The problem with estimating software built for somewhere else
Most estimating apps on the market were built in the United States, for US contractors. That's not a criticism — it's just a fact. And it means every Canadian contractor using them is working around the edges: manually calculating HST instead of having it built in, using a T&C template that cites US jurisdiction, storing client data under privacy rules that don't map to PIPEDA or Quebec's Law 25, paying in USD with exchange rate surprises every billing cycle, and calling support lines staffed in a different time zone who've never heard of the BC Builders Lien Act, Ontario's Construction Act, or Quebec's legal hypothec of construction.
Muninn was built to close that gap. Not to be the “Canadian version” of something else — but to be the software a Canadian contractor would have built if they'd built it for themselves. Which is exactly what happened.
Who built it — and why
Chad Belanger runs Great Raven Renovations Ltd., a renovation contracting company based in British Columbia. He's been on job sites long enough to know what a real Canadian estimate looks like: labour and materials with HST broken out, a payment schedule tied to draw milestones, and a set of terms that actually reference the construction-lien legislation in the province where the work is happening — whether that's the BC Builders Lien Act, Ontario's Construction Act, Alberta's Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act, or Quebec's legal hypothec of construction.
He built Muninn because Joist and similar tools didn't fit that reality. Not because they're bad — they work well for what they were designed for — but because Canadian contractors have specific legal, tax, and language requirements that US-first software treats as edge cases. Chad treated them as the foundation.
Muninn Technologies Inc. is a operated by Great Raven Renovations Ltd., transitioning to Muninn Technologies Inc. (), headquartered on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. Great Raven Renovations Ltd. is Tenant #1 on the platform — meaning Chad's own company uses Muninn every day. That matters. The software gets tested in the field before it gets shipped to you.
Why Canadian-made matters for your business
1. Tax is built in — properly
Canadian contractors deal with four overlapping tax regimes: GST (federal), HST (harmonized in ON, NB, NS, NL, PEI), PST (separate in BC, SK, MB), and QST (Quebec, layered on top of GST). Muninn handles all of them natively in your estimates and invoices. The reports tab includes a dedicated Sales Tax / GST report with date-range filtering and CSV export — built for your accountant, not an American one.
You don't configure a workaround. Tax just works.
2. Terms & Conditions tailored to your jurisdiction
Muninn ships with a library of 16 trade-specific T&C templates, each with a built-in jurisdiction selector covering all 13 Canadian provinces and territories. When you create an estimate, you pick the trade (roofing, renovation, kitchen, bathroom, etc.) and the jurisdiction (BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, NS, PE, NL, YT, NT, NU). Quebec gets civil-law treatment — references to the legal hypothec of construction under articles 2724–2728 of the Code civil du Québec, and RBQ licensing language. The other twelve jurisdictions reference the relevant construction-lien act for that province or territory. A generic US template gives you none of that.
The T&C library covers: renovation, roofing, snowguard, kitchen, bathroom, decking, flooring, painting, framing, exterior cladding, windows and doors, insulation, tile and waterproofing, concrete and foundation, hazardous materials, and labour-only contracts.
3. CAD pricing — no FX games
Muninn is priced in Canadian dollars. Always. There's no USD conversion happening in the background, no surprise on your credit card statement when the exchange rate moves. What you see is what you pay.
- Free — $0/month (5 estimates and 5 invoices / month, eSignature, bilingual EN/FR)
- Starter — $39 CAD/month (unlimited docs, expenses, draw milestones, change orders, 8-platform PDF + CSV import)
- Pro — $89 CAD/month (everything in Starter + Lite AI bundled: AI Estimating Agent, AI receipt OCR & expense by job, 16 trade-specific T&C templates with jurisdiction selector, revenue/tax/job costing reports)
- Studio — $164 CAD/month (everything in Pro + up to 5 team members)
- Scale — Custom (unlimited users, SSO, dedicated CS, multi-company, Premium AI included)
4. PIPEDA and Law 25 compliance
If you work in Quebec — or if you have clients in Quebec — you're operating under Law 25 (Loi 25), Quebec's private-sector privacy legislation, which came into full force in 2023. Across Canada, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) governs how you collect and use client data.
Muninn is a Canadian company operating under Canadian law. Your client data stays subject to Canadian privacy legislation. You're not consenting to US data practices in the fine print.
5. Support from people who know Canada
When you email Muninn support, you're reaching a Canadian team operating in the same time zones you work in — Pacific, Mountain, Central, Atlantic. They know what HST is. They know what a lien holdback is. They know what a renovation permit in BC looks like.
No overseas call centres. No “I'll escalate this to our tax team.” Real answers, same time zone, from people who have been on Canadian job sites.
