Late payments and operating costs soar Insurer Allianz has warned that businesses may struggle to access credit as operating costs hit their highest levels since 2008 and late payments soar. Credit is set to become more expensive and in shorter supply as companies become slower in making payments. While operational costs as a proportion of turnover have hit their highest level since the financial crisis, late payments also climbed last year, with nearly a fifth of businesses reporting that they were paid for their services after 90 or more days. Maxime Lemerle, lead analyst for insolvency research at Allianz, said that while late payments have driven up the costs of running a business, “lower growth, higher inflation, the higher cost of financing and more non-payments have all contributed.” Figures from Bibby Financial Services, which provides financial services to SMEs, show that the average level of bad debt - where a company suffers because clients fail to pay the full sum invoiced – have risen by 61% in the past year. Smaller companies have £16,641 of bad debt on average. Six in ten businesses said it was taking longer for customers to pay invoices in full.