One embodiment provides a system for suggesting placement of beacons within a venue. The system performs operations including receiving a floor plan for a venue, receiving user-specified input identifying a defined area within the floor plan to target, and determining an arrangement of beacons for providing beacon coverage for the defined area. A total number of beacons to include within the defined area is determined. For each beacon, a corresponding location within the defined area to position the beacon at is also determined. The arrangement of beacons is determined based on historical location data for the venue, user-specified preferences for the venue, signal strength of the beacons, and available power levels for the beacons.