This section will establish the total amount including sales tax that you are agreeing to pay for the work to be completed. Most contracts break the total amount into smaller progressive payments to be made at specific times during the project. This system usually works well in translating the proportion of work completed to payments applied. The balance of your payments you are holding will provide the incentive for the contractor to fulfill their contractual obligations. In some cases a third party may be introduced to hold the money in escrow to pending the fulfillment of the contract. Many contractors prefer that you pay using a credit card to accepting checks. This method of payment offers immediate results eliminating their need to deal with collections agencies to follow up on bad checks. It also will allow you to accumulate a large number of promotional points with your credit card company for perks like vacations. You should always be careful when you share sensitive financial information like credit card numbers. How can you be sure that it won’t fall into the wrong hands or be used without your authorization? Check into this. You may also need to call your credit card company to bypass any account limits for large purchases.