Looking for a Canadian alternative to Joist?

Joist is a solid product. It was built in Canada — that's worth acknowledging. But it's grown into a platform designed primarily for a North American (read: US-dominant) market, and the gaps show for Canadian contractors who need native GST/HST handling, BC-jurisdiction contracts, PIPEDA compliance, and real French support.

Muninn is what happens when a BC contractor builds the software he actually needed.

Joist is a good product. Here's where the fit breaks down for Canadian contractors.

We're not here to run Joist down. For a US solo contractor doing light residential work, it gets the job done. It has a large user base, a mature mobile app, and a reasonable free tier.

But when you're a Canadian contractor — especially in BC, Ontario, or Quebec — you'll hit friction points that Joist wasn't designed to solve:

Tax handling. Canada has a patchwork of federal and provincial sales taxes — GST, HST (in five provinces), PST (in BC, SK, MB), and QST (in Quebec). Getting these right on estimates and invoices isn't optional; it's what your clients expect and what CRA requires on your records. US-first software often treats Canadian tax as a manual configuration problem.

Terms and Conditions. Your T&C should reference the construction-lien legislation in the province where the work is happening — the BC Builders Lien Act, Ontario's Construction Act, Alberta's Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act, Quebec's legal hypothec of construction under the Code civil, and so on. A generic US-drafted contract doesn't give you that protection in any Canadian jurisdiction — and if a dispute ever goes to court, you want your T&C written for the right jurisdiction.

Privacy law. PIPEDA governs personal information in Canada. Quebec's Law 25, in full force since 2023, adds additional requirements for businesses handling the personal information of Quebec residents. If you're collecting client names, addresses, and project details, that's personal information under Canadian law.

Currency. This one is simple but real. If your billing platform is USD-primary, you're paying FX on every month's subscription. It's not a lot — but it's a small reminder that you're a secondary market.

Language. Joist has some French functionality. Muninn has real Canadian French — Quebec French, written by someone who understands the terminology, not machine-translated from English.

The Muninn difference: built for Canada, by a Canadian contractor

Chad Belanger built Muninn because he was running Great Raven Renovations Ltd. in BC and couldn't find software that fit the way Canadian renovation contracting actually works. Muninn Technologies Inc. is the result — a Canadian company, run by a Canadian contractor, for Canadian contractors.

Here's what that means in the product:

• 16 trade-specific T&C templates with built-in jurisdiction selector across all 13 Canadian provinces and territories — roofing, renovation, kitchen, bathroom, decking, flooring, framing, painting, exterior cladding, windows and doors, insulation, tile and waterproofing, concrete and foundation, hazmat, snowguard, and labour-only. Quebec variant uses civil-law treatment (legal hypothec of construction, Code civil arts. 2724–2728, RBQ licensing). The other twelve reference each jurisdiction's construction-lien act.
• GST/HST/PST natively configured — you set your province, it calculates correctly, and your reports break out sales tax for CRA
• Pricing in CAD — always, with no FX
• PIPEDA and Law 25 posture — Canadian company, Canadian privacy law
• Real bilingual support — French UI, French documents, Quebec French terminology
• Canadian support team — same time zones, people who know what a lien holdback is

Switch from Joist in 5 minutes

Drop your last Joist estimate PDF into Muninn — we'll rebuild your line-item library.

Muninn reads Joist estimate PDFs and imports the structure, line items, and pricing into your Muninn library. You don't start from zero. You don't re-enter every material. You pick up where you left off, in software that fits your actual market.

You can also import via CSV: clients, items, estimates, invoices, and expenses. If you've been doing your record-keeping in a spreadsheet, you can bring that in too.

Reserve my spot → muninn.ca/#waitlist

Joist vs. Muninn — a fair comparison

*Joist pricing and features are based on publicly available information as of mid-2025. Always verify current pricing at joist.com.*

Who should stay on Joist

If you're primarily doing US work, work in USD, and don't have Quebec clients or BC-specific legal requirements — Joist is a well-built product and there's no reason to switch. It has a large feature set and a mobile app that works well.

Who should look at Muninn

If you're a Canadian contractor who:

• Needs HST/GST/PST to calculate correctly without manual workarounds
• Works anywhere in Canada and wants T&C that actually reference the construction-lien legislation in their province or territory
• Has clients in Quebec and needs to be compliant with Law 25
• Is paying USD for a tool that was never really designed for your market
• Wants real Canadian French for your bilingual clients
• Wants to talk to support people in your time zone who know Canadian construction

...then Muninn was built for you.

Muninn pricing — CAD, no surprises

Annual billing saves approximately 17%. No credit card required.

What the migration actually looks like

1. Create a free Muninn account — takes about 2 minutes
2. Drop your last Joist estimate PDF into the import tool — Muninn reads the line items and rebuilds your library
3. Configure your tax rates — select your province and Muninn sets up GST/HST/PST correctly
4. Pick your T&C template — choose the one that matches your trade from the 16-template library, or write your own on Pro
5. Send your first estimate — your client gets a link to approve and pay a deposit

If you want to import your client list and historical estimates, export from Joist as CSV and upload. The whole thing takes under 30 minutes if you're moving a full library.

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.

Frequently asked questions

Does Muninn work on iPhone?

Yes. Muninn is a Progressive Web App (PWA) — install it on your iPhone from Safari and it works like a native app, including offline access.

Does Muninn have eSignature?

Yes, on all plans including Free. Clients sign directly in their browser from the client portal link — no app install, no PDF download, no email-and-return workflow.

What does "jurisdiction-aware T&C" actually mean?

Every Canadian province and territory has its own construction-lien legislation — the BC Builders Lien Act, Ontario's Construction Act, Alberta's Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act, Saskatchewan's Builders' Lien Act, Quebec's legal hypothec of construction under articles 2724–2728 of the Code civil, and so on. These laws give contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers the right to register a lien (or, in Quebec, a hypothec) against a property if they haven't been paid. For the protection to hold up, your contract needs to properly document the work, the payment terms, and the relationship — and reference the correct legislation. Muninn's T&C library has 16 trade templates × 13 jurisdictions, so the right legislation gets cited every time. A US template gives you none of that.

Can I try Muninn for free before committing?

Muninn is currently in closed beta with a waitlist. The Free plan (5 docs/month) is available once you're onboarded, with no credit card required. Paid plans have a 14-day free trial.

Is my client data safe under Canadian law?

Muninn is a Canadian company subject to PIPEDA and Quebec's Law 25. Your client data is handled under Canadian privacy legislation.

Does Muninn replace my accounting software?

No. Muninn handles estimates, invoices, job costing, expenses, and client management. It's designed to work alongside your accounting software (QuickBooks, Wave, FreshBooks, etc.) — CSV export makes it easy to move data across.

Can multiple people on my team use Muninn?

Multi-user team access is available on the Studio plan at $99 CAD/month. Starter and Pro are single-user.

Is Muninn available across all of Canada?

Muninn is built for contractors across Canada. The T&C library covers all 13 jurisdictions — BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, NS, PE, NL, YT, NT, NU — with Quebec getting civil-law treatment (hypothec, Code civil, RBQ). Tax, billing, and document features work everywhere. Contractors in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and beyond are welcome.

Reserve your spot

Muninn is in closed beta. We're onboarding contractors starting in British Columbia, with national rollout in progress.

Reserve my spot → muninn.ca/#waitlist