When the contract is finally let, there are a number of things which it should cover that are intended to protect the finances of the owner. For instance, the contractor should be required to maintain insurance that will protect him from the claims under workmen’s compensation acts, and from any other claims for damages for personal injury, including death, which might arise from the operations of building. The owner should also maintain a similar liability insurance to protect himself. The owner should carry a fire insurance on the entire building and materials to at least 80 per cent of the total value. When there is doubt as to the financial strength of a contractor, he should be required to furnish a bond covering the faithful performance of the contract and the payment of all obligations. Then, too, it is customary to set forth cash allowances in the specifications to cover certain items, like plumbing fixtures, hardware, and electric light fixtures. The contractor should be made to declare that the contract sum includes these cash allowances. Careful understanding with the contractor should be arranged as to the method by which he will be paid. Generally, as was previously stated, the financing institution has control over the schedule of payments, and, once this is agreeable to the contractor, he should be required to submit to the architect an application for each payment, with receipts and other vouchers, showing his payments for materials and labor, including payments to subcontractors, at least ten days before each payment falls due. It is the duty of the architect to determine the accuracy of each one of these applications for payment before he issues the certificate of payment for such amount as he decides is properly due. There are some architects who make it a practice to hold back a certain percentage of the first payment, and continue this with every later payment, until the last, in order to have a club over the head of the contractor and also a factor of safety, lest the builder has rendered an application for payment in excess of the amount of labor and material delivered. This, of course, will cause hard feelings sometimes, and create friction between architect and contractor, a thing studiously to be avoided, and for this cause such procedure should be dropped when the architect knows the character of the contractor.