6. Real bilingual support — Quebec French included
Muninn is fully bilingual in English and Canadian French. Not auto-translated French — actual Quebec French, with the terminology that Quebec contractors use. The UI switches language. Your estimates, invoices, and client communications can be generated in either language. If your client is in Montréal or Québec City, you can send them a document that reads like it was written by someone from there, because it was.
What Muninn does
Muninn is a multi-tenant SaaS estimating and project management platform for renovation contractors. Here's what that means in practice:
Estimates and invoices
Build estimates from a line-item library, add trade-specific materials and labour, apply GST/HST/PST/QST, attach your T&C, and send for eSignature — all in one flow. Convert an approved estimate to an invoice in one click.
Client portal
Clients get a secure, mobile-friendly link to review, approve (eSign), and pay a deposit via Stripe. There's a message thread in the portal so they can ask questions without it getting lost in your email. No app install required on their end.
AI estimating agent
Describe the scope of a job in plain language — “full kitchen reno, gut to studs, new cabinets, LVP flooring” — and the AI estimating agent drafts a structured line-item list. You review, adjust, and send. It doesn't replace your expertise; it gives you a starting point in two minutes instead of twenty. Available on Pro and Studio plans.
Draw milestones and change orders
Structure payment around project milestones. Issue change orders when scope shifts. Keep a documented record of every change, every approval, every payment — which matters if you ever need to enforce a lien.
Expenses and receipt OCR
Photograph a receipt on your phone. The AI reads it, extracts the amount, GST, vendor, and date, and logs it to the job. Job costing that doesn't require a spreadsheet. Receipt OCR is a Pro+ feature.
Reports covering estimates, invoices, and job costing
Revenue, Sales Tax/GST, Job Costing, Expenses, and more — covering estimates, invoices, and job costing for your bookkeeper. Built for Canadian tax filing, not a US 1099 workflow.
Import from Joist (or CSV)
Already using Joist? Drop your last estimate PDF into Muninn — it reads it, rebuilds the line items, and imports your library. You can also import clients, items, estimates, invoices, and expenses via CSV. Migration takes minutes.
Available through your web browser
Access Muninn through your web browser.
Help Centre + Ask Muninn AI
Every page in the app has a built-in Help Centre — ten plain-English guides covering estimates, clients, the portal, reports, expenses, import, settings, AI, bilingual mode, and plans. When the guide doesn't answer your question, the Ask Muninn tab opens an AI assistant trained on the product. It replies in whichever language you have the app set to. No tickets, no waiting, no California time zone.
Muninn pricing — CAD, no surprises
| Plan | Price | Key features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month | 5 estimates and 5 invoices / month, clients, eSignature, bilingual |
| Starter | $39 CAD/month | Unlimited docs, expenses, draw milestones, change orders, 8-platform PDF + CSV import |
| Pro | $89 CAD/month | Everything in Starter + Lite AI bundled (AI Estimating Agent, AI receipt OCR & expense by job), 16 trade-specific T&C templates with jurisdiction selector, revenue/tax/job costing reports |
| Studio | $164 CAD/month | Everything in Pro + up to 10 team members included, optional Premium AI add-on (+$19 CAD/month), priority support |
| Scale | Custom | Unlimited users, SSO, dedicated CS, multi-company, Premium AI included |
No credit card required for the permanent Free tier.
How Muninn compares
There are more than a dozen estimating platforms marketed to Canadian contractors. Almost all of them were built for the US market first, then translated for Canada as an afterthought. Here's how the five most common alternatives stack up.
| Platform | Priced in | French UI | Made in Canada | 8-platform import | Est. starting $CAD/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muninn | CAD | Yes — native EN/FR | Yes — Salt Spring Island, BC | Yes | $39 |
| Jobber | CAD | Partial | Yes — Edmonton, AB | No | ~$41 |
| Joist | USD | No — English only | No — USA | No | ~$14 CAD ($10 USD) |
| Buildxact | CAD (converted) | No — English only | No — Australia | No | ~$205 CAD ($149 USD) |
| Buildertrend | USD | No — English only | No — Omaha, NE | No | Volume-anchored 2026 |
| Contractor Foreman | USD | No — English only | No — Louisiana | No | ~$67 CAD ($49 USD) |
Muninn is the only platform on this list built in Canada that ships in native French, prices in CAD, and imports data from every major competitor above. Jobber is the closest peer — a Canadian company, competitively priced, but without full French support or an importer path off other platforms.
Who Muninn is for
- Solo renovation contractors in BC or anywhere in Canada who want estimates that look professional and contracts that hold up
- Small renovation crews (Starter or Pro) who need expenses, job costing, and milestone billing
- Established renovation studios (Studio) who need multi-user access and team management
- Bilingual contractors in Quebec, Ontario, or New Brunswick who need French-language documents without doing the translation themselves
- Anyone migrating off Joist who wants a platform built for Canada from the ground up
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Muninn Technologies Inc. is a operated by Great Raven Renovations Ltd., transitioning to Muninn Technologies Inc., incorporated and headquartered on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada. The founder, Chad Belanger, is a BC renovation contractor.
