Summary: Superior Granny Flats has been building granny flats, the Australian term for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), in Victoria and Queensland, Australia, for 24 years. It uses Canibuild’s quoting software for builders to check each lot against local ADU building regulations and produce an itemized 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 ADU output in Queensland from around 50 to more than 100 a year.
Superior Granny Flats at a glance
- Company: Superior Granny Flats
- Industry: Granny flat (ADU) 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 an ADU builder in Queensland and Victoria, Australia. 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 local council (the Australian equivalent of a city or county planning authority), each with its own rule set.
Why manual quoting couldn’t keep up with ADU 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 lot, 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.
ADU building regulations decide whether a site is viable, and an ADU only goes ahead on a lot 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 operations in both states from one platform. A typical quote now happens in three steps, all in the same client meeting.
Step 1: Check the lot against ADU building regulations
Brian looks up the client’s lot in Canibuild to see whether an ADU can be built there under the zoning and planning rules that apply to that site.
Step 2: Place and adjust the design on the client’s real lot
Brian drops a design onto the client’s actual lot, then flips and rotates the 3D model in real time while the client watches.
Step 3: Build a priced, itemized quote with SmartQuote
Brian builds a fully priced, itemized 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 ADU builds 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, itemized 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 realize how many I could do. It proves how many I can get through if I have to.”
Superior now builds more than 100 ADUs 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 subdivisions
New subdivisions are a recurring problem for ADU builders. A lot can be subdivided and sold before the local council formally finalizes 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 favorite part of the process happens in front of the customer:
“One of my favorite 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 local jurisdictions and a mix of standard and custom designs. Three changes drove its results:
- Site feasibility moved to the start of the sales conversation. Unbuildable lots are now ruled out in minutes.
- Quoting moved into the client meeting. Inquiries 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 ADU output in Queensland doubled to more than 100 a year. Its lean sales team now handles custom designs across dozens of jurisdictions without rebuilding a quote from scratch.
If your team still checks ADU zoning and setback rules by hand and rebuilds every proposal in Word, Canibuild can show you what’s buildable on a lot 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, itemized proposals for clients. Canibuild combines quoting with site feasibility, so a builder can check whether a design fits a specific lot under local zoning 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 labor. 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 itemized quote quickly and reuse custom items on later jobs.
What is the best construction estimating software for ADU builders?
It depends on how a builder works. Builders who quote across multiple jurisdictions should look for software that checks each lot against local ADU regulations, shows the design on the client’s actual lot, stores reusable priced line items and adds new subdivisions quickly. Superior Granny Flats uses Canibuild for all four.
What ADU building regulations affect whether a lot can be quoted?
Setback, access and slope requirements decide whether an ADU can be built on a lot, and these rules vary from one jurisdiction to the next. Superior Granny Flats checks each site against the applicable rules in Canibuild before quoting, so it doesn’t spend time on lots that can’t be built on. For current requirements in the US, check with your city or county planning department.
Can you build an ADU on any lot?
No. Each local jurisdiction applies its own rules, and a lot has to pass setback, access and slope checks before an ADU can go ahead. In Queensland, Superior Granny Flats quotes across councils from Coolangatta to Bundaberg and west to Miles, and checks each lot’s feasibility before quoting. The same principle applies in the US, where ADU rules are set at the state, city and county level.
How long does it take to quote an ADU 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.
Does Canibuild work for builders in the US?
Yes. Canibuild is a feasibility and quoting platform used by residential builders in both the US and Australia. Superior Granny Flats uses it across two Australian states, with the Additional State add-on covering both 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 lots in new subdivisions?
Yes. According to Superior Granny Flats, Canibuild has added new estates “way before any other software,” which lets the team quote on newly subdivided lots before council records are finalized.
