You’ll want to encourage your Accounts Receivable and Collections staffers to look for even the slightest sign of problems from your small business customers.

They could go belly up, and your company could find itself without its money.

It’s a much more likely scenario than it was just a few months ago.

Small-biz bankruptcies skyrocketed nearly 81% from June 2008 to June 2009, says Equifax (www.equifax.com).

And if you have any customers located in these areas, you’re especially at risk. The 10 metro areas most impacted:

• Los Angeles, Riverside/San Bernardino and Sacramento, CA
• Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC
• Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA
• Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA
• Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX
• New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ
• California (excluding in-state MSAs)
• Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA
• Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA, and
• Denver-Aurora, CO.