If you want to write a business report in PowerPoint, you may find the process overwhelming. In addition to creating a report from scratch and translating it into a PowerPoint slide show, there's the added stress of making sure you miss nothing from a report. A monthly sales report requires different information than a general financial report, and a report on project completion requires a different format than a report on milestones reached. Thankfully, PowerPoint comes with prebuilt templates that you can use to guide you through the process.

Click the "Microsoft Office" button and then click "New."

Click "Reports" and then click "Project and Status Reports."

Click the type of report you need. For example, click "Milestone Summary Report" if you want to make a presentation about milestones reached in your business, "Project Report" if you are reporting on the successful completion of a project or "Monthly Report" for periodical reporting.

Click "Download" to download and install the template to your computer. The template will automatically open up in PowerPoint.

Click the "Title" slide and replace the generic information with your information. For example, on the Milestone Summary template, type your company name in place of "Company name."

Click the second slide in the template. Replace the generic information with your information. The template will often offer guidelines and tips. For example, the second slide of the Milestone template is the Introduction. Replace the "<Replace this text with a statement of this goal." statement with your own goal.

Continue working through the slide, filling out the requested information.For example, slide 7 of the Milestone template is a graph. Click on the graph items that are surrounded by arrows. For example, click on the "" and add the changes made to the scope of your business since the last milestone review. Adding additional slides, figures, or information is not necessary--the template guides you through the process and prompts you for the essential information.

Tip

Not all templates find their way into the correct categories. If you know exactly what kind of report you want, type the name into the "Search" text box at the top of the New Presentation window. For example, type "Business Financial Report" to bring up a financial report template.