When COVID ended, there was a strange national assumption that small businesses would simply “bounce back”.
That things would settle.
That the hard part was over.

Three years on, every SME owner knows the truth:

The hard part started when COVID ended.

Because when the support stopped, the real economy re-appeared — and with it came:

• Higher input costs
• Shorter cash runways
• A tougher ATO
• More compliance than ever
• And customers with less willingness (or ability) to absorb higher prices

It’s no wonder many good business owners feel like they’ve been running uphill carrying bricks.

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What Post-COVID Australia Really Looks Like for SMEs

1. Demand is patchy – but costs never went back down

Materials, wages, energy, insurance, rent, freight, food, trades… everything has risen faster than official inflation numbers ever reflect.
Big business can absorb it.
Small business can’t.

Margins are squeezed. Owners work harder for less.

2. ATO debt is the highest in history — and the ATO is no longer gentle

Small businesses now owe around $35 billion in tax, most of it unpaid BAS, PAYG and super.
The ATO’s post-COVID patience is gone.
We see daily:

• Garnishees
• Director Penalty Notices
• Legal demands
• Wind-up threats
• No negotiation if lodgements are late

The message is clear: engage early or get crushed.

3. Insolvencies are rising fast — especially in construction and hospitality

Fixed-price contracts + cost blowouts + slow payments = collapse.
Construction now accounts for a quarter to a third of all insolvencies.
Hospitality and retail are close behind.

Good operators are failing — not because they’re bad at business, but because the environment is brutal.

4. The compliance burden has exploded

Employment laws have undergone the biggest overhaul in 15 years.
States have layered on:

• New building codes
• Security of Payment reforms
• Tougher WorkCover obligations
• Higher payroll tax exposures
• Endless reporting requirements

For many business owners, compliance now takes longer than the actual work.

5. Real inflation — the lived inflation — is far higher than reported

Business owners know the truth:
The real increase in the cost of running a small business is far higher than CPI.

The official numbers feel like fiction.
The bank balance does not lie.

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So How Do SMEs Survive This New World?

The answer is simple:

Not alone.

The days of “doing the books yourself” or “waiting until year-end to see how you went” are gone.
The system is too aggressive.
The penalties are too fast.
The margins are too small.

This is the era where SMEs need:

• Accurate monthly accounts
• Clean lodgements
• Negotiations with government and creditors
• Cash flow control
• Hard conversations
• Fast decision-making
• Professionals who know the terrain

And this — exactly this — is where Your Business Angels fits.

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Where YBA Stands in the Post-COVID Landscape

We aren’t accountants who sit in an office and issue reports.

We work at the collision point of:

Tax + Law + Cash Flow + Real-World Business Pressure.

For 30 years, we’ve helped business owners survive:

• ATO pressure
• Super arrears
• Payroll failures
• Complex debt
• Insolvency threats
• Industry collapses
• Vendor disputes
• Staffing shocks
• Legal claims
• High-stress decision making

And we do it with experience, authority, expertise and trust — because we’ve been in the trenches for decades.

What makes YBA different?

• We don’t judge.
• We don’t panic.
• We don’t disappear when the pressure hits.
• We don’t give vague advice.
• We don’t hand you a to-do list and wish you luck.

We roll up our sleeves, take control of the numbers, and work out a plan — then fight alongside you until the job is done.

We know how the ATO works.

We know what they accept.
We know what they reject.
We know how to negotiate.
We know how to keep you safe.

We understand every industry — construction, trades, cafes, transport, online retail, care, and more.

We’ve seen every combination of:

• Too much work
• Not enough cash
• Good margins destroyed by timing
• Debtors who don’t pay
• Business owners exhausted by compliance
• Employees walking out because wages have risen faster than revenue

No other firm in Australia has our combined depth of frontline experience and turnaround expertise.

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The Post-COVID Message to Business Owners

If you feel like you’ve been stumbling through the last few years…
If every month feels like another crisis to dodge…
If the ATO keeps you awake at night…
If your margins feel squeezed beyond reason…
If compliance feels impossible…

You’re not failing.

The system has changed.
The world has changed.
And no one prepared SMEs for it.

But this is the world Your Business Angels was built for.

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YBA — Experience. Authority. Expertise. Trust.

We stabilise businesses.
We negotiate with the ATO.
We create breathing room.
We clean the accounts.
We restore control.
We rebuild confidence.
We fight for your survival — and for your success.

Post-COVID Australia is tough for small business.
But you don’t have to face it alone.

Your Business Angels is here.
Right in the thick of it.
On your side.

Serviced by related company Fresh Number Pty Ltd