> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ascentplatform.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ascentplatform.io/reviews/what-is-a-review.md).

# What is a Review?

A Review in Ascent is a scheduled checkpoint on a Product. It is the mechanism by which your institution gathers documents, evaluates covenants, and records decisions on a loan, line of credit, or other product after it has been booked. Reviews are most commonly used for annual reviews, periodic financial statement collection, covenant compliance checks, and any other recurring servicing task that requires touching a borrower and producing an internal record.

While Leads represent the application phase of the customer journey, Reviews represent the servicing phase. The two share a similar shape — a workspace, a set of actions, internal notes, and borrower communication — but Reviews are oriented around ongoing monitoring rather than initial approval.

### Where Reviews Come From

A Review is always associated with a single Product (typically a loan). Reviews can be generated in three ways:

* From a Product-level Review Definition that applies to every loan booked under a product
* From a loan-specific Instance Review Definition that applies only to that one loan
* As a one-off Review created manually for a specific loan

The first two options run on a cadence — for example, "every twelve months, opening sixty days before the due date." See [Configuring Reviews on a Product](/reviews/configuring-reviews-on-a-product.md) and [Configuring Reviews on a Loan](/reviews/configuring-reviews-on-a-loan.md) for how each is set up.

### Anatomy of a Review

Every Review contains:

* A **name** — usually derived from the product and the cadence (e.g., "Annual Review")
* A **due date** — when the Review is expected to be complete
* A **status** — *Open*, *Completed*, or *Overdue* (an Open Review past its due date)
* A set of **File Requests** — the documents the borrower must submit
* A set of **Covenants** — the testable conditions evaluated as part of the Review
* An **assignee** — the staff member responsible for working the Review
* A **primary contact** — the borrower-side individual the Review is directed to
* **Notes** — internal commentary, with threaded replies

A Review is not considered complete until its covenants are decided and any outstanding File Requests have been resolved. See [Completing, Reopening, and Reminders](/reviews/completing-reopening-and-reminders.md) for the rules that apply when marking a Review complete.

### How Staff Interact with Reviews

Most day-to-day work happens in two places. The **Reviews Pipeline** is the workspace where staff see every active Review in one table, filter by status or due date, and pick up the next item to work. The **Review Details** page is where a single Review is worked end-to-end — sending and accepting File Requests, deciding covenants, recording notes, and marking the Review complete.

### Relationship to Other Concepts

Reviews build on several other concepts that exist elsewhere in Ascent:

* **Loans and other Products** — every Review belongs to a single booked loan (or other Product). Reviews never exist on their own.
* **Borrower document requests** — File Requests on a Review use the same document-request mechanism Ascent uses elsewhere, so the borrower's experience of being asked for a document looks consistent with what they see during an application.
* **Covenant rules** — each covenant on a Review evaluates an underlying rule (for example, a debt-service-coverage-ratio comparison) against the values that apply to this specific loan.

If you are new to Ascent generally, the [Terminology Used in This Guide](/welcome-to-ascent/terminology-used-in-this-guide.md) page is a good orientation — it now includes the Reviews-specific terms alongside the platform-wide ones.