diff --git a/backend/src/main/app-resources/default.yml b/backend/src/main/app-resources/default.yml
index 5ba247176..9ea447808 100644
--- a/backend/src/main/app-resources/default.yml
+++ b/backend/src/main/app-resources/default.yml
@@ -24,14 +24,14 @@
 ## Only set the installationID if you wish to define the ID used by the beacon. RECOMMENDED: ignore - a default random value will be used
 ## Only change the urls if instructed or if you wish to redirect for testing (if multiple, separate list with commas
 ## Only change the productName for testing purposes
-## Set the cron time to send the beacon data at a specific time - if unset, the system will send at a random time between 12AM and 4AM once per day
+## Set the cron time to send the beacon data at a specific time - if unset, the system will send at a random time between 12AM and 4AM once per day (random preferred)
 #  beacon:
 #    enabled: ture
 #    installationID: [user-defined value]
 #    urls: http://collector.testbed.tier.internet2.edu:5001
 #    productName: ShibUI
 #    send:
-#      cron: 0 4 * * * *
+#      cron: 0 59 3 * * ?
 
 #  pac4j-enabled: true
 #  pac4j:
diff --git a/backend/src/main/java/edu/internet2/tier/shibboleth/admin/ui/configuration/CoreShibUiConfiguration.java b/backend/src/main/java/edu/internet2/tier/shibboleth/admin/ui/configuration/CoreShibUiConfiguration.java
index 5bd6d0937..e6b7fee40 100644
--- a/backend/src/main/java/edu/internet2/tier/shibboleth/admin/ui/configuration/CoreShibUiConfiguration.java
+++ b/backend/src/main/java/edu/internet2/tier/shibboleth/admin/ui/configuration/CoreShibUiConfiguration.java
@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@
 import edu.internet2.tier.shibboleth.admin.util.EntityDescriptorConversionUtils;
 import edu.internet2.tier.shibboleth.admin.util.LuceneUtility;
 import edu.internet2.tier.shibboleth.admin.util.ModelRepresentationConversions;
-import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
 import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
 import net.javacrumbs.shedlock.core.LockProvider;
 import net.javacrumbs.shedlock.provider.jdbctemplate.JdbcTemplateLockProvider;
@@ -277,7 +276,7 @@ public LockProvider lockProvider(DataSource dataSource) {
     }
 
     @Bean
-    public String getBeaconCronValue(BeaconConfigurationRepository repo)
+    public String getBeaconCronValue(BeaconConfigurationRepository repo, @Value("${shibui.beacon.send.cron:nodefault}") String valueFromConfig)
     {
         Optional<BeaconConfiguration> obc = repo.findById(1);
         BeaconConfiguration bc;
@@ -286,8 +285,16 @@ public String getBeaconCronValue(BeaconConfigurationRepository repo)
             BeaconConfiguration newbc = new BeaconConfiguration();
             Random rand = new Random();
             String cron = "0 " + rand.nextInt(60) + " " + rand.nextInt(4) + " * * ?";
+            if (valueFromConfig.endsWith("?")) {
+                cron = valueFromConfig;
+            }
             newbc.setSendCron(cron);
-            repo.save(newbc);
+            try {
+                repo.save(newbc);
+            }
+            catch(Exception e) {
+                log.debug("Error trying to create new BEACON CRON - should be ok");
+            }
             bc = repo.findById(1).get();
         } else {
             bc = obc.get();
diff --git a/backend/src/main/resources/application.properties b/backend/src/main/resources/application.properties
index 3c4d83008..49487c448 100644
--- a/backend/src/main/resources/application.properties
+++ b/backend/src/main/resources/application.properties
@@ -125,6 +125,7 @@ shibui.beacon.enabled=true
 shibui.beacon.productName=ShibUi
 shibui.beacon.installationID=UNICON-SHIBUI-TESTING
 shibui.beacon.url=http://collector.testbed.tier.internet2.edu:5001
+#shibui.beacon.send.cron=0 59 3 * * ?
 
 ### Swagger/Springdoc patterns
 springdoc.use-management-port=true
@@ -137,5 +138,5 @@ management.server.port=9090
 management.endpoints.web.cors.allowed-origins=*
 management.endpoints.web.cors.allowed-headers=*
 
-### Lucene temp dir location to use
-shibui.lucene.dir=/var/tmp/shibui-cache
\ No newline at end of file
+# When true, this will remove the validUntil attribute for an EntityDescriptor uploaded from XML source, only set to false if you want the XML uploaded as is
+# shibui.remove.EntityDescriptor.validUntil=true
\ No newline at end of file