Exhibit 31.1


                                  CERTIFICATION

         I, Christopher M. Swartz, Chief Executive Officer of Ultimate Franchise
Systems, Inc.. certify that:

         1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-KSB of Ultimate
Franchise Systems, Inc.

         2. Based on my knowledge, this annual report does not contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary
to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such
statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this
annual report;

         3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
information included in this annual report, fairly present in all material
respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the
registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this annual report;

         4. The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the registrant and have:

         a)       designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure
                  that material information relating to the registrant,
                  including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us
                  by others within those entities, particularly during the
                  period in which this report is being prepared;

         b)       evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
                  controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to
                  the filing date of this report (the "Evaluation Date"); and

         c)       presented in this quarterly report our conclusions about the
                  effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based
                  on our evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;

         5. The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed,
based on our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and the audit
committee of registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the
equivalent functions):

         a)       all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of
                  internal controls which could adversely affect the
                  registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report
                  financial data and have identified for the registrant's
                  auditors any material weaknesses in internal controls; and

         b)       any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management
                  or other employees who have a significant role in the
                  registrant's internal controls; and

         6. The registrant's other certifying officer and I have indicated in
this quarterly report whether there were significant changes in internal
controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal controls
subsequent to the date of our most recent evaluation, including any corrective
actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.

Date: January 9, 2004

/s/ Christopher M. Swartz
-----------------------------
Christopher M. Swartz
Chief Executive Officer