Item J is termed "Liquidated Damages" in contract jargon, and generally equates to what is the value of time. It sounds good, and it's a necessary feature in major contracts for facilities that produce a salable product, but for a services contract it's a tough thing to enforce. There's always some excuse to be made for why it's late, and getting a small business to agree up front that he'll knock off say $200 for every day past the due date is gonna be tough. Just sayin' it sounds good, but good luck getting a guy to agree up front, then double good luck enforcing it when he's late. Your best bet, in my experience, is to camp out at the guy's shop, and keep up a running dialog regarding why he's not working on your project. The squeaky wheel gets greased, and the bigger PITA you make yourself the more grease gets applied. My $0.02.