diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/common/schema_utils.ts b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/common/schema_utils.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..1f924ab272bcc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/common/schema_utils.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright Elasticsearch B.V. and/or licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements. Licensed under the Elastic License;
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the Elastic License.
+ */
+
+import { ByteSizeValue } from '@kbn/config-schema';
+import moment from 'moment';
+
+/*
+ * For cleaner code: use these functions when a config schema value could be
+ * one type or another.  This allows you to treat the value as one type.
+ */
+
+export const durationToNumber = (value: number | moment.Duration): number => {
+  if (typeof value === 'number') {
+    return value;
+  }
+  return value.asMilliseconds();
+};
+
+export const numberToByteSizeValue = (value: number | ByteSizeValue) => {
+  if (typeof value === 'number') {
+    return new ByteSizeValue(value);
+  }
+
+  return value;
+};
+
+export const byteSizeValueToNumber = (value: number | ByteSizeValue) => {
+  if (typeof value === 'number') {
+    return value;
+  }
+
+  return value.getValueInBytes();
+};
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/public/components/report_listing.tsx b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/public/components/report_listing.tsx
index fc964fc599c62..a09ec22a93797 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/public/components/report_listing.tsx
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/public/components/report_listing.tsx
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@
 
 import {
   EuiBasicTable,
-  EuiFlexItem,
   EuiFlexGroup,
+  EuiFlexItem,
   EuiPageContent,
   EuiSpacer,
   EuiText,
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import { Subscription } from 'rxjs';
 import { ApplicationStart, ToastsSetup } from 'src/core/public';
 import { ILicense, LicensingPluginSetup } from '../../../licensing/public';
 import { Poller } from '../../common/poller';
+import { durationToNumber } from '../../common/schema_utils';
 import { JobStatuses } from '../../constants';
 import { checkLicense } from '../lib/license_check';
 import { JobQueueEntry, ReportingAPIClient } from '../lib/reporting_api_client';
@@ -185,10 +186,7 @@ class ReportListingUi extends Component<Props, State> {
     this.mounted = true;
     const { pollConfig, license$ } = this.props;
 
-    const pollFrequencyInMillis =
-      typeof pollConfig.jobsRefresh.interval === 'number'
-        ? pollConfig.jobsRefresh.interval
-        : pollConfig.jobsRefresh.interval.asMilliseconds();
+    const pollFrequencyInMillis = durationToNumber(pollConfig.jobsRefresh.interval);
     this.poller = new Poller({
       functionToPoll: () => {
         return this.fetchJobs();
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/public/plugin.tsx b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/public/plugin.tsx
index 1f2efbfcba889..a134377e194b8 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/public/plugin.tsx
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/public/plugin.tsx
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import {
 import { ManagementSetup } from '../../../../src/plugins/management/public';
 import { SharePluginSetup } from '../../../../src/plugins/share/public';
 import { LicensingPluginSetup } from '../../licensing/public';
+import { durationToNumber } from '../common/schema_utils';
 import { JobId, JobStatusBuckets, ReportingConfigType } from '../common/types';
 import { JOB_COMPLETION_NOTIFICATIONS_SESSION_KEY } from '../constants';
 import { getGeneralErrorToast } from './components';
@@ -158,8 +159,7 @@ export class ReportingPublicPlugin implements Plugin<void, void> {
     const { http, notifications } = core;
     const apiClient = new ReportingAPIClient(http);
     const streamHandler = new StreamHandler(notifications, apiClient);
-    const { interval: intervalRaw } = this.config.poll.jobsRefresh;
-    const interval = typeof intervalRaw === 'number' ? intervalRaw : intervalRaw.asMilliseconds();
+    const interval = durationToNumber(this.config.poll.jobsRefresh.interval);
     Rx.timer(0, interval)
       .pipe(
         takeUntil(this.stop$), // stop the interval when stop method is called
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/browsers/chromium/driver_factory/index.ts b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/browsers/chromium/driver_factory/index.ts
index 2ceb92a4fe399..6897f07c45e2b 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/browsers/chromium/driver_factory/index.ts
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/browsers/chromium/driver_factory/index.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import { InnerSubscriber } from 'rxjs/internal/InnerSubscriber';
 import { ignoreElements, map, mergeMap, tap } from 'rxjs/operators';
 import { getChromiumDisconnectedError } from '../';
 import { BROWSER_TYPE } from '../../../../common/constants';
+import { durationToNumber } from '../../../../common/schema_utils';
 import { CaptureConfig } from '../../../../server/types';
 import { LevelLogger } from '../../../lib';
 import { safeChildProcess } from '../../safe_child_process';
@@ -90,9 +91,7 @@ export class HeadlessChromiumDriverFactory {
 
