agreement or current schedule expected in one set of fields and what the borrower can prove occurred in another. For each actual payment, record transaction date, value date if different, amount, channel, sender account, provider reference and receipt location. Do not infer allocation among principal, interest, fees or arrears unless the provider's statement shows it. A payroll or debit deduction should be reconciled to both the household account and provider account where records are available. Note reversals and failed collections as separate events rather than deleting them. The dual view reveals differences while keeping the contractual expectation and transaction evidence intact.
Queue and reconcile exceptions
Open an exception row for an unexpected amount, date, duplicate deduction, missing receipt, unrecognised fee, unexplained balance or payment not allocated as expected. State the evidence, amount in dispute, date discovered and precise question sent to the provider. Continue to distinguish the disputed component from undisputed obligations and ask for written guidance before changing payment behaviour. Attach the provider's explanation, corrected statement or rejection without overwriting the original. If internal resolution fails, convert the queue into the complaint record for the provider's correct supervisory route. A numbered exception is easier to investigate than a broad statement that the account is wrong, and it preserves the history if several corrections occur.
Version every contractual change
A restructure, payment arrangement, date shift, fee correction or other variation should be linked to the provider's written communication and the borrower's documented acceptance where required. Record effective date, affected clauses, old and new schedule references, reason stated and unresolved consequences. Do not merge a telephone promise into the original PDF or assume a portal display amended the contract. Ask for confirmation through the official channel. If several proposals were discussed, label declined and expired versions so they cannot later be mistaken for operative terms. Recalculate the household budget from the current documented obligation, while leaving provider calculations exactly as issued. Version control protects both decision making and any later complaint about what changed.
Document settlement and retention
When the borrower believes the loan is paid, compare the ledger with the provider's current statement and request written closure or settlement confirmation through its official route. Record any final adjustment separately. Do not treat the disappearance of an app balance or the end of a payroll deduction as proof that every obligation is closed. Preserve the agreement, amendments, schedules, payment evidence, complaints and final status under a deliberate retention policy, protected from casual device access. Keep a minimal index even if sensitive working copies are securely disposed of later. If a disputed deduction appears after closure, the final package should show the authorised end state and enable a precise query without exposing unrelated household records.