For UK companies
Bespoke software for UK companies.
Niddo is a software product studio in Johannesburg that designs, builds and runs bespoke software for UK companies: in your working day, at a fixed price in pounds, with the code and the accounts in your name.
Overview
Expect from us what you would expect from a good London studio: one team that thinks the product through, designs it, engineers it and keeps it running. The difference is where we sit. Johannesburg is one hour ahead of London in summer and two in winter, so the working day is shared, and our cost base means the same scope usually costs noticeably less than a UK agency quote.
We build custom software and SaaS products, MVPs, the websites and interfaces around them, and automation and AI where it earns its place. We also take over platforms other teams built, as we are doing for KlarOK in Sweden, and we run our own SaaS, PanelDesk.
Why Niddo
A studio in your working day.
Your hours, not a night shift
Johannesburg runs on UTC+2 all year. At least six hours of the UK working day overlap ours, so standups, demos and same-day answers happen in your hours, with no overnight handoff.
One team, from scope to running it
The people who scope and design your product engineer it and support it after launch. Nothing is lost between an agency, a dev shop and a support contractor.
A fixed price in pounds
We scope with you first, then quote one figure in GBP, paid in milestones you accept on a staging environment. Changes are quoted before they are built, never slipped into an invoice.
Yours from day one
Repositories, cloud accounts and domains are in your name from the start, hosted in the UK or EU region you choose, and documented so any competent team could take over.
What we build
What we build for UK companies.
Scoped and priced up front, in pounds, whatever the shape of the work.
- 01MVPs and first versionsOne core workflow for one kind of user, live with real users in four to eight weeks.MVP development
- 02SaaS products and platformsMulti-tenant products with the accounts, billing, roles and reporting a paying product needs.Custom software & SaaS
- 03Operations softwareThe system your team runs the day on, replacing spreadsheets, shared calendars and message threads.See One Journey
- 04Taking over a live platformSoftware another team built, made reproducible, audited on real data and improved without a rewrite.How a takeover works
- 05Websites and product interfacesFast, accessible marketing sites and product UI that look like the software behind them.Web development
- 06Automation and AIIntegrations, workflow automation and AI agents that take the busywork out of the tools you already use.Automation & AI
Prices
What it costs, in pounds.
Typical ranges for our work. Every build is scoped with you and quoted as one fixed figure.
| What you are building | Typical scope | Price (GBP) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prototype | Designed screens, clickable, no real backend | £2,400 to £6,500 | 1 to 2 weeks |
| MVP | One core workflow, one user type, accounts, payments, a simple admin | £12,000 to £32,000 | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Full platform | Multiple roles, multi-tenancy, integrations, reporting, notifications, tests | £32,000 to £95,000 | 3 to 5 months |
| Regulated build | All of the above plus encryption, audit trails, compliance tooling and an external penetration test | £95,000 and up | 4 to 6 months |
For comparison, UK agencies typically publish MVP prices between £15,000 and £60,000, and senior UK contractors charge around £550 a day, £650 in London. The full picture, including the costs that are not the build, is in how much bespoke software costs in the UK.
Working hours
Six hours or more of your day, every day.
South Africa does not change its clocks, so the gap moves by an hour when the UK does.
| London | Johannesburg, during BST | Johannesburg, during GMT |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 |
| 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 |
| 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 |
| 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 |
Standups, demos and reviews sit inside the shared hours. Releases to production go out when your users are quietest, at a time agreed with you.
The practical side
Contracts, VAT, data and IR35.
The questions UK finance and legal teams ask before signing with a studio abroad, answered plainly.
Contract and ownership
A written agreement with a fixed scope, milestones and a change process. The intellectual property in what we build passes to you on payment, and the repositories and accounts are yours from the start. The contract can be governed by English law where that matters to you.
Invoices and VAT
Invoices are in pounds, paid by bank transfer or card, with no VAT added. A UK business buying services from abroad accounts for VAT itself under the reverse charge (HMRC Notice 741A), and a fully taxable business reclaims it on the same return.
UK GDPR and your data
Your product's data lives in the UK or EU region you choose. If our team can reach personal data, for example to support production, UK rules treat that access as a restricted transfer, and South Africa has no UK adequacy regulation, so the contract adds the International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum, with a transfer risk assessment. Access is agreed with you and limited to what the work needs.
IR35
A fixed-price project delivered by our company, with our staff working in South Africa, is normally outside the off-payroll rules: HMRC treats a fully contracted-out service as the supplier's responsibility (ESM10010). Check again if anyone would work from the UK.
R&D tax relief
If you claim it, plan for this: since April 2024, payments for R&D carried out overseas generally do not qualify under the merged scheme or ERIS, and cost is expressly not a valid reason for working abroad (CIRD150500). Compare quotes net of any relief you would have claimed.
How we meet
Video calls in your hours, a standing weekly demo, written updates and a staging environment you can open at any time. Visits to the UK are possible for longer engagements.
General information, checked against HMRC manuals and UK data protection guidance in October 2026. It is not tax or legal advice: confirm your position with your accountant or solicitor.
Proof
Already working with companies in Europe.
A tour company that runs across Europe on a platform we shipped in four weeks, and a Swedish compliance platform we took over while it was live.
Guides
Guides for UK companies.
What we would tell you before you spend a pound.
FAQ
Questions UK companies ask.
Do you work with companies in the UK?
Yes, remotely from Johannesburg, in your working hours, with a fixed price and invoices in pounds.
How much does bespoke software cost with you?
A focused MVP typically costs £12,000 to £32,000 and a full platform £32,000 to £95,000, quoted as one fixed figure after scoping. UK agencies typically publish MVP prices of £15,000 to £60,000. See the UK cost guide.
What is the time difference?
Johannesburg is on UTC+2 all year: one hour ahead of London during British Summer Time and two hours ahead in winter. At least six hours of the UK working day overlap ours.
Do you charge VAT?
No VAT is added to our invoices. As a UK business buying services from abroad, you account for VAT under the reverse charge on your own return, and if you are fully taxable you reclaim it on the same return. Your accountant can confirm your position.
Where will our data be hosted?
In the region you choose, usually AWS London or another UK or EU region. If our team needs access to personal data, the contract adds the UK's international transfer terms (the IDTA or the UK Addendum) and a transfer risk assessment, because South Africa has no UK adequacy regulation.
Does IR35 apply?
Normally not to a fixed-price project delivered by our company with our staff working outside the UK, because HMRC treats a fully contracted-out service as outside the off-payroll rules. It is worth checking if anyone would work from the UK.
Can we claim R&D tax relief on the build?
Generally not on work done overseas. Since April 2024, payments for R&D carried out outside the UK do not qualify under the merged scheme or ERIS except in narrow cases, and cost is not one of them. See outsourcing from the UK.
Can you take over a product another agency built?
Yes. We start with a fixed-price reproduction and audit on a copy of production, then improve it in phases, as we are doing for KlarOK. See how a takeover works.
Can we meet in person?
Most of the work runs on video calls, a weekly demo and a staging environment you can open at any time. Visits to the UK are possible for longer engagements.