diff --git a/helpdesk/management/commands/get_email.py b/helpdesk/management/commands/get_email.py
index c3b9e33f..141683d3 100644
--- a/helpdesk/management/commands/get_email.py
+++ b/helpdesk/management/commands/get_email.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ from django.core.files.base import ContentFile
 from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand
 from django.db.models import Q
 from django.utils.translation import ugettext as _
+from django.conf import settings
 
 from helpdesk.lib import send_templated_mail, safe_template_context
 from helpdesk.models import Queue, Ticket, FollowUp, Attachment, IgnoreEmail
@@ -75,18 +76,22 @@ def process_email(quiet=False):
 def process_queue(q, quiet=False):
     if not quiet:
         print "Processing: %s" % q
-    if q.email_box_type == 'pop3':
+
+    email_box_type = settings.QUEUE_EMAIL_BOX_TYPE if settings.QUEUE_EMAIL_BOX_TYPE else q.email_box_type
+
+    if email_box_type == 'pop3':
 
         if q.email_box_ssl:
             if not q.email_box_port: q.email_box_port = 995
-            server = poplib.POP3_SSL(q.email_box_host, int(q.email_box_port))
+            server = poplib.POP3_SSL(q.email_box_host or settings.QUEUE_EMAIL_BOX_HOST, int(q.email_box_port))
         else:
             if not q.email_box_port: q.email_box_port = 110
-            server = poplib.POP3(q.email_box_host, int(q.email_box_port))
+            server = poplib.POP3(q.email_box_host or settings.QUEUE_EMAIL_BOX_HOST, int(q.email_box_port))
 
         server.getwelcome()
-        server.user(q.email_box_user)
-        server.pass_(q.email_box_pass)
+        server.user(q.email_box_user or settings.QUEUE_EMAIL_BOX_USER)
+        server.pass_(q.email_box_pass or settings.QUEUE_EMAIL_BOX_PASSWORD)
+
 
         messagesInfo = server.list()[1]
 
@@ -102,15 +107,15 @@ def process_queue(q, quiet=False):
 
         server.quit()
 
-    elif q.email_box_type == 'imap':
+    elif email_box_type == 'imap':
         if q.email_box_ssl:
             if not q.email_box_port: q.email_box_port = 993
-            server = imaplib.IMAP4_SSL(q.email_box_host, int(q.email_box_port))
+            server = imaplib.IMAP4_SSL(q.email_box_host or settings.QUEUE_EMAIL_BOX_HOST, int(q.email_box_port))
         else:
             if not q.email_box_port: q.email_box_port = 143
-            server = imaplib.IMAP4(q.email_box_host, int(q.email_box_port))
+            server = imaplib.IMAP4(q.email_box_host or settings.QUEUE_EMAIL_BOX_HOST, int(q.email_box_port))
 
-        server.login(q.email_box_user, q.email_box_pass)
+        server.login(q.email_box_user or settings.QUEUE_EMAIL_BOX_USER, q.email_box_pass or settings.QUEUE_EMAIL_BOX_PASSWORD)
         server.select(q.email_box_imap_folder)
 
         status, data = server.search(None, 'NOT', 'DELETED')
diff --git a/helpdesk/settings.py b/helpdesk/settings.py
index 8d7112ce..9fb46bb5 100644
--- a/helpdesk/settings.py
+++ b/helpdesk/settings.py
@@ -124,3 +124,9 @@ HELPDESK_FOOTER_SHOW_API_LINK = getattr(settings, 'HELPDESK_FOOTER_SHOW_API_LINK
 # show / hide 'change language' link at bottom of page
 HELPDESK_FOOTER_SHOW_CHANGE_LANGUAGE_LINK = getattr(settings, 'HELPDESK_FOOTER_SHOW_CHANGE_LANGUAGE_LINK', False)
 
+''' email options '''
+# default Queue email submission settings
+QUEUE_EMAIL_BOX_TYPE = getattr(settings, 'QUEUE_EMAIL_BOX_TYPE', None)
+QUEUE_EMAIL_BOX_HOST = getattr(settings, 'QUEUE_EMAIL_BOX_HOST', None)
+QUEUE_EMAIL_BOX_USER = getattr(settings, 'QUEUE_EMAIL_BOX_USER', None)
+QUEUE_EMAIL_BOX_PASSWORD = getattr(settings, 'QUEUE_EMAIL_BOX_PASSWORD', None)