diff --git a/.changeset/clean-clocks-thank.md b/.changeset/clean-clocks-thank.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..47e99c4e41
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/clean-clocks-thank.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/backend-test-utils': minor
+---
+
+Switched out `mockServices.scheduler` to use a mocked implementation instead of the default scheduler implementation. This implementation runs any scheduled tasks immediately on startup, as long as they don't have an initial delay or a manual trigger. After the initial run, the tasks are never run again unless manually triggered.
diff --git a/docs/backend-system/core-services/scheduler.md b/docs/backend-system/core-services/scheduler.md
index eb25692698..b8f8c6aac1 100644
--- a/docs/backend-system/core-services/scheduler.md
+++ b/docs/backend-system/core-services/scheduler.md
@@ -129,3 +129,31 @@ Responds with
 - `200 OK` if successful
 - `404 Not Found` if there was no such registered task for this plugin
 - `409 Conflict` if the task was already in a running state
+
+## Testing
+
+The `@backstage/backend-test-utils` package provides `mockServices.scheduler`, which provides a mocked implementation of the scheduler service that can be used in tests. This mocked implementation is used by default in `startTestBackend`, and it will immediately run any registered tasks on startup as long as they're not configured to run manually or with an initial delay.
+
+A dedicated instance can be used for more control during testing, with the mock implementation providing additional utilities to trigger and wait for tasks to complete:
+
+```ts
+it('should trigger a task', async () => {
+  const scheduler = mockServices.scheduler();
+
+  const { server } = await startTestBackend({
+    features: [scheduler.factory()],
+  });
+
+  // Start waiting for some task to complete
+  const waitForTask = scheduler.waitForTask('some-task-id');
+
+  // Call an endpoit that triggers a task
+  const res = await request(server).post(
+    '/api/my-plugin/route-that-triggers-a-task',
+  );
+  expect(res.status).toBe(200);
+
+  // Wait for the task to complete
+  await waitForTask;
+});
+```
diff --git a/packages/backend-test-utils/report.api.md b/packages/backend-test-utils/report.api.md
index fb22e5c850..eeb5009641 100644
--- a/packages/backend-test-utils/report.api.md
+++ b/packages/backend-test-utils/report.api.md
@@ -366,9 +366,15 @@ export namespace mockServices {
       ) => ServiceMock<RootLoggerService>;
   }
   // (undocumented)
+  export function scheduler(): SchedulerService;
+  // (undocumented)
   export namespace scheduler {
     const // (undocumented)
-      factory: () => ServiceFactory<SchedulerService, 'plugin', 'singleton'>;
+      factory: (options?: {
+        skipTaskRunOnStartup?: boolean;
+        includeManualTasksOnStartup?: boolean;
+        includeInitialDelayedTasksOnStartup?: boolean;
+      }) => ServiceFactory<SchedulerService, 'plugin', 'singleton'>;
     const // (undocumented)
       mock: (
         partialImpl?: Partial<SchedulerService> | undefined,
diff --git a/packages/backend-test-utils/src/services/MockSchedulerService.test.ts b/packages/backend-test-utils/src/services/MockSchedulerService.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8e26fd770e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/backend-test-utils/src/services/MockSchedulerService.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,208 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2025 The Backstage Authors
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+import {
+  coreServices,
+  createBackendPlugin,
+} from '@backstage/backend-plugin-api';
+import { startTestBackend } from '../wiring';
+import { MockSchedulerService } from './MockSchedulerService';
+import { mockServices } from './mockServices';
+import { setTimeout } from 'timers/promises';
+
+const baseOpts = {
+  frequency: { seconds: 10 },
+  timeout: { seconds: 10 },
+};
+
+describe('MockSchedulerService', () => {
+  it('should run a task', async () => {
+    const scheduler = new MockSchedulerService();
+    expect(scheduler).toBeDefined();
+
+    const taskFn = jest.fn();
+    scheduler.scheduleTask({
+      ...baseOpts,
+      id: 'test',
+      fn: taskFn,
+    });
+
+    expect(taskFn).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+    await scheduler.triggerTask('test');
+
+    expect(taskFn).toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('should run tasks on startup', async () => {
+    const testFnPlain = jest.fn();
+    const testFnInitialDelay = jest.fn();
+    const testFnManual = jest.fn();
+    const testFnLocal = jest.fn();
+
+    // Relying on the fact that the mock scheduler service is used by default
+    await startTestBackend({
+      features: [
+        createBackendPlugin({
+          pluginId: 'tester',
+          register(reg) {
+            reg.registerInit({
+              deps: { scheduler: coreServices.scheduler },
+              async init({ scheduler }) {
+                scheduler.scheduleTask({
+                  ...baseOpts,
+                  id: 'test-plain',
+                  fn: testFnPlain,
+                });
+                scheduler.scheduleTask({
+                  ...baseOpts,
+                  id: 'test-local',
+                  scope: 'local',
+                  fn: testFnLocal,
+                });
+
+                // Should not run by default
+                scheduler.scheduleTask({
+                  ...baseOpts,
+                  id: 'test-with-initial-delay',