         // Set the default timeout for all navigation methods to the openUrl timeout (30 seconds)
         // All waitFor methods have their own timeout config passed in to them
-        const timeoutRaw = this.captureConfig.timeouts.openUrl;
-        const timeout = typeof timeoutRaw === 'number' ? timeoutRaw : timeoutRaw.asMilliseconds();
-        page.setDefaultTimeout(timeout);
+        page.setDefaultTimeout(durationToNumber(this.captureConfig.timeouts.openUrl));
 
         logger.debug(`Browser page driver created`);
       } catch (err) {
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/export_types/csv/generate_csv/index.ts b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/export_types/csv/generate_csv/index.ts
index 5e8c36e9fe328..e383f21143149 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/export_types/csv/generate_csv/index.ts
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/export_types/csv/generate_csv/index.ts
@@ -4,12 +4,12 @@
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the Elastic License.
  */
 
-import { ByteSizeValue } from '@kbn/config-schema';
 import { i18n } from '@kbn/i18n';
 import { IUiSettingsClient } from 'src/core/server';
 import { ReportingConfig } from '../../../';
 import { CancellationToken } from '../../../../../../plugins/reporting/common';
 import { CSV_BOM_CHARS } from '../../../../common/constants';
+import { byteSizeValueToNumber } from '../../../../common/schema_utils';
 import { LevelLogger } from '../../../lib';
 import { getFieldFormats } from '../../../services';
 import { IndexPatternSavedObject, SavedSearchGeneratorResult } from '../types';
@@ -47,13 +47,6 @@ export interface GenerateCsvParams {
   conflictedTypesFields: string[];
 }
 
-const getBytes = (sizeBytes: number | ByteSizeValue): number => {
-  if (typeof sizeBytes === 'number') {
-    return sizeBytes;
-  }
-  return sizeBytes.getValueInBytes();
-};
-
 export function createGenerateCsv(logger: LevelLogger) {
   const hitIterator = createHitIterator(logger);
 
@@ -72,7 +65,7 @@ export function createGenerateCsv(logger: LevelLogger) {
     );
     const escapeValue = createEscapeValue(settings.quoteValues, settings.escapeFormulaValues);
     const bom = config.get('csv', 'useByteOrderMarkEncoding') ? CSV_BOM_CHARS : '';
-    const builder = new MaxSizeStringBuilder(getBytes(settings.maxSizeBytes), bom);
+    const builder = new MaxSizeStringBuilder(byteSizeValueToNumber(settings.maxSizeBytes), bom);
 
     const { fields, metaFields, conflictedTypesFields } = job;
     const header = `${fields.map(escapeValue).join(settings.separator)}\n`;
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/screenshots/get_number_of_items.ts b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/screenshots/get_number_of_items.ts
index 52c35e29eb995..89cb4221c96b2 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/screenshots/get_number_of_items.ts
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/screenshots/get_number_of_items.ts
@@ -5,9 +5,10 @@
  */
 
 import { i18n } from '@kbn/i18n';
+import { durationToNumber } from '../../../common/schema_utils';
+import { LevelLogger, startTrace } from '../';
 import { HeadlessChromiumDriver } from '../../browsers';
 import { CaptureConfig } from '../../types';
-import { LevelLogger, startTrace } from '../';
 import { LayoutInstance } from '../layouts';
 import { CONTEXT_GETNUMBEROFITEMS, CONTEXT_READMETADATA } from './constants';
 
@@ -31,8 +32,7 @@ export const getNumberOfItems = async (
     // the dashboard is using the `itemsCountAttribute` attribute to let us
     // know how many items to expect since gridster incrementally adds panels
     // we have to use this hint to wait for all of them
-    const timeoutRaw = captureConfig.timeouts.waitForElements;
-    const timeout = typeof timeoutRaw === 'number' ? timeoutRaw : timeoutRaw.asMilliseconds();
+    const timeout = durationToNumber(captureConfig.timeouts.waitForElements);
     await browser.waitForSelector(
       `${renderCompleteSelector},[${itemsCountAttribute}]`,
       { timeout },
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/screenshots/open_url.ts b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/screenshots/open_url.ts
index bd4a7f339927f..e28f50851f4d9 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/screenshots/open_url.ts
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/screenshots/open_url.ts
@@ -5,9 +5,10 @@
  */
 
 import { i18n } from '@kbn/i18n';
+import { durationToNumber } from '../../../common/schema_utils';
+import { LevelLogger, startTrace } from '../';
 import { HeadlessChromiumDriver } from '../../browsers';
 import { CaptureConfig, ConditionalHeaders } from '../../types';
-import { LevelLogger, startTrace } from '../';
 
 export const openUrl = async (
   captureConfig: CaptureConfig,
@@ -19,8 +20,7 @@ export const openUrl = async (
 ): Promise<void> => {
   const endTrace = startTrace('open_url', 'wait');
   try {
-    const timeoutRaw = captureConfig.timeouts.openUrl;
-    const timeout = typeof timeoutRaw === 'number' ? timeoutRaw : timeoutRaw.asMilliseconds();
+    const timeout = durationToNumber(captureConfig.timeouts.openUrl);
     await browser.open(
       url,
       { conditionalHeaders, waitForSelector: pageLoadSelector, timeout },
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/screenshots/wait_for_render.ts b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/screenshots/wait_for_render.ts
index 5cf2b0b8cb678..edd4f71b2adac 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/screenshots/wait_for_render.ts
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/screenshots/wait_for_render.ts
@@ -5,17 +5,13 @@
  */
 
 import { i18n } from '@kbn/i18n';
-import { Duration } from 'moment';
+import { durationToNumber } from '../../../common/schema_utils';
 import { HeadlessChromiumDriver } from '../../browsers';
 import { CaptureConfig } from '../../types';
 import { LevelLogger, startTrace } from '../';
 import { LayoutInstance } from '../layouts';
 import { CONTEXT_WAITFORRENDER } from './constants';
 
