diff --git a/pgraph/actions.go b/pgraph/actions.go
index f2f9b3e9..cedfe3d1 100644
--- a/pgraph/actions.go
+++ b/pgraph/actions.go
@@ -224,11 +224,9 @@ func (g *Graph) Process(v *Vertex) error {
 		// if this fails, don't UpdateTimestamp()
 		checkOK, err = obj.CheckApply(!noop)
 
-		if obj.Prometheus() != nil {
-			if promErr := obj.Prometheus().UpdateCheckApplyTotal(obj.Kind(), !noop, !checkOK, err != nil); promErr != nil {
-				// TODO: how to error correctly
-				log.Printf("%s[%s]: Prometheus.UpdateCheckApplyTotal() errored: %v", v.Kind(), v.GetName(), err)
-			}
+		if promErr := obj.Prometheus().UpdateCheckApplyTotal(obj.Kind(), !noop, !checkOK, err != nil); promErr != nil {
+			// TODO: how to error correctly
+			log.Printf("%s[%s]: Prometheus.UpdateCheckApplyTotal() errored: %v", v.Kind(), v.GetName(), err)
 		}
 		// TODO: Can the `Poll` converged timeout tracking be a
 		// more general method for all converged timeouts? this
diff --git a/prometheus/prometheus.go b/prometheus/prometheus.go
index 3a3cfbf5..d3c9c25a 100644
--- a/prometheus/prometheus.go
+++ b/prometheus/prometheus.go
@@ -80,6 +80,9 @@ func (obj *Prometheus) Stop() error {
 // UpdateCheckApplyTotal refreshes the failing gauge by parsing the internal
 // state map.
 func (obj *Prometheus) UpdateCheckApplyTotal(kind string, apply, eventful, errorful bool) error {
+	if obj == nil {
+		return nil // happens when mgmt is launched without --prometheus
+	}
 	labels := prometheus.Labels{"kind": kind, "apply": strconv.FormatBool(apply), "eventful": strconv.FormatBool(eventful), "errorful": strconv.FormatBool(errorful)}
 	metric := obj.checkApplyTotal.With(labels)
 	metric.Inc()