A method and system for electronically clearing financial instruments may include receiving electronic files of items containing data scanned from financial instruments including an amount of each instrument, and applying a rule to sort the items by determining whether the item may be stored or forwarded for clearing without storage. The rule may include determining whether an amount of the instrument exceeds a predetermined value, and if so, forwarding the instrument for clearing, or if not, storing the item for forwarding at a later time when the per item fee for clearing is lower. The system may include a control for receiving electronic files from a scanning device and applying a rule to sort the files by determining whether each file should be stored or forwarded and an image export server for converting the files to a preferred format and transmitting them for clearing.