+                  initialDelay: { seconds: 1 },
+                  fn: testFnInitialDelay,
+                });
+                scheduler.scheduleTask({
+                  ...baseOpts,
+                  id: 'test-manual',
+                  frequency: { trigger: 'manual' },
+                  fn: testFnManual,
+                });
+              },
+            });
+          },
+        }),
+      ],
+    });
+
+    expect(testFnPlain).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(testFnLocal).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(testFnInitialDelay).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(testFnManual).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('should not run tasks on startup if skipped', async () => {
+    const testFnPlain = jest.fn();
+
+    await startTestBackend({
+      features: [
+        new MockSchedulerService().factory({ skipTaskRunOnStartup: true }),
+        createBackendPlugin({
+          pluginId: 'tester',
+          register(reg) {
+            reg.registerInit({
+              deps: { scheduler: coreServices.scheduler },
+              async init({ scheduler }) {
+                scheduler.scheduleTask({
+                  ...baseOpts,
+                  id: 'test-plain',
+                  fn: testFnPlain,
+                });
+              },
+            });
+          },
+        }),
+      ],
+    });
+
+    expect(testFnPlain).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('should run all tasks on startup if configured', async () => {
+    const testFnPlain = jest.fn();
+    const testFnInitialDelay = jest.fn();
+    const testFnManual = jest.fn();
+    const testFnLocal = jest.fn();
+
+    await startTestBackend({
+      features: [
+        mockServices.scheduler.factory({
+          includeManualTasksOnStartup: true,
+          includeInitialDelayedTasksOnStartup: true,
+        }),
+        createBackendPlugin({
+          pluginId: 'tester',
+          register(reg) {
+            reg.registerInit({
+              deps: { scheduler: coreServices.scheduler },
+              async init({ scheduler }) {
+                scheduler.scheduleTask({
+                  ...baseOpts,
+                  id: 'test-plain',
+                  fn: testFnPlain,
+                });
+                scheduler.scheduleTask({
+                  ...baseOpts,
+                  id: 'test-local',
+                  scope: 'local',
+                  fn: testFnLocal,
+                });
+
+                // Should not run by default
+                scheduler.scheduleTask({
+                  ...baseOpts,
+                  id: 'test-with-initial-delay',
+                  initialDelay: { seconds: 1 },
+                  fn: testFnInitialDelay,
+                });
+                scheduler.scheduleTask({
+                  ...baseOpts,
+                  id: 'test-manual',
+                  frequency: { trigger: 'manual' },
+                  fn: testFnManual,
+                });
+              },
+            });
+          },
+        }),
+      ],
+    });
+
+    expect(testFnPlain).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(testFnLocal).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(testFnInitialDelay).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(testFnManual).toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('should wait for a specific task to complete', async () => {
+    const scheduler = new MockSchedulerService();
+    const taskFn = jest.fn();
+    scheduler.scheduleTask({
+      ...baseOpts,
+      id: 'test',
+      fn: taskFn,
+    });
+
+    const wait = scheduler.waitForTask('test');
+
+    const isDone = () =>
+      Promise.race([wait.then(() => true), setTimeout(1, false)]);
+
+    expect(taskFn).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    await expect(isDone()).resolves.toBe(false);
+
+    await scheduler.triggerTask('test');
+
+    expect(taskFn).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    await expect(isDone()).resolves.toBe(true);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/backend-test-utils/src/services/MockSchedulerService.ts b/packages/backend-test-utils/src/services/MockSchedulerService.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7648770eb5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/backend-test-utils/src/services/MockSchedulerService.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,164 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2025 The Backstage Authors
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+import {
+  coreServices,
+  createServiceFactory,
+  SchedulerService,
+  SchedulerServiceTaskDescriptor,
+  SchedulerServiceTaskInvocationDefinition,
+  SchedulerServiceTaskRunner,
+  SchedulerServiceTaskScheduleDefinition,
+} from '@backstage/backend-plugin-api';
+import { createDeferred, DeferredPromise } from '@backstage/types';
+
+export class MockSchedulerService implements SchedulerService {
+  readonly #tasks = new Map<
+    string,
+    SchedulerServiceTaskInvocationDefinition &
+      SchedulerServiceTaskScheduleDefinition & {
+        descriptor: SchedulerServiceTaskDescriptor;
+      }
+  >();
+  readonly #runningTasks = new Set<string>();
+  readonly #deferredTaskCompletions = new Map<string, DeferredPromise<void>>();
+
+  /**
+   * Creates a service factory for this mock scheduler instance, which can be installed in a test backend
+   */
+  factory(options?: {
+    skipTaskRunOnStartup?: boolean;
+    includeManualTasksOnStartup?: boolean;
+    includeInitialDelayedTasksOnStartup?: boolean;
+  }) {
+    return createServiceFactory({
+      service: coreServices.scheduler,
+      deps: { lifecycle: coreServices.lifecycle },
+      factory: async ({ lifecycle }) => {
+        if (!options?.skipTaskRunOnStartup) {
+          lifecycle.addStartupHook(async () => {
+            await this.triggerAllTasks({
+              includeManualTasks: options?.includeManualTasksOnStartup,
+              includeInitialDelayedTasks:
+                options?.includeInitialDelayedTasksOnStartup,
+            });
+          });
+        }
+        return this;
+      },
+    });
+  }
+
+  createScheduledTaskRunner(
+    schedule: SchedulerServiceTaskScheduleDefinition,
+  ): SchedulerServiceTaskRunner {
+    return {
+      run: async task => {
+        await this.scheduleTask({ ...task, ...schedule });
+      },
+    };
+  }
+
+  async getScheduledTasks(): Promise<SchedulerServiceTaskDescriptor[]> {
+    return Array.from(this.#tasks.values()).map(({ descriptor }) => descriptor);
+  }
+
+  async scheduleTask(
+    task: SchedulerServiceTaskScheduleDefinition &
+      SchedulerServiceTaskInvocationDefinition,
+  ): Promise<void> {
+    this.#tasks.set(task.id, {
+      ...task,
+      descriptor: {
+        id: task.id,
+        scope: task.scope ?? 'global',
+        settings: { version: 1 },
+      },
+    });
+  }
+
+  async triggerTask(id: string): Promise<void> {
+    const task = this.#tasks.get(id);
+    if (!task) {
+      throw new Error(`Task ${id} not found`);
+    }
+    if (this.#runningTasks.has(id)) {
+      return;
+    }
+    this.#runningTasks.add(id);
+    try {
+      await task.fn(new AbortController().signal);
+      this.#deferredTaskCompletions.get(id)?.resolve();
+    } catch (error) {
+      this.#deferredTaskCompletions.get(id)?.reject(error);
+    } finally {
+      this.#runningTasks.delete(id);
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Trigger all tasks that match the given options, and wait for them to complete.
+   *
+   * @param options - The options to filter the tasks to trigger
+   */
+  async triggerAllTasks(options?: {
+    scope?: 'all' | 'global' | 'local';
+    includeInitialDelayedTasks?: boolean;
+    includeManualTasks?: boolean;
+  }): Promise<void> {
+    const {
+      scope = 'all',
+      includeManualTasks = false,
+      includeInitialDelayedTasks = false,
+    } = options ?? {};
+
+    const selectedTaskIds = new Array<string>();
+    for (const task of this.#tasks.values()) {
+      if (task.initialDelay && !includeInitialDelayedTasks) {
+        continue;
+      }
+      if ('trigger' in task.frequency && task.frequency.trigger === 'manual') {
+        if (includeManualTasks) {
+          selectedTaskIds.push(task.id);
+        }
+        continue;
+      }
+      if (scope === 'all' || scope === task.scope) {
+        selectedTaskIds.push(task.id);
+      }
+    }
+
+    await Promise.all(selectedTaskIds.map(id => this.triggerTask(id)));
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Wait for the task with the given ID to complete.
+   *
+   * If the task has not yet been scheduler or started, this will wait for it to be scheduled, started, and completed
+   *
+   * @param id - The task ID to wait for
+   * @returns A promise that resolves when the task is completed
+   */
+  async waitForTask(id: string): Promise<void> {
+    const existing = this.#deferredTaskCompletions.get(id);
+    if (existing) {
+      return existing;
+    }
+    const defferred = createDeferred<void>();
+    this.#deferredTaskCompletions.set(id, defferred);
+    return defferred;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/backend-test-utils/src/services/mockServices.ts b/packages/backend-test-utils/src/services/mockServices.ts
index 06bf8f9a29..587db30934 100644
--- a/packages/backend-test-utils/src/services/mockServices.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-test-utils/src/services/mockServices.ts
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ import { permissionsRegistryServiceFactory } from '@backstage/backend-defaults/p
 import { rootHealthServiceFactory } from '@backstage/backend-defaults/rootHealth';
 import { rootHttpRouterServiceFactory } from '@backstage/backend-defaults/rootHttpRouter';
 import { rootLifecycleServiceFactory } from '@backstage/backend-defaults/rootLifecycle';
-import { schedulerServiceFactory } from '@backstage/backend-defaults/scheduler';
 import { urlReaderServiceFactory } from '@backstage/backend-defaults/urlReader';
 import {
   AuthService,
@@ -57,6 +56,7 @@ import { mockCredentials } from './mockCredentials';
 import { MockEventsService } from './MockEventsService';
 import { MockPermissionsService } from './MockPermissionsService';
 import { simpleMock } from './simpleMock';
+import { MockSchedulerService } from './MockSchedulerService';
 
 /** @internal */
 function createLoggerMock() {
@@ -496,8 +496,15 @@ export namespace mockServices {
     }));
   }
 
+  export function scheduler(): MockSchedulerService {
+    return new MockSchedulerService();
+  }
   export namespace scheduler {
-    export const factory = () => schedulerServiceFactory;
+    export const factory = (options?: {
+      skipTaskRunOnStartup?: boolean;
+      includeManualTasksOnStartup?: boolean;
+      includeInitialDelayedTasksOnStartup?: boolean;
+    }) => new MockSchedulerService().factory(options);
     export const mock = simpleMock(coreServices.scheduler, () => ({
       createScheduledTaskRunner: jest.fn(),
       getScheduledTasks: jest.fn(),