Summary: Superior Granny Flats has been building granny flats in Victoria and Queensland for 24 years. It uses Canibuild’s quoting software for builders to check each site against local granny flat building regulations and produce an itemised quote during the first client meeting. Since adopting Canibuild in 2022, Superior has cut quote time from more than two hours to under 30 minutes and doubled its output of granny flats in Queensland from around 50 to more than 100 a year.
Superior Granny Flats at a glance
- Company: Superior Granny Flats
- Industry: Granny flat and secondary dwelling builder
- Locations: Victoria and Queensland, Australia
- Years operating: 24
- Annual output: An average of 250 units a year across both states
- Canibuild customer since: 2022
- Canibuild products used: SiteCheck, SmartQuote, Additional State add-on, Premium Imagery (Nearmap) add-on
- Headline results: Quote time cut from 2+ hours to under 30 minutes; Queensland builds doubled from ~50 to 100+ a year
For Brian Fuller, Sales Manager at Superior Granny Flats, moving to Canibuild felt like moving from a landline to a smartphone:
“It’s almost like asking about the value of a mobile phone. That’s how much it’s changed.”
Who is Superior Granny Flats?
Superior Granny Flats is a builder of granny flats in Queensland and Victoria. It started in Victoria 24 years ago, expanded into Queensland a decade ago, and now delivers an average of 250 units a year across both states for investors, homeowners and, increasingly, adult children looking for a secondary dwelling.
The team builds standard designs, modifies existing plans and creates fully custom designs, depending on the client’s budget and goals. Its Queensland work covers sites from Coolangatta in the south to Bundaberg in the north and west to Miles. Nearly every job falls under a different council with its own rule set.
Why manual quoting couldn’t keep up with granny flat building regulations
Before Canibuild, Superior quoted using Word documents and hand drawings. Each quote required the sales team to manually check whether a design fit the block, re-pull zoning information and rebuild the proposal largely from scratch.
“I used to just work from a book and write things down,” Brian says. A single quote could take more than two hours.
Granny flat building regulations decide whether a site is viable, and a granny flat only goes ahead on a site that passes setback, access and slope checks. Those rules change from council to council across Superior’s territory, so the sales team often spent hours qualifying a site only to find it couldn’t be built on.
How Superior uses construction quoting software to quote in one meeting
Superior uses Canibuild’s SiteCheck and SmartQuote together, with the Additional State and Premium Imagery (Nearmap) add-ons, to run its Victorian and Queensland operations from one platform. A typical quote now happens in three steps, all in the same client meeting.
Step 1: Check the site against granny flat building regulations
Brian looks up the client’s block in Canibuild to see whether a granny flat can be built there under the planning rules that apply to that site.
Step 2: Place and adjust the design on the client’s real block
Brian drops a design onto the client’s actual block, then flips and rotates the 3D model in real time while the client watches.
Step 3: Build a priced, itemised quote with SmartQuote
Brian builds a fully priced, itemised quote before the meeting ends. When a custom job needs a new line item, the team adds it to SmartQuote once, and it stays priced and available for every future job.
“The quoting tool has all the different components in it. Because we do a lot of specialty, unique, and custom designs, we can add new items into the quoting tool, and they’re already there and already priced. It just makes it easier for us, and even for the client, to see what the options are and how quickly things can be changed.”
— Brian Fuller, Sales Manager, Superior Granny Flats
Results: Superior’s granny flats in Queensland doubled from 50 to 100+ a year
| Metric | Before Canibuild | With Canibuild |
|---|---|---|
| Time to generate a quote | 2+ hours | Under 30 minutes |
| Queensland builds per year | ~50 | 100+ |
| Quoting process | Word docs, hand drawings, manual zoning checks | Instant site assessment, live 3D model, itemised SmartQuote |
| Peak personal output | Not tracked | 28 quotes in a single 5-hour session |
The time saved went straight into sales capacity. On a quiet Sunday, Brian came into the office to catch up on his pipeline:
“I did 28 quotes in about five hours, with no distractions… I didn’t realise how many I could do. It proves how many I can get through if I have to.”
Superior now builds more than 100 granny flats in Queensland each year, up from around 50. Brian and his colleague Mark are on track to beat last year’s total before the year ends.
How Superior’s use of residential construction estimating and quoting software has grown since 2022
Superior’s site lookups have increased every year since the team went live:
| Year | Billed lookups | Total lookups |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 634 | 1,027 |
| 2023 | 2,185 | 4,943 |
| 2024 | 2,691 | 7,305 |
| 2025 | 3,790 | 11,194 |
| 2026 (year to date) | 3,654 | 8,223 |
The team has run more than 32,000 site lookups through Canibuild in total. Lookups grew roughly elevenfold between 2022 and 2025 while the sales team stayed the same size.
About this data: Quote times, build volumes and output figures were reported by Superior Granny Flats in an interview with Brian Fuller, Sales Manager, in March 2026. Site lookup figures come from Canibuild platform records for Superior’s account, with 2026 figures current to October 2026. This case study is published with the permission of Superior Granny Flats.
