• Sage

• Perf. Paper

Potted history

Business Support Solutions (UK) Limited was incorporated in 2000, and trades as Business Support Solutions. The company is based in Shetland, and is run by Kevin Learmonth. The vast majority of customers are located on the UK mainland, and most are in South East England. In fact we have over 2400 customers and continue to gain new customers on a daily basis.

Originally our main focus was on selling, supporting and training on Sage accounts and payroll packages. One day around 2004 Kevin had the bright idea of getting some A4 sheets with a perforation to send out invoices, and a tear-off slip for a customer to return with their cheque (yes, that dates us, posting invoices, payment by cheque). Of course Sage invoice paper was available off the shelf, but the layout and  pre-printed area made it inflexible. We wanted a sheet which could be used for lots of different jobs; a multi-purpose A4 perforated sheet. With a background in print and design, he knew he wanted a micro-perforation, they look good, seperate cleanly, and don't leave chaff in the printer.

It turned out there wasn't an off the shelf option. Producing a single box was going to be expensive. We asked about 10 boxes - better, but we needed a much lower unit cost. The first pallet load of perforated sheets sat in out office for months. We were selling locally, but not fast enough. We added it to our website, suddenly one day, someone bought some. Then someone else. Then the first company came back and ordered more. We had a market! The stack began to reduce. We got another pallet load. Companies started to ask for different perforation positions. Multiple labels on a sheet. we had began to transition from an IT company to a company specialising in blank perforated paper. Yes, like "The Office", but with much better customer service.

Our range of perforated paper is now held at key distribution centres in England for speed of dispatch (and to avoid scary carriage costs from Shetland!). We no longer produce by the pallet, we produce by the 10s of pallets. We still dispatch single boxes to customers all over the UK, but we also dispatch by the truck load to some of the biggest names in UK retail. In the past few years a number of competitors have appeared, most have simply copied our products (as well as our original descriptions!), which is amusing to see some of our least popular products faithfully reproduced (who needs a perforation at 43mm!). We're still going strong nearly 2 decades later because we know our perf. A4 products inside out, and  we provide consistent and reliable service to our customers regardless of their size and spend. Some order monthly, some order every 2 years. If you phone or email, we will bring up your account details instantly, and can happily advise on what will work best for you.

What you get

Our pitch is that we offer exceptional customer service and business professionalism. All our paper is in-stock and availabe to dispatch. Get your order to us by 12 noon and we'll get it out same day. We work 9 - 5, Monday to Friday. We don't really do marketing, no youtube, no social media; what we do is get the essentials right:  we answer the phone when it rings, we respond to emails within minutes, we process orders immediately, our accounting and administration is efficient. We are happy to answer your questions, and to give our honest opinion of that would work best for you (even if it's not to use perforated paper).  We are organised, efficiant, and refreshingly human. We don't have a mad switchboard which requires you to choose from 8 options, you will not be put on hold and told  "your call is important to us". You will get a proper VAT receipt when you order from us. We will go the extra mile to sort things out if something goes wrong.