The theoretical basis and the main results of a design procedure, which attempts to provide the optimal layout of ordinary reinforcement in prestressed concrete beams, subjected to bending moment and shear force are presented. The difficulties encountered in simulating the actual behaviour of prestressed concrete beam in presence of coupled forces bending moment - shear force are discussed; particular emphasis is put on plastic models and stress fields approaches. A unified model for reinforced and prestressed concrete beams under axial force - bending moment - shear force interaction is provided. This analytical model is validated against both experimental results collected in literature and nonlinear numerical analyses. Finally, for illustrating the applicability of the proposed procedure, an example of design for a full-scale prestressed concrete beam is shown.