Some accounts pay out APY monthly, while others use different payout periods, such as daily or quarterly. While payout frequency matters in terms of when you receive that extra cash and how your balance can compound, the accrual rate also matters. A daily accrual rate, for example, means that if you deposit money from a sale on the fifth of the month, you'll still have the remaining 26 days or so (depending on the month) to earn interest on that higher balance.