diff --git a/gress/__init__.py b/gress/__init__.py
index 8c99f12..801fabc 100644
--- a/gress/__init__.py
+++ b/gress/__init__.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #  Copyright (c) Martin Strohalm. All rights reserved.
 
 # set version
-version = (0, 4, 0)
+version = (0, 4, 1)
 
 # import constants
 from .enums import *
diff --git a/gress/bar.py b/gress/bar.py
index 581fff3..00186de 100644
--- a/gress/bar.py
+++ b/gress/bar.py
@@ -389,6 +389,10 @@ def finish(self, *widgets):
                 name in curly brackets (e.g. 'Processed: {count} ETA: {eta}').
         """
         
+        # start if needed
+        if self._start_time is None:
+            self.start(0)
+        
         # just write widgets if finished already
         if self._finished:
             self.write(*widgets, permanent=True)
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 18070b7..689ff85 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 from setuptools import setup, find_packages
 
 # set version
-version = "0.4.0"
+version = "0.4.1"
 
 # get description
 with open("README.md", "r", encoding="utf8") as fh: