Under the Radar: Time and money are not the kind of things that many small business owners seem to have in abundance. But Martin Langedijk is aiming to help them save a bit of both and make their lives that little bit easier by helping them to switch to online accounting, writes Ciarán Brennan.

The 35-year Dutchman is managing director of Proact Online Solutions, a company that specialises in providing web-based accounting to businesses and accountants in Ireland. The company is the authorised reseller of the Netherlands-based Twinfield accounting web service in Ireland.

Cost savings, great efficiencies and instant access to management information are the key benefits of the service, according to Langedijk.

"A medium-sized company with revenues of €2 million is likely to be spending around €2,000 per month on bookkeeping, billing and monthly management accounts," he says.

"That's €24,000 a year. We have demonstrated that we can save that business 35 per cent or €8,400 just by adopting our so-simple system. By bringing the entire process online, this business can save on hardware costs as well. As well as that there's no time spent on back-up, software management or installation and there are no big upfront licence fees. We've even estimated that this typical business could save €1,500 by minimising cheque payments and using the Twinfield EMTS payment option."

Internet banking is the new driving force behind change in the accounting process, according to Langedijk. By fully embracing internet banking, minimising the use of cheques and using an accounts system that interfaces with internet banking, companies can reduce the time spent on bookkeeping by more than a third, he says.

"Using cheque payments leads to an unpredictable cash flow. Payments through internet banking provide businesses with more control and visibility. The idea that cash flow can be improved by saying to suppliers 'the cheque is on the way' is no longer of this time. Using the internet bank statement as the source for your bookkeeping does away with the monster called bank reconciliation. Indeed Bank of Ireland's own website says that its clients can save approximately 75 per cent on the cost of processing payments by moving to online banking."

Proact recently clinched a major deal to provide more than 150 pharmacies in the Independent Pharmacy Ownership Scheme (Ipos) network with their own online accounting service.

"That has been a breakthrough for us as a company here in Ireland," he says.

When fully implemented, the Twinfield accounting system will not only provide timely monthly financial information but will also give Ipos the ability to benchmark the pharmacies against each other, thereby identifying any problem and success areas more quickly, he says.

More than 250 businesses in Ireland are now using Twinfield to make their accounting more efficient, according to Langedijk.

The Dutchman has his Irish-born wife and fellow director Maireád to thank for the fact that he is running his own business in Co Carlow. The two met while travelling in Australia and they spent 10 years working in the UK and the Netherlands before establishing a business here.

Setting up a new business is never easy. Langedijk had originally wanted to launch his business in Ireland back in 2002 but the lamentable lack of broadband back then made it virtually impossible. Instead, he spent nearly two years working with Twinfield in Amsterdam before eventually moving to Ireland in 2004 and launching his business in April 2005.

"For a year and a half we worked very closely with Lalor O'Shea Chartered Accountants to prepare the Twinfield platform for the Irish market. And in 2008, adding more software to our portfolio, we changed the name to Proact to make it clear that we offered more than Twinfield solutions," he says.

Langedijk says he is impressed with the business culture in Ireland, particularly the "can do" attitude of entrepreneurs.

"There is a lot of efficiency here. People are very to the point. You could spend hours in Holland discussing things," he says.

In 2006, the company won the Carlow County Enterprise Award and Langedijk is also full of praise for the business support environment here.

"We are based in Enterprise House which is co-run by the enterprise board," he says. "There are fantastic facilities but you also have a lot of training around it and you have the services of a business coach . . . I can't be too positive about the support network."

ON THE RECORD

Name:Martin Langedijk.

Age:35.

Background:Originally from a town near Rotterdam in the Netherlands, he studied retail business. He joined Procter & Gamble before leaving to go travelling. While travelling he met his wife and fellow director Maireád.

Lived in England for a year and a half and spent about seven years in Holland in IT jobs, mainly working as a business consultant for a number of software companies, implementing financial systems.

Inspired by:"From a business point of view I admire quite a few people around me here in Carlow. In life I admire people like David Attenborough. I have read his biography and it is mind-blowing what he has done and achieved in his lifetime."

Most likes to:"If I don't play squash every week I get really ratty so I need to get on the squash course at least once a week." Also enjoys walking in the Blackstairs mountains, reading, soccer and cycling.

Favourite book: The Travellerby John Twelve Hawks