4Work – Time Tracking

What it does

Clock-in and clock-out can use a tap, Siri or a combined Shortcut. A reminder can prompt a forgotten start at a chosen time. Break rules deduct time at a fixed point, within a window after hours worked or when no time is known. Inspect these rules before interpreting totals; the configured break policy affects the record even when the visual interface looks simple.

Days appear against their target, with weekly and monthly views and overtime totals. Entries and breaks can be corrected, and an optional warning flags a day above a limit. A useful initial test would record a harmless sample, then compare its timestamps, break deductions and target with the calculation you intended.

Schedules can use weekly hours or separate weekday hours and can change over time. Each carries vacation days, and days before its start are not counted as missing time. Leave records include vacation, sickness, time off in lieu, special leave and carried-over days. The source describes a sick day within vacation as returning that vacation day, which is a product rule to inspect against the user's actual arrangement.

Places can represent the home office, office or another address. Goals include minimum office attendance or a maximum home-office proportion. Pro adds location-based automatic clocking and a morning question about work location. These controls could support a mixed work pattern without proving that a detected place always represents working time.

PDF timesheets have previews, CSV export and optional signature lines. Annual reports and automatic reports for completed months are listed. On Mac the app has a window and menu-bar clock, but only suggests clocking in. The source explicitly distinguishes that behavior from automatic recording, so a Mac suggestion should not be described as a completed time entry.

Before you install

German-state holidays automatically reduce targets, and the daily-limit hint follows the home market's rules. A US user should not infer US holiday coverage, wage compliance or a legally correct overtime calculation. Check the actual schedule and leave conventions before using a total in client or employment discussions.

Automatic clocking requires its own evaluation. Compare actual entries after arriving, leaving or changing the work pattern, and check how corrections are made. We have not measured location accuracy, background behavior or battery effects. A location-based suggestion or event should remain distinct from proof of time worked.

The developer describes no separate account, own server, ads, analytics or tracking, with place comparison on the device and no location history. Weekly local backups and optional private-iCloud synchronization are separate data routes. Review the chosen setting and test an ordinary restoration path before treating a record as safely preserved.

Price and access

The US download is free. The first 30 days include every feature without payment details. Afterward, clocking, hours, schedules, leave, the first goal and Shortcuts remain free. Pro adds exports and reports, automatic place-based clocking, widgets, Live Activity and more goals. Monthly, yearly and one-time purchases are offered, with Family Sharing; exact US prices are not supplied. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the period ends.

Our take

The strongest proposition is an understandable personal time record with visible schedule assumptions. A freelancer can evaluate whether it answers a practical question about hours or location patterns without treating its German-specific policy hints as universal.

Start with a short sample schedule, inspect one correction and preview an export during the trial. Check what remains free against the workflow you actually need. Our assessment is a source-based introduction, not a tested endorsement of automation, payroll accuracy or compliance.

For a schedule change, inspect days on both sides of the boundary. The source says earlier days are not counted as missing before a schedule starts, so a useful evaluation would verify that behavior with disposable sample entries rather than changing an established record first.

A work-location goal measures the configured categories, not the quality or legitimacy of the work. Decide how a mixed-location day should be represented before interpreting a percentage. The source does not establish every partial-day or travel convention.

Export a sample before relying on it for a client or manager. Check the name, period, breaks and signature lines, and confirm what the recipient actually needs. A PDF is a presentation of the underlying entries, not independent approval of them.

The source lists both local backup sharing and synchronization. Those are not interchangeable protections: a synchronized change can travel between devices, while a backup concerns recovering a previous saved state. We have not verified the actual recovery semantics.