Patent ID: 8384928

Claim:
An image forming apparatus that charges for execution of a print job, comprising: an authentication unit configured to authenticate user information; a determination unit configured to determine whether or not a charging processing unit accepts a fee necessary in order to execute a print job which is associated with the user information authenticated by said authentication unit; an execution unit configured to execute the print job using data of the print job stored in a first storage area if said determination unit determines that the charging processing unit accepts the fee necessary in order to execute the print job; a control unit configured to, (i) if said authentication unit authenticates first user information and said determination unit determines that the charging processing unit does not accept a fee necessary in order to execute a first print job which is associated with the first user information, suspend execution of the first print job by said execution unit and hold first data of the first print job in the first storage area until said authentication unit authenticates second user information different from the first user information, (ii) if said authentication unit authenticates the second user information while the execution of the first print job is suspended, transfer the first data from the first storage area to a second storage area for saving the first data, accept execution of a second print job which is associated with the second user information to be executed by said execution unit and transfer second data of the accepted second job to the first storage area, and (iii) if said authentication unit authenticates the first user information again after the first data is started transferring from the first storage area to the second storage area, transfer the first data from the second storage area to the first storage area and resume suspended execution of the first print job using the first data transferred from the second storage area to the first storage area.