Patent ID: 7430605

Claim:
A method for document output accounting for use in accounting for document output in a document rendering system, comprising the steps of: receiving, from an associated user, an output request to commence a document output operation for a selected electronic document by invocation of a print driver, which output request is received by a bi-directional output driver disposed on a workstation; invoking the bi-directional output driver on the workstation upon receipt of an output request; generating a prompt for accounting information associated with each of a plurality of received document output requests, receiving accounting information relating to each received document output request, receiving, via an associated network, account code information retrieved from an associated output controller, verifying local accounting information via testing the accounting information against received account code information, within the output driver, to determine acceptability thereof, selectively communicating, via an associated network, in accordance with an output of the testing step, the accounting information to the associated output controller for completion of a secondary, remote verification thereof, subsequent to testing of the accounting information via the output driver, receiving from the associated output controller, via the associated network, confirmation data representative of acceptance of the accounting information, generating a second prompt for accounting information associated with the received document output request in the event that the output of the testing step indicates unacceptable accounting information, preventing communication of the electronic document, via the associated network, to the output controller to facilitate an output thereof until such time as the confirmation data indicates acceptance of accounting information; commencing transfer of the electronic document, via the associated network, to a storage associated with the output controller when the confirmation data indicates acceptance of the accounting information; preventing commencement of the document processing operation upon a loss of bi-directional communication of accounting information between the output driver and the associated output controller prior to completion of the secondary, remote verification; receiving cost data corresponding to a cost associated with the document output operation from the output controller; and displaying the cost data at the workstation.