How quoting software for builders handles new land estates
New estates are a recurring problem for granny flat builders. A block can be subdivided and sold before council formally finalises it, which leaves sales teams unable to quote until the records catch up.
Brian says Canibuild closes that gap faster than other software:
“Whenever we’ve had issues with new estates, you guys have been able to get onto it and get them added really quickly, way before any other software. We wouldn’t have been able to do anything before that. It just gives us more scope to do more things.”
How does live quoting change the client experience?
Brian’s favourite part of the process happens in front of the customer:
“One of my favourite things is when I’m sitting with customers, moving the design around, flipping it over, doing all the things I do, and they’re blown away. Sometimes people don’t like to ask for things, but when they see how easily I can move it around, add a deck, add a carport, whatever, we get it done in a short period of time, and they walk away having enjoyed the experience.”
Because clients can see changes such as a deck or carport added on the spot, they ask for options they might otherwise have kept to themselves, and they leave the first meeting with a priced quote.
Estimating software for small builders: what Superior’s results show
Superior runs a lean sales team across two states, dozens of councils and a mix of standard and custom designs. Three changes drove its results:
- Site feasibility moved to the start of the sales conversation. Unbuildable sites are now ruled out in minutes.
- Quoting moved into the client meeting. Enquiries turn into priced proposals the same day.
- Custom line items are priced once and reused. Each new custom job makes the next one faster.
For small builders comparing estimating and quoting software, Superior’s numbers give a useful benchmark: under 30 minutes per quote, 28 quotes in a five-hour session, and double the annual builds in Queensland without adding sales headcount.
In Brian’s words
“Canibuild speaks for itself. If there’s something better, I’d like to know about it, but in the real world, this is probably as good as it gets, and you guys are improving all the time. It’s a tool that’s grown with us. From the early stages to where we are now, it’s chalk and cheese. I loved it back then, and it’s only got better.”
— Brian Fuller, Sales Manager, Superior Granny Flats
The takeaway: quote on the first call
Superior Granny Flats moved site feasibility and quoting into the first client meeting. Its quote time fell from more than two hours to under 30 minutes, and its output of granny flats in Queensland doubled to more than 100 a year. Its lean sales team now handles custom designs across dozens of councils without rebuilding a quote from scratch.
If your team still checks granny flat building regulations by hand and rebuilds every proposal in Word, Canibuild can show you what’s buildable on a site and price it in the same meeting.
Book a demo to see how Canibuild’s quoting software for builders works on your next job.
Book a demoFrequently asked questions
What is quoting software for builders?
Quoting software for builders produces priced, itemised proposals for clients. Canibuild combines quoting with site feasibility, so a builder can check whether a design fits a specific block under local council rules and then quote it in the same session.
What is the difference between residential construction estimating software and quoting software?
Residential construction estimating software calculates the cost of a build, including materials and labour. Quoting software turns those costs into a proposal the client can review and accept. Canibuild’s SmartQuote stores pre-priced line items, so builders can produce an itemised quote quickly and reuse custom items on later jobs.
What is the best construction estimating software for granny flat builders?
It depends on how a builder works. Builders who quote across multiple councils should look for software that checks each site against local granny flat building regulations, shows the design on the client’s actual block, stores reusable priced line items and adds new land estates quickly. Superior Granny Flats uses Canibuild for all four.
What granny flat building regulations affect whether a site can be quoted?
Setback, access and slope requirements decide whether a granny flat can be built on a site, and these rules vary between councils. Superior Granny Flats checks each site against the applicable rules in Canibuild before quoting, so it doesn’t spend time on blocks that can’t be built on. For current requirements, check your state government’s planning guidance and your local council.
Can you build granny flats in Queensland on any block?
No. Each Queensland council applies its own rules, and a site has to pass setback, access and slope checks before a granny flat can go ahead. Superior Granny Flats quotes across councils from Coolangatta to Bundaberg and west to Miles, and checks each block’s feasibility before quoting. For current requirements, see the Queensland Government’s planning guidance on granny flats and your local council.
How long does it take to quote a granny flat with Canibuild?
Superior Granny Flats produces quotes in under 30 minutes, down from more than two hours with Word documents and hand drawings. Its Sales Manager has completed 28 quotes in a single five-hour session.
Is Canibuild a good option for building estimating software in Australia?
Canibuild is a feasibility and quoting platform used by Australian residential builders. Superior Granny Flats uses it across Victoria and Queensland, with the Additional State add-on covering both states from one platform.
Is estimating and quoting software worth it for small builders?
For Superior Granny Flats, the return showed up in output. Its Queensland builds doubled from around 50 to more than 100 a year, and site lookups grew every year without the sales team growing to match.
Can Canibuild quote on blocks in new land estates?
Yes. According to Superior Granny Flats, Canibuild has added new estates “way before any other software,” which lets the team quote on newly subdivided blocks before council records are finalised.