GST (federal), HST (used in Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and PEI), PST (used separately in BC, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba), and QST (Quebec Sales Tax, layered on top of GST). You configure your applicable tax rates in settings, and they're applied automatically to your estimates and invoices.
The T&C templates cover all 13 Canadian jurisdictions — BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, NS, PE, NL, YT, NT, NU. Quebec gets civil-law treatment (legal hypothec of construction, Code civil arts. 2724–2728, RBQ licensing); the rest reference each province or territory's construction-lien act. They are not a substitute for legal advice — work involving complex liens, large commercial scopes, or unusual ownership structures should still be reviewed by a local lawyer. But they're a significantly better starting point than a US template, in any Canadian jurisdiction.
Muninn is a Canadian company subject to Canadian privacy law, including PIPEDA and Quebec's Law 25. Your client data is handled under Canadian legal frameworks.
The main differences are the AI Estimating Agent, AI receipt OCR, and the 16 trade-specific T&C templates with jurisdiction selector — all Pro-and-above features. On Starter, you use the existing T&C template library and build estimates manually. On Pro, you unlock the AI estimating agent, AI receipt scanning for expenses, and the ability to write custom terms for your specific business.
Yes. Muninn is fully bilingual in English and Canadian French. You can switch the interface language, and documents can be generated in either language.
Muninn is a Progressive Web App (PWA). Install it on your iPhone or Android from your browser and it works like a native app, including offline access to existing documents.
Yes. Drop a Joist estimate PDF into Muninn and it will read the line items and rebuild your library. You can also import clients, items, estimates, invoices, and expenses via CSV.
A draw milestone is a payment checkpoint tied to a project phase — for example, “25% deposit on signing, 25% on framing completion, 25% on rough-in, 25% on completion.” Muninn lets you structure estimates and invoices around milestone draws, which is standard practice for BC renovation contracts.
Not yet — Muninn is releasing soon. Join the waitlist at muninn.ca and you'll be first in line when self-serve signup opens. Pricing at launch: Free tier will include 5 estimates and invoices per month with no credit card; paid tiers start at $39 CAD/month.
Jobber is the closest peer to Muninn — both are Canadian companies, both price in CAD, and both are competitively priced (Jobber starts around $41 CAD/month, Muninn Starter is $39). The main differences: Muninn ships in native English and Canadian French out of the box (Jobber's French support is partial); Muninn imports estimates and clients from Joist, Buildxact, ServiceTitan, Contractor+, Houzz Pro, JobTread, Knowify, and Jobber itself, so migrating in takes minutes; and Muninn's T&C templates cover all 13 Canadian jurisdictions with province-specific lien language. Jobber is stronger on field service scheduling and dispatch — Muninn is stronger on estimating, invoicing, and job costing for renovation crews.
Muninn ships an 8-platform importer covering the most common Canadian and North American contractor tools: Joist, Jobber, Buildxact, ServiceTitan, Contractor+, Houzz Pro, JobTread, and Knowify. Estimates, invoices, clients, and item libraries come through as either CSV exports or PDF documents. If your current platform isn't on the list, we can usually accept a CSV export from anything that produces one — email hello@muninn.ca and we'll take a look.
On a raw sticker basis, Joist is cheaper (~$10 USD, roughly $14 CAD after conversion). But Joist has no French UI, no Canadian tax structure, no PIPEDA or Law 25 compliance framework, no Canadian jurisdiction-specific T&C templates, and no CAD billing (which means FX fees and monthly rate variance on every invoice). For a solo contractor doing basic invoicing in English, Joist works. For anyone dealing with Canadian tax rules, French-speaking clients, or contract disputes under Canadian law, the total cost of running a US platform is higher than the sticker price suggests. Buildxact and Buildertrend are actually more expensive than Muninn once you convert their USD pricing.
This is a manifesto, not a brochure
Most software is built by people who studied your industry from the outside. Muninn was built from the inside — by someone who has pulled permits in BC, hired sub-trades, dealt with a client who disputed a payment, and needed the T&C to actually say something legally useful.
The Canadian contractor market has been underserved by software for too long. Not because the tools are bad — some of them are excellent — but because they were built for a different regulatory environment, a different currency, and a different language landscape.
Muninn is built for the environment you actually operate in.
Reserve your spot
Muninn is now onboarding contractors region by region, starting in British Columbia.
Reserve my spotNo credit card. No commitment. Just your name, email, and the province you work in.