[PeterisP]

"Keeping money in escrow" is a big no-no. There is a huge difference between paying $X at the completion of the contract versus putting $X in escrow right now to be released later; the whole point of 'paying at date Y' is that you should be able to pay with money you don't have yet but will earn on Y-1.

Cash flow is cruicial for most businesses, freezing funds in escrow for weeks or months is expensive and often impossible for many smaller businesses who have limited lines of credit.

How would you feel if you'd be asked to put in escrow all your bill payments that would be due sometime in the next month ?