With CDs, you usually earn a higher interest rate than you get on other bank deposit investments. The reason is simple: The bank feels comfortable that the funds will stay in your account until the maturity date.

The drawback, of course, is that withdrawals from a CD before maturity generally result in a penalty. However, look for advertised bank promotions that offer CDs with no early withdrawal penalty. In some cases, this no-penalty option can be exercised after a certain length of time - sometimes as brief as two weeks. In other cases, you can withdraw money at periodic dates throughout the life of the CD.

Another smart strategy is to stagger maturity dates on several CDs, rather than having one deposit make up a single CD. That way, you get access to your cash on a continuing basis.

In any event, keep in mind that interest rates may be negotiable, based on the strength of your banking relationship.

2. Money Market Accounts pay interest and give you some access to your funds. With these accounts, you can write checks and make deposits whenever additional funds become available. However, you can usually make only a limited number of withdrawals during a given period, say, three in a month.

Unfortunately, money market accounts aren't designed to handle all of your checks or withdrawals. But with basic cash management, they can be an easy way to earn interest and have access to the funds on a limited basis.

3. "Sweep Accounts" are essentially checking accounts in which you give the bank permission to invest or "sweep" some money into an interest-bearing account on a day-to-day basis. These accounts aren't always promoted by banks so you may have to ask if they are available.

Here's an example of how they work: Let's say your company routinely keeps large amounts of cash on deposit for short periods. With a sweep account, you instruct the bank to transfer any amounts in excess of, say, $25,000 into investments like overnight paper or repurchase agreements.

In essence, you transformed a no-interest account into one that pays you interest.

There are several variations on this theme. For instance, with a "reverse sweep account," your company keeps almost no money in a regular checking account. When you write checks, the bank pays them with funds that are swept from an interest bearing account.

A word of caution: Sweep accounts may not be FDIC insured. This happens when your excess funds are swept from an insured bank account to an investment that is not covered by FDIC insurance. If the bank fails, you may lose some of your money. Of course, even with a traditional account, FDIC only covers the first $100,000 on deposit. So if you have much more cash routinely sitting in a no-interest checking account, you're not risking much by sweeping the amount in excess of $100,000.