diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 042a7e6..4054241 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -62,6 +62,10 @@ The `ConfigInstance` interface represents the your way to interact with the conf
 - **Description**: Retrieves the resolved options from the configuration object. Useful for debugging.
 - **Returns**: The resolved options, which are an instance of `BaseOptions`.
 
+##### `initializeMetrics(registry: promClient.Registry): void`
+- **Description**: Initializes the metrics for the configuration.
+- **Parameters**:
+  - `registry` (`promClient.Registry`): The prometheus registry to use for the metrics.
 
 # Configuration Options
 
@@ -114,11 +118,6 @@ This package allows you to configure various options for loading and managing co
 - **Default**: `./config`
 - **Description**: The path to the local configuration folder.
 
-### `metricsRegistry`
-- **Type**: `promClient.Registry`
-- **Optional**: `true`
-- **Description**: The prometheus registry to use for metrics. If not provided, metrics are not provided.
-
 ## Environment Variable Configuration
 
 The following environment variables can be used to configure the options:
diff --git a/src/config.ts b/src/config.ts
index 74dc1c0..9c53aba 100644
--- a/src/config.ts
+++ b/src/config.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import deepmerge from 'deepmerge';
 import { typeSymbol } from '@map-colonies/schemas/build/schemas/symbol';
 import configPkg from 'config';
 import semver from 'semver';
+import type { Registry } from 'prom-client';
 import lodash, { type GetFieldType } from 'lodash';
 import { getEnvValues } from './env';
 import { BaseOptions, ConfigOptions, ConfigInstance, Config } from './types';
@@ -12,7 +13,7 @@ import { ajvConfigValidator, validate } from './validator';
 import { createDebug } from './utils/debug';
 import { LOCAL_SCHEMAS_PACKAGE_VERSION } from './constants';
 import { createConfigError } from './errors';
-import { initializeMetrics } from './metrics';
+import { initializeMetrics as initializeMetricsInternal } from './metrics';
 
 const debug = createDebug('config');
 
@@ -102,10 +103,6 @@ export async function config<T extends { [typeSymbol]: unknown; $id: string }>(
   // freeze the merged config so it can't be modified by the package user
   Object.freeze(validatedConfig);
 
-  if (metricsRegistry) {
-    initializeMetrics(metricsRegistry, baseSchema.$id, serverConfigResponse?.version);
-  }
-
   function get<TPath extends string>(path: TPath): GetFieldType<T[typeof typeSymbol], TPath> {
     debug('get called with path: %s', path);
     // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unsafe-return
@@ -131,5 +128,9 @@ export async function config<T extends { [typeSymbol]: unknown; $id: string }>(
     return getOptions();
   }
 
-  return { get, getAll, getConfigParts, getResolvedOptions };
+  function initializeMetrics(registry: Registry): void {
+    initializeMetricsInternal(registry, baseSchema.$id, serverConfigResponse?.version);
+  }
+
+  return { get, getAll, getConfigParts, getResolvedOptions, initializeMetrics };
 }
diff --git a/src/metrics.ts b/src/metrics.ts
index fb0c45a..c1a4d8c 100644
--- a/src/metrics.ts
+++ b/src/metrics.ts
@@ -11,16 +11,18 @@ const MILLISECONDS_PER_SECOND = 1000;
 let promClient: typeof import('prom-client') | undefined;
 
 function loadPromClient(): void {
-  if (promClient === undefined) {
-    debug('loading prom-client');
-    try {
-      // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unsafe-assignment
-      promClient = require('prom-client');
-    } catch (error) {
-      console.log('error', error);
-
-      throw createConfigError('promClientNotInstalledError', 'prom-client is not installed and metrics was initialized', error as Error);
-    }
+  if (promClient !== undefined) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  debug('loading prom-client');
+  try {
+    // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unsafe-assignment
+    promClient = require('prom-client');
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.log('error', error);
+
+    throw createConfigError('promClientNotInstalledError', 'prom-client is not installed and metrics was initialized', error as Error);
   }
 }
 
@@ -51,7 +53,7 @@ export function initializeMetrics(registry: Registry, schemaId: string, actualVe
       schema_id: schemaId,
     },
 
-    Date.now() / MILLISECONDS_PER_SECOND
+    Math.round(Date.now() / MILLISECONDS_PER_SECOND)
   );
 
   /* eslint-enable @typescript-eslint/naming-convention */
diff --git a/src/types.ts b/src/types.ts
index dac9dfa..a0a12cc 100644
--- a/src/types.ts
+++ b/src/types.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { typeSymbol } from '@map-colonies/schemas/build/schemas/symbol';
 import { JSONSchemaType } from 'ajv';
+import { initial } from 'lodash';
 import type { Registry } from 'prom-client';
 
 type Prettify<T> = {
@@ -139,4 +140,10 @@ export interface ConfigInstance<T> {
    * @returns The resolved options.
    */
   getResolvedOptions: () => BaseOptions;
+
+  /**
+   * Initializes the metrics for the configuration object.
+   * @param registry - The registry for the metrics.
+   */
+  initializeMetrics: (registry: Registry) => void;
 }