Review Tracker Dashboard: Track Peer Reviews Free & Online

Review invitations pile up fast, and a missed deadline quietly damages your standing with an editor. This free dashboard keeps every review you owe in one list, with its journal, due date, and status, saved privately in your own browser so it is there every time you return.

What the tool does

The dashboard is a simple commitment list built for peer review. Each entry holds the manuscript title, the journal, a due date, and a status of invited, in progress, or done. Overdue items are marked clearly so nothing hides at the bottom of a list. Everything is stored in your browser’s local storage, which means no account, no sign-up, and no data sent to any server. Your list is yours alone, on the device you use.

How to use it

Add a review the moment you accept it, not when you start reading. Type the title, the journal, and the due date from the invitation email, then set the status to invited. Move it to in progress when you begin, and to done when you submit. Check the list once a week, ideally on the same day, and answer the oldest overdue item first. Delete entries you no longer owe, and clear the whole list only when you mean to start fresh.

Worked example

Imagine you owe three reviews: one due in five days, one due yesterday, and one you finished last week but forgot to mark. After adding all three, the dashboard shows the overdue one flagged, the five-day one plain, and the finished one marked done. That single view answers the only question that matters each Monday: what must I do this week, and what is already late? Answering it takes ten seconds, and it prevents the apologetic email nobody enjoys writing.

Reading the results honestly

A tracker only helps if it is complete. If you accept a review by email and forget to add it here, the dashboard will calmly tell you that you owe nothing, and it will be wrong. Make adding the entry part of accepting the invitation, in the same minute. Also be realistic about capacity: if the list shows four reviews due in the same week, that is a signal to decline the next invitation, not to work through the weekend.

Honest limits

This tool does not read your email, sync across devices, or remind you by notification, because it has no server and no account system. Clearing your browser data erases the list, so keep a backup note of active reviews elsewhere if they matter to your career. It tracks commitments; it cannot write the review, judge the manuscript, or negotiate an extension with an editor.

Practical tips for staying on top of reviews

Set a weekly review hour and protect it: open the dashboard, sort by due date in your head, and answer the oldest item first, even if a newer paper looks more interesting. When you accept a review, reply to the editor and add the entry in the same minute, while the due date is still on screen. If two deadlines collide, ask for an extension on the less urgent one early, not on the day it is due; editors grant early extensions far more happily than late apologies. Review your capacity honestly each month: if you have more than three active reviews, decline the next invitation with a short, polite note and suggest an alternative reviewer. That habit keeps your reputation intact and your reviews thoughtful. When a review is done, mark it done the same day you submit, so the list never shows finished work as pending and you never waste a Monday chasing a task that is already complete.

Embed this tool on your website — free

Copy the code below to add this working tool to your own page. A small credit link stays with it — that’s all we ask.