-const toMilliseconds = (rawValue: number | Duration) => {
-  return typeof rawValue === 'number' ? rawValue : rawValue.asMilliseconds();
-};
-
 export const waitForRenderComplete = async (
   captureConfig: CaptureConfig,
   browser: HeadlessChromiumDriver,
@@ -72,7 +68,7 @@ export const waitForRenderComplete = async (
 
           return Promise.all(renderedTasks).then(hackyWaitForVisualizations);
         },
-        args: [layout.selectors.renderComplete, toMilliseconds(captureConfig.loadDelay)],
+        args: [layout.selectors.renderComplete, durationToNumber(captureConfig.loadDelay)],
       },
       { context: CONTEXT_WAITFORRENDER },
       logger
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/screenshots/wait_for_visualizations.ts b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/screenshots/wait_for_visualizations.ts
index 03b52718a9e14..5f86a2b3bf00b 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/screenshots/wait_for_visualizations.ts
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/screenshots/wait_for_visualizations.ts
@@ -5,8 +5,9 @@
  */
 
 import { i18n } from '@kbn/i18n';
-import { HeadlessChromiumDriver } from '../../browsers';
+import { durationToNumber } from '../../../common/schema_utils';
 import { LevelLogger, startTrace } from '../';
+import { HeadlessChromiumDriver } from '../../browsers';
 import { CaptureConfig } from '../../types';
 import { LayoutInstance } from '../layouts';
 import { CONTEXT_WAITFORELEMENTSTOBEINDOM } from './constants';
@@ -40,8 +41,7 @@ export const waitForVisualizations = async (
   );
 
   try {
-    const timeoutRaw = captureConfig.timeouts.renderComplete;
-    const timeout = typeof timeoutRaw === 'number' ? timeoutRaw : timeoutRaw.asMilliseconds();
+    const timeout = durationToNumber(captureConfig.timeouts.renderComplete);
     await browser.waitFor(
       { fn: getCompletedItemsCount, args: [{ renderCompleteSelector }], toEqual, timeout },
       { context: CONTEXT_WAITFORELEMENTSTOBEINDOM },
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/store/store.ts b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/store/store.ts
index c5e6c3798aded..ce28715e1ba46 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/store/store.ts
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/lib/store/store.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
  */
 
 import { ElasticsearchServiceSetup } from 'src/core/server';
+import { durationToNumber } from '../../../common/schema_utils';
 import { LevelLogger, statuses } from '../';
 import { ReportingCore } from '../../';
 import { BaseParams, BaseParamsEncryptedFields, ReportingUser } from '../../types';
@@ -47,9 +48,8 @@ export class ReportingStore {
     this.indexPrefix = config.get('index');
     this.indexInterval = config.get('queue', 'indexInterval');
 
-    const timeoutRaw = config.get('queue', 'timeout');
     this.jobSettings = {
-      timeout: typeof timeoutRaw === 'number' ? timeoutRaw : timeoutRaw.asMilliseconds(),
+      timeout: durationToNumber(config.get('queue', 'timeout')),
       browser_type: config.get('capture', 'browser', 'type'),
       max_attempts: config.get('capture', 'maxAttempts'),
       priority: 10, // unused
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/routes/diagnostic/config.ts b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/routes/diagnostic/config.ts
index 6f23d406ff640..3ce46cf233472 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/routes/diagnostic/config.ts
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/reporting/server/routes/diagnostic/config.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { i18n } from '@kbn/i18n';
 import { defaults, get } from 'lodash';
 import { ReportingCore } from '../..';
 import { API_DIAGNOSE_URL } from '../../../common/constants';
+import { numberToByteSizeValue } from '../../../common/schema_utils';
 import { LevelLogger as Logger } from '../../lib';
 import { DiagnosticResponse } from '../../types';
 import { authorizedUserPreRoutingFactory } from '../lib/authorized_user_pre_routing';
@@ -43,11 +44,7 @@ export const registerDiagnoseConfig = (reporting: ReportingCore, logger: Logger)
         '100mb'
       );
       const elasticSearchMaxContentBytes = ByteSizeValue.parse(elasticSearchMaxContent);
-      const kibanaMaxContentBytesRaw = config.get('csv', 'maxSizeBytes');
-      const kibanaMaxContentBytes =
-        typeof kibanaMaxContentBytesRaw === 'number'
-          ? new ByteSizeValue(kibanaMaxContentBytesRaw)
-          : kibanaMaxContentBytesRaw;
+      const kibanaMaxContentBytes = numberToByteSizeValue(config.get('csv', 'maxSizeBytes'));
 
       if (kibanaMaxContentBytes.isGreaterThan(elasticSearchMaxContentBytes)) {
         const maxContentSizeWarning = i18n